The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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100 ■ THE WOLFPACKER SAFETIES returned to start against UNC. However, Kidd-Glass started for the 10th time and played 47 snaps against the Sun Devils. He finished the season with 35 tackles, two passes broken up and one intercep- tion, the latter came against Clemson. "He needs to play both strong safety and free safety," Roof said. "You want your strong safety to hawk the ball, too. I want all of them to do that. Kidd-Glass is an instinctive player as well. "Your defensive backs have to play the deep ball in the air be- cause they will get tested every week." The 6-2, 232-pound Wright ended up logging 196 plays in eight games and accumulated 17 tackles with two passes broken up. The fifth-year senior will try to end his Wolfpack career on a high note and build off of netting a career-high seven tackles in 75 snaps in the win over North Carolina. "I don't know what Dexter was like before I got here, but I think football's very important to him and he takes a lot of pride in what he wants to do," Roof said. "He wants to take the next step." Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Stallings started against Marshall in the second game of the season, logging 19 snaps, but mostly played special teams the rest of the year. The imposing 6-4, 223-pounder finished with four tackles in 65 defensive snaps. "You see the confidence rise, and that's a fun thing to watch," Roof said. "There are growing pains with everything, but to see that process and to be part of it, that is one of the reasons why I got into coaching." ■ The safety position is never the easiest for a young player to break into. NC State junior Tim Kidd-Glass was thrown into the fire last year, though, starting 10 of 13 games, making 35 tackles with two passes broken up. He snared his first interception against Clemson. The 6-foot-1, 202-pounder from Danville, Va., was relegated to special teams as a true freshman, so going through the ups and downs of his first year starting was crucial to his development last year. "Coming in as a young player, I did have highs and lows," he said. "Some games it was just a learning experience. Some stuff I had to learn by playing. "My coaches always kept me encouraged and kept it real with me. After a while, you find that medium of where I need to be." Kidd-Glass moved into the starting lineup for the second game of the season at free safety against Marshall, following an injury to Dexter Wright in the opener. He started nine straight games, and then was relegated to special teams at Wake Forest and UNC. He returned to the starting lineup and had five tackles in 47 plays in the Sun Bowl win over Arizona State. The pick against Clemson was definitely one of the big highlights of his season. "That game I had some good highlights," Kidd-Glass said. "That was my first career interception. Clemson was in town and it was a packed house, and it was the first series. "My other favorite play was against Syracuse. [Quarterback] Eric Dungey threw a ball into the middle of the end zone and I had to redirect, turn my hips and came back inside to help make the play." The NC State seniors created the standard last year, and Kidd-Glass hopes to continue it. "Shawn Boone was definitely one of the guys I looked up to," he said. "Maybe the guy. He taught us how much we had to work and helped me with the playbook the first year. "Now that he's gone, we have to show that to the younger guys. We had a lot of great leaders last year. We are going to keep that going. I believe in this defense, and this defense will definitely be good." Rivals.com ranked Kidd-Glass a three-star prospect in the class of 2016, and he verbally committed early to NC State on Oct. 3, 2014, over offers from Virginia, ECU, Cincinnati and Charlotte, and West Virginia tried to get in with him late. The former Danville (Va.) George Washing - ton High standout still gets to go home every now and then, but he's focused on his aca- demics and football. He was also known as Tim Glass for the majority of his prep career. "Adding Kidd and a hyphen represents both sides of my family," Kidd-Glass said. "The Glass side of my family is my dad's. The Kidd side is my mom's side of the family. I love them both. "Tim Glass is still my name at the end of the day, but Kidd-Glass if my football name." Charlotte Hornets wing Michael Gilchrist became Michael Kidd-Gilchrist when he played at Kentucky, a change that helped so- lidify Kidd-Glass' choice, though he doesn't think they are related. "I said 'Man, Kidd-Gilchrist. I wonder if I should do Kidd-Glass,'" Kidd-Glass said. "I was going to do it regardless." The love of hitting is what led Kidd-Glass to give up his days playing wide receiver in college. "I like contact and I just like to hit people and make plays on the ball," Kidd-Glass said. "I can both sides if I had to — nah, I'm just playing. I just like defense. "It's like you against the world. On special teams you can go crazy." — Jacey Zembal Kidd-Glass, who started at free safety in 10 of 13 games during his sophomore campaign, notched his first career interception versus Clemson last fall. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Quick Facts Position Coach: Ted Roof (first season) Returning Starters: Junior free safety Tim Kidd-Glass (10); redshirt junior strong safety Jarius Morehead (13). Starters Lost: None. FYI: Athlon ranks the NCSU defensive backs at No. 9 in the ACC … NC State has had some attrition in the secondary, but the class of 2018 fortified the depth chart with seven defensive back signees. Some could eventually be switched to safety, but two immediate safety candidates include freshmen Malik Dunlap and Tyler Baker-Williams … Baker-Williams was ranked No. 40 overall in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2018. The Rivals.com three-star prospect picked NC State over Appalachian State, Colorado State, East Carolina and Old Dominion … Dunlap was a sleeper recruit who went on to be ranked No. 36 overall in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2018. He said South Carolina made a run at him leading up to signing day, and West Virginia was also originally in the mix. ■ By The Numbers 4 Contests where opposing teams passed for at least 350 yards, with Syracuse tallying an opponent-best 385 yards. 8 Players who started between the two cornerback spots and two safety positions last year, including departing nickel Shawn Boone, who also started once at safety. 17 Career interceptions at Fayetteville (N.C.) Terry Sanford High for redshirt sophomore safety Isaiah Stallings. Getting To Know: Tim Kidd-Glass