Doeren Seems Unconcerned With Nickel Situation
Fall camp is over for NC State, but one projected starter has yet to participate in a single practice.
Stephen Griffin sat out the 2017 season after transferring to NC State from Tennessee. Even though he missed a year of live action, the redshirt junior turned heads in the spring with his play at the nickel position. The Wolfpack was looking to find a replacement for Shawn Boone during spring camp and Griffin, previously a safety, did well.
However, a lower leg injury has unfortunately forced him to miss all of fall camp, Dave Doeren stated on Tuesday.
"[Stephen Griffin] is a guy that still hasn't practiced," Doeren said. "We have to get him back out there."
Obviously that should be a concern given Griffin was a projected starter. However, Doeren said it's a matter of time and is a situation they will have to continually assess going forward.
"We'll just have to see," he said when asked how much time he needs to be ready. "The good thing is he took every rep in the spring. He got soaked in the spring. He has played division one football for two years so he's a little different than most guys."
Freddie Phillips opened 2017 as the starter before going down in the season opener against South Carolina with an Achilles injury that eventually forced him to redshirt. Phillips didn't play in the spring, either, but the redshirt junior is now back and healthy.
However, the name generating the most buzz has been true freshman Tanner Ingle. The Orlando (FL) standout came in right away and started to make plays, which Doeren referenced early in camp.
"Tanner Ingle has looked really good," Doeren said after the first day in pads. "Probably the best of all the defensive freshmen so far."
He raved even more about Ingle at Media Day.
"I think he's probably top five football aptitude that I've ever been around," Doeren said of Ingle. "His ability to not just comprehend the information because a lot of players do that, but apply it...
it's uncanny, he's really smart. His application of knowledge for how young he is, it's impressive.
"He's also very physical. We knew that when we recruited him, but he's a striker... just does a lot of things really well, and he's definitely going to play as a freshman and have a big role for us on special teams."
With all that being said, Ingle is still a true freshman, and most coaches probably don't want to have to rely on a player that young at a critical position like nickel.
Doeren, though, seems unfazed by the current situation at the position. Last year State tried several players at nickel throughout the year to back up Boone, ranging from Stephen Morrison and Brock Miller to giving a spot-start to Chris Ingram.
So far this year there has been no buzz about any other players moving there. In fact, the staff moved Morrison from nickel to running back to help with depth issues at that position.
"We are excited about what Tanner Ingle and Freddie Phillips are doing over there," Doeren said. "It's not a position where we're out of guys by any means. We feel better about the depth there than we have in years."
The hope is that Griffin, who has above-average size and athleticism for the position, is able to practice soon.
"Getting Stephen back will help us, no doubt," Doeren said. "When he's ready he'll be out there."