Barlow: "They Make Us Better"
George Barlow is using his time to his advantage. The spring is the beginning in more ways than one.
Sans Mike Stevens and Johnathan Alston, both lost to graduation after last season, Barlow is faced with the task of finding players that will contribute in 2018.
He will lean heavily on Nick McCloud. The junior from Rock Hill, South Carolina -- who intercepted a pass in the 2017 Sun Bowl against Arizona State -- is the likely starter at one of the cornerback slots.
After that, it is up in the air.
“You have got Nick McCloud, who has played a bunch and who is doing well and has been pretty consistent,” Barlow said. “The other side is where we have got to work some guys in and see if we can fill that spot.”
The names that are in the mix are fairly certain but where they end up in the two-deep is anyone’s guess at the moment.
The ones who learn the fastest will earn the fastest, and there is playing time on the line.
“Right now you have got Chris Ingram who is working over there Maurice Trowell, Vernon Grier, all of those guys are doing well right now,” Barlow said. “They have just got a lot to learn and we have just got to get them where they can help us.”
NC State also added two newcomers at cornerback in January: junior college transfer Kishawn Miller and four-star signee De'Von Graves. Miller hasn't hit the field yet as he's recovering from an injury.
"I haven't been able to see Kishawn yet," said Barlow. "He was dinged up his last game, but that hurt us a little bit this spring because we were depending on him and De'Von really adding some depth this spring to the position.
"That really hurt because he's definitely a kid who has the transition, hips, and competitive spirit to be really good. We're trying to get him healthy right now and once he's healthy he's definitely a guy who can break into that position and play some for us."
As for Graves, the heralded recruit out of Virginia is starting to show signs of why he was so coveted in the 2018 recruiting class.
"He's doing good," Barlow said of Graves. "His biggest thing is learning defensively what we want to do, but in terms of pure ability, he definitely has the ability to play and possibly play early.
"He started a little slow, but the last practices he's done some nice things and showed some great flashes. He's understanding what to do so his athletic ability showed more in the last couple of practices. We're definitely happy to have him here and he's going to play a lot of football for us."
For the entire position group, it is critical to maximize its reps more than any position group in the spring. NC State has a talented wide receiver corps with Ryan Finley, one of the better quarterbacks in the nation, throwing the ball to them.
It can only help the cornerbacks get acclimated to top notch competition.
“It is definitely a benefit,” Barlow said of the time with his players in March. “Every practice you have got to have your 'A' game because they are not only talented receivers but they have that killer mentality. They are physical so they make us better.”
NC State is looking to continue its move upward both in the ACC and on the national scene. With the loss of several seniors from last season’s squad, it will not be easy.
The big test to whether or not the program is emerging into one the elite ones in the nation is if NC State has the depth within, along with the incoming talent to not take a step back after a mass exodus due to graduation.
The team is working together, including competitively against each other in spring practice, to keep moving forward.
"Iron sharpens iron," Barlow said. “It definitely applies every day when we go out to practice so we have to go out there and prepared with what we are doing because we are playing against some quality receivers so it definitely helps us to get better.”