The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1000643
JULY 2018 ■ 87 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2018 NC State defensive coordinator and line- backers coach Dave Huxtable joked about how much Pratt did not want to be a line- backer. Then after a full season at the posi- tion, Pratt now loves being a 'backer. "It all started with him just embrac- ing the move from safety to linebacker," Huxtable said. "When he first came here, he was fighting about it. "He embraced it, and he learned it. He watched Airius [Moore]. He watched Jerod [Fernandez], and he picked it up very fast." Pratt was athletic enough at safety, but his body was taking on linebacker dimen- sions. He is about 20 pounds heavier than his safety days and is now 6-3, 245 pounds. "It was a natural move. The coaching staff knew he was going to grow into a linebacker," director of strength and condi- tioning Dantonio Burnette said. "I think Germaine Pratt has one of the highest football IQs I've seen here," Bur- nette, a former linebacker, said. "He is nat- urally physical. He can take on blocks well. He can run 65 to 70 yards downfield and is blowing past DBs to go make tackles." Pratt's instincts have led Burnette to compare him to some of the best lineback- ers that have ever played at NC State. "He reminds me of Nate Irving and Ste- phen Tulloch with his football IQ and the way he sees things," Burnette said. Pratt played a lot of snaps last year, but never started for the Wolfpack. He was fourth on the team with 69 tackles, and also contributed 5.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions, one that he returned for a touchdown. Pratt was able to surpass his tackle total from his first two years at NC State in one season. He had a combined 62 tackles, four passes broken up, one interception (versus South Alabama) and three forced fumbles in 26 contests playing safety. The safety background helped him last season with a 75-yard interception return against North Carolina, and he had the 25- yard pick-six to help the Wolfpack defeat Louisville. His big-play ability wasn't limited to defense either. He recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown in the loss against Notre Dame. The last time a Wolfpack defender had two scores in a season was cornerback David Amerson in 2011. "He had a really good year doing it for the first time," Huxtable said. "I am very impressed with Germaine." "He's got the size, the strength and the speed," Huxtable said. "Now he's just got to continue to get the reps to be able to play faster and hone in on those instincts. "He's going to be a super player for us." Pratt won NC State's Ken McNeill Iron Wolf Award for making a comeback from an injury. "He's worked very hard to learn the linebacker position," Huxtable said. "He's worked very hard in the weight room, and on his flexibility and his movement. "He's a very smart football player. He's one of those guys where you can tell him once and he's got it." NC State's defense is seeking some new leaders, and Pratt feels comfortable in that role. He knows he's the "older guy" in the room at linebacker. With the departures of Fernandez and Moore, he's ready for an increased work- load and he'll be trying to fill the leader- ship void. "I think the game is more mental than physical," Pratt said. "I want to help the younger guys come up to the standard that we already set from the last defense." The Wolfpack have a cadre of redshirt freshmen and sophomores at linebacker, who are fighting to join Pratt. "They are competing, working every day and going to the film room," Pratt said. NC State had seven players selected in the NFL Draft in April. It remains to be seen if Pratt will join his former team- mates in the pros someday. His move to linebacker has likely made it very pos- sible, though. "He looks like a linebacker," Huxtable said. "He's got that body for it. He's got that mental and physical toughness to come down and play it. "I am just looking for him to really have a great senior year and lead our defense." ■ "He's got the size, the strength and the speed. Now he's just got to continue to get the reps to be able to play faster and hone in on those instincts. "He's going to be a super player for us." ■ Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Dave Huxtable BY JACEY ZEMBAL T he move that fifth-year senior Germaine Pratt didn't want to make could be the difference in both his long-term future and the Wolf- pack's present. Pratt arrived to NC State as a Rivals.com four-star safety pros- pect out of High Point (N.C.) Central. He played his first two years in the secondary before redshirting following shoulder surgery. He also made the move to linebacker. THE RELUCTANT LB Senior Germaine Pratt Moved From Safety To Linebacker Two Years Ago And Is Thriving At His New Position