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CHAPEL HILL – Disguising and deception are things the Tar Heels will be on high alert for Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.
NC State presents a whole lot of pre-snap concerns, as the intent is to cause chaos to opposing defenses, and for foes’ offenses to have their heads on swivels not knowing where pressure may come from and when.
That’s the game when taking on the Wolfpack, and it makes sense.
State’s offense isn’t exactly overflowing with playmakers, so the Pack (8-3, 5-2 ACC) must present defenses with plenty of eye candy, hoping to throw them off some. Two elements of what the Wolfpack does will draw much of Carolina’s attention: its many uses of freshman jack-of-all-trades Kevin Concepcion; and the new-and-improved Brennan Armstrong.
“Eye discipline is very important, especially the way they use Concepcion,” UNC senior linebacker Cedric Gray said earlier this week. “They bring him in and out of the box, so I know that’s going to be very important.
“They do a lot of shifts, they do a lot trades with their tight ends. They bring in a good amount of 21 personnel, 12 personnel, 11, 10. So, they’re going to be switching in and out of personnel, so eye discipline is very important.”
Concepcion will line up just about anywhere on the field. He leads the team with 57 receptions and eight touchdown catches, plus he’s run the ball out of the backfield or on end-arounds/reverses 27 times, and Concepcion has even completed a 17-yard pass.
A former quarterback at Virginia, Armstrong started three times against the Tar Heels when with the Wahoos, winning once and losing a close game last season. Two years ago, he set a single-game passing record by a UNC opponent with 554 yards in a UVA loss.
Now, however, Armstrong is nearly a run-first quarterback in his recent reinvention. Benched for sophomore M.J. Morris earlier in the season, Armstrong was re-inserted as the starter earlier this month when Morris decided he wanted to redshirt.
In two games as the once-again starter, Armstrong has completed 30 of 43 passes for 316 yards and three scores, plus he’s run the ball 36 times for 223 yards – 116 last weekend at Virginia Tech and 107 the week before at Wake Forest.
“Even with his tenure at Virginia, he’s always been a quarterback that’s good with his legs, he’s very dynamic, he can throw really well, he can run really well,” senior jack Kaimon Rucker said. “I feel like this is another opportunity for him to do that again.
“And so, for our point of emphasis, we have to make sure we got to contain him, and when he decides to run, we’ve got to meet him where he decides to run.”
During State’s current four-game win streak, its defense has affected opposing passing games at a high level. Clemson, Miami, Wake, and Virginia Tech combined to complete 57.2 percent of their 152 pass attempts with seven balls intercepted. Plus, its pass rush registered nine sacks and 43 hurries.
A point of emphasis for the Heels (8-3, 4-3) is picking up where an actual blitz may come from. State stunts a lot, and tries to apply misconception to opponents. In the win streak, it has blitzed 49 times, and it has also pressured the QBs 45 times, but maybe a tad more than half of those came on actual blitzes.
“Yeah, that 3-3-5 stack, they can bring guys from basically everywhere,” UNC quarterback Drake Maye said. “They can mix it up, they have some great players and some guys back from last year that made some plays.
“Watching tape from last year, you see how they dropped eight on us and rushed three and were effective doing it.”
NC State is ranked No. 22 nationally in total defense, the second highest of any UNC opponent this season, behind Clemson, which is No. 10.
The Wolfpack is 16th against the run, allowing only 102.5 yards per contest, and is 50th in passing yards allowed, but more important, it’s No. 24 in pass defense efficiency. And above all that, State brings a ruggedness to the field the Heels say they must be ready for and match.
“Definitely their toughness, and I don’t know how they mix up some of their packages, some of their blitzes,” UNC junior wide receiver J.J. Jones said. “Some of the blitzes they bring on their defensive side is tough to handle. But at the same time, it’s things that we’ve been able to watch and watch them going over film.”
Taking on this State team, especially as it’s played over the last month, is about being physical, but the Tar Heels say it’s also about being great in pre-snap on both sides of the ball.
