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

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. After all, Morris attempted 510 passes — third-most in college football — to log 3,774 yards with 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. But it’s different this fall. 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.