Wolfpack cornerbacks have ‘played exceptional,’ looking to help rest of secondary with 5 games left

By Noah Fleischman

He calls it “Marshall Island.” Each time he’s on the field, there’s a certain sense of confidence in not letting an opposing wide receiver make a play. Some view it as a stressful position within NC State’s defense, but it’s not for this veteran cornerback. 

In a way, senior defensive back Devon Marshall thrives when battling against a pass catcher looking to take the top off the Wolfpack’s defense. And so far this season, Marshall has stood tall in his one-on-one battles defending the outside of the unit with a team-leading 5 pass breakups.  

“I think it’s fun,” Marshall said this week. “I like the challenge, and if you make the play, you celebrate.”

While Marshall, who has allowed a team-low 50-percent completion rate on 30 targets, has been a steady force for the Wolfpack’s secondary, he isn’t alone. The other two cornerbacks, senior Jamel Johnson and redshirt sophomore Brian Nelson II, also have risen to the occasion with their standout play. 

Johnson has allowed 53.6 percent of the 28 passes thrown his way to be caught with 4 passes defended, while Nelson isn’t far behind with 58.3 percent of the 24 throws in his direction have been caught as he has posted 3 breakups in the process. 

And with a defense that has been banged up in the secondary at nickel and safety — the Wolfpack has lost four players to injury between those two positions this fall — NC State coach Dave Doeren has been delighted to have consistent play from his corners.

“I’ll be honest, I think they’ve played well all year. That’s not our issue,” Doeren said of the cornerback trio. “The issue has been more with balls being caught in the slot areas on our nickels and safeties than on the outside. I think our perimeter corners have played exceptional on deep balls, breaking up passes, not getting pass interference calls — those guys are playing really good football.”

While NC State has had the luxury of playing three effective cornerbacks on the outside, and instead of moving one of them to either nickel or safety with the mounting injuries, the team has elected to play the trio in a rotation. Marshall and Johnson are the Pack’s two starters — playing 332 and 326 total defensive snaps, respectively — while Nelson, who has logged 286 plays on defense, cycles through to give the other two a rest for a drive here and there. 

Although it would seem like it could be a source of annoyance for the corners, it appears to be the opposite. Marshall, a former Villanova transfer, has embraced the opportunity to keep his energy levels high while studying the opposing offense from the bench when he’s not on the field. 

“It helps me a lot,” Marshall said. “When I go back out there, my legs are ready to go. I probably take one drive off, play three and then take another drive off. It keeps my body refreshed. I’m able to see the offense from the sideline, looking at how they’re moving. I feel like I play better throughout the game.”

Even though the cornerbacks have played well, the rest of NC State’s secondary has been inconsistent, including redshirt freshman safety Ronnie Royal III being picked on with 18 catches for 273 yards and a touchdown conceded to go with an interception on 22 targets — an 81.8 percent completion rate. Injuries haven’t helped as the Wolfpack has deployed three different players at both nickel and safety, including redshirt freshman Asaad Brown Jr. playing at both positions, but the outside defenders have done what they can to help the rest of the unit play well. 

During last week’s open date, for example, the corner trio helped organize a meeting between the secondary to help everyone get on the same page and improve. In addition to Marshall, Nelson and Johnson, starting nickel Jackson Vick and injured safety Rente Hinton, who was declared out for the season before Week 1, were also vocal leaders within the meeting. 

The conference, which has also happened a couple times earlier this season, was focused on watching all the negative film from the secondary’s first seven weeks. Anything that went well from the Wolfpack’s 4-3 start wasn’t included in the review session. 

Instead, the main priority was to correct as much as possible, including what has caused the nickels and safeties the biggest headache: defending slot receivers and tight ends on over routes, seam balls and slot fades.

“As players, we did it ourselves. Just so we’re even more locked in,” Marshall said. “It’s just the team. Coaches and players, we all know what the issues are, so we just try to get together.”

The cornerbacks believe they have done their part to this point and will look to continue playing at a high level through each of the Wolfpack’s last five regular-season games to help spark momentum down the stretch. It all begins on Saturday afternoon at Pitt (3:30 p.m., ACCN) before hosting No. 7 Georgia Tech next weekend. 

If the outside defenders can keep picking up those around them, NC State’s 14th-ranked pass defense in the ACC (257.3 yards allowed per game) could see more signs of growth. 

But, for now, Marshall plans to continue playing at a high level on the perimeter of the Wolfpack defense. After all, that’s all he’s known since he arrived in Raleigh prior to last season, and he doesn’t expect that to change anytime soon.

“That’s my job,” Marshall said. “That’s what I do, and what I take ownership in. For me, it’s not stressful at all.”