NC State safety Bishop Fitzgerald is ‘way more comfortable’ now than at the start of the season
Bishop Fitzgerald sat on a bus en route to Dodge City, Kan., for Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College’s second game last season, and he watched as Old Dominion and Virginia Tech played each other.
As he had the game pulled up, Fitzgerald, a Woodbridge, Va., native, saw as Monarchs’ defensive back Robert Kennedy III had a scoop and score touchdown to propel ODU over its in-state foe.
Fast forward 12 months, and Fitzgerald and Kennedy are teammates at NC State — both making plays in the Wolfpack’s secondary.
“A year later, that’s my teammate,” Fitzgerald said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m playing with him. It’s just crazy. Honestly, a surreal moment.”
Fitzgerald is a long way away from the bus rides across the midwest for his junior college games. He arrived in Raleigh just before fall camp started, and was quickly tossed into the fire of NC State’s defense.
He’s learned on the job, but eight games in, Fitzgerald has a sense of comfort as one of the Wolfpack’s top safeties since the red and white have dealt with multiple injuries at the position this season — Jakeen Harris and Rakeim Ashford are both out for the season.
“I feel way more comfortable,” Fitzgerald said. “I kind of got slung in there really fast, and it was a change of pace for me coming out of JUCO. I feel like in that late push of the season, I’m kind of getting the hang of it. And the guys, they trust me.”
Trust. That’s what Fitzgerald said he was trying to earn from his fellow defensive teammates since he arrived on campus. Well, 30 tackles with an interception and four passes defended will help with that.
As the season’s gone on, Fitzgerald’s role has expanded. He was a reserve safety for the first three games — five tackles through those contests. But when junior safety Devan Boykin and redshirt junior safety Cecil Powell exited the Wolfpack’s game at Virginia early with injuries, it was Fitzgerald’s opportunity to shine.
He logged four total tackles and a pass breakup, which was a tipped pass that ended up in NC State redshirt sophomore safety Sean Brown‘s hands for a crucial fourth-quarter interception in Charlottesville.
That day was the start of when the defense started to click for the former No. 1 junior college safety transfer.
“I kind of got slung in there, and it just felt comfortable,” Fitzgerald said of the Virginia win. “We made plays down the stretch. And then the next week, Louisville, and then everything started clicking.”
Since his four tackle game against the Cavaliers, Fitzgerald has recorded at least that many in every game moving forward. He had a season-best six stops with an interception against Louisville, a number he matched this past weekend against Clemson.
In addition to his half dozen tackles against the Tigers, Fitzgerald came up with another pass breakup, his third of the season.
After his standout performance on the backend of NC State’s defense against Clemson, Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren had a glowing review for Fitzgerald.
“Bishop Fitzgerald doesn’t get enough credit for all the things he’s doing,” Doeren said, “being the guy that just got here in the summer.”
A lot of Fitzgerald’s success — and the defense’s as a whole — has come in the dime package this season. That defense allows the Wolfpack to come after the quarterback, and to do it with another defensive back on the field.
NC State has 10 interceptions this season, the second-most in the ACC, and that formation is a big reason why.
“When we’re up, we get a stop on the early downs, make it third-and-long, coach Gibby is going to dial it up and send the pressure,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s what the dime package is for: get some picks, get some pressures, and get the offense back the ball.”
It is helpful that the Wolfpack has an elite pass rush, led by graduate linebacker Payton Wilson, and junior defensive linemen Red Hibbler and Davin Vann. After that, it’s all on the back end to make a play — which more often than not, happens.
“Your job gets easier when you’ve got guys like Payton and Davin rushing the passer, putting pressure on them, making balls float for you,” Fitzgerald said. “Everything’s just easier with those guys.”
While Fitzgerald is no longer at the junior college level, he still has the same edge that he did at Coffeyville. There, everyone is fighting for a Division I scholarship, Fitzgerald said. Even though not everyone is striving for the NFL at the D-I level, NC State’s safety still brings that same hunger to the Wolfpack.
That’s led to pushing Boykin, who Fitzgerald is behind in the safeties room. But with two players battling it out, Fitzgerald said he looks at it like there are two No. 1 options at the position, not a starter and his backup.
“I feel like it’s always good to have two ones that if a guy goes down in front of him,they can be a one, not just a two.” Fitzgerald said. “I feel like I’m pushing Boykin, and that’s making him play better. Boykin just had a great game. This friendly competition, that’s really important.”
