McCloud Ready For His Next Challenge
A true sophomore in 2017, Nick McCloud was still finding his way when the Wolfpack faced Marshall. He was in just his second game as a full-time starter, and he had primarily played on side of the formation given that's how the Wolfpack prefers to play their cornerbacks.
However, that night, Marshall wide receiver Tyre Brady was putting on a show. Brady had 188 yards receiving at the half and he was primarily lining up on the side opposite of McCloud.
NC State's coaching staff chose to deviate from the normal gameplan and allow McCloud to "shadow" Brady for the remainder of the game. Instead of playing his normal right cornerback position, McCloud followed Brady all over the field, even into the slot.
"During the game he was hot when they first came out," McCloud said. "When they told me to follow him, that got me going because they had trust in me and wanted me to follow him. I had to get going real quick. After that, it was just about competing."
Brady finished with a Carter-Finley record 248 yards receiving, but the Wolfpack came away with the 37-20 win. He's back this year for the Herd, and expect NC State to employ a similar strategy.
McCloud said he shadowed wide receivers in each of the Wolfpack's first two games of the 2018 season, including JMU 6'5 wideout Riley Stapleton.
"I'm much more comfortable with it now, "he said. "Against Marshall, that was my first time, but I've done it more since and I did it in the first two games we've played. Really, I love the competition part of it so I don't mind it at all.
"I feel like [Brady is] a more dynamic receiver [than Stapleton]. He's faster... he'll go get the ball. I feel like he’s a lot better. He’s got his own game and perfected it. He was one of the top receivers we played last year, if not the best."
One big change for Marshall is at quarterback. Last year's starter, Chase Litton, lit up the Wolfpack for over 350 yards passing, but he's now a Kansas City Chief. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Greene is the new signal-caller and McCloud believes the Wolfpack have a plan in place for Greene.
"I don’t think he tries to get out of the pocket a lot so he’s similar to the guy last year," McCloud said. "We have to challenge him and make him make tough throws. The guy last year did make good throws, and we have to make this quarterback do the same."
NC State is allowing just ten points per game, but questions still remain about the Wolfpack offense. McCloud believes this is the perfect opportunity to show that the defense can be strong in 2018.
"Going on the road will be the biggest challenge," he said. "We just have to lock in like we did the first two games and everything else will take care of itself."