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NC State CB Brian Nelson II eager to face off against former teammate, Virginia QB Chandler Morris

2019_WP_Icon512x512by: The Wolfpacker09/04/25TheWolfpacker
Brian Nelson Chandler Morris
Photo credit: NC State Athletics // © Amber Searls-Imagn Images

By Noah Fleischman

Brian Nelson II became used to defending a healthy dose of passes in practice every day at North Texas over the past two seasons. The Mean Green played with a Mike Leach-inspired air raid offense, so it was a given that the team’s cornerbacks would be tested quite frequently. 

Nelson can attest to that. As he rose from redshirting freshman to starter in his second season of college football, Nelson was challenged every day by Mean Green signal-caller Chandler Morris, who, attempted 510 passes — third-most in college football — to log 3,774 yards with 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in the fall of 2024.

But it’s different this season. Nelson is a key part of NC State’s secondary, while Morris is Virginia’s starting quarterback. For the first time in their careers, the cornerback and quarterback will square off Saturday afternoon (12 p.m., ESPN2) inside Carter-Finley Stadium.

Those countless hours of trying to intercept Morris, a coach’s son and six-year veteran of college football, could come in handy when Nelson attempts to do just that in an actual game this weekend. 

“It was a bunch of passes to defend during practice from the start to the finish,” Nelson said with a grin as he reflected on those North Texas practices. “Just knowing that he likes to throw the ball a lot, it’s going to be exciting to br on the field too.”

Morris isn’t in an air raid system this season at Virginia under former Wolfpack offensive coordinator Des Kitchings, but he does fit the Cavaliers’ offense well. The signal-caller makes the right reads, and in turn, is an efficient passer. He was 19-of-27 passing for 264 yards with two touchdowns in Virginia’s 48-7 win over Coastal Carolina this past weekend. 

The Highland Park, Texas, native didn’t show too much of his aerial attack against the Chanticleers. He kept 16 of his 27 attempts within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, but when he did push the ball downfield, Virginia found success. Morris had 180 of his 264 passing yards (68.1 percent) come from passes of more than 10 air yards, including a 2-for-3 showing for 77 yards on attempts of 20 yards or more. 

Although Morris didn’t need to air the ball out too much against Coastal Carolina, he feasted in the 10-19 air yard range last fall at North Texas with 1,239 of his 3,774 passing yards coming in that area of the field.

NC State’s defensive backs are aware of what’s to come when from Morris in the pass game. And even though the Wolfpack’s corners are mostly new pieces with Temple transfer Jamel Johnson and Nelson playing alongside senior Devon Marshall for a majority of the snaps, the unit’s ability to gel quickly is paying off on the field.

And it will be tested against the Cavaliers.

“We’ve already built a tight connection when it comes to the corners in the group,” Nelson said. “We know what we have to do on the field. It comes down to us. We’ve got to defend the deep balls, and we’ve got to defend passes. We all know the standard we have to meet, and we’re glad to be doing it together.”

Marshall posted two passes defended in the 24-17 win over East Carolina last Thursday, while Johnson made a critical tackle on fourth-and-1 to ice the win. 

Nelson, meanwhile, is still looking for his first notable play of the fall after he posted four total tackles against the Pirates. Could it come against his former teammate? It’s possible, and the defensive back might have a slightly easier time doing so since he is aware of Morris’ tendencies in the pass game. 

“I played with him last year, so of course I know a few things that he likes to do,” Nelson said. 
“Overall, it’s just exciting to play against him knowing that we played together last year.”

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