NC State Missing Nick McCloud's Leadership, Confidence at Cornerback

This was expected to be the breakout year for Nick McCloud, and while he still could be a factor, an injury in the win over East Carolina has sidelined McCloud since the opener.

Cornerbacks coach George Barlow raved about his senior cornerback.

“He’s improved a lot, not only as a player but also a leader and a person on the football team,” Barlow said of McCloud.  “He's probably one of the guys that everyone in the secondary looks up to, so he’s been missed a lot. 

“It’s not only the productivity at the position the first couple of games but just the overall leadership and the attitude... the tenacity he brings.  We really miss his leadership, too.”

McCloud has been a pivotal player in NC State’s secondary.  He missed the Syracuse and Florida State games in 2018, and in both contests NC State allowed over 400 yards passing, the most yards yielded last season. 

The two teams also totaled seven touchdowns and with just one interception by the Pack defense. 

McCloud started 11 games last season.   Only Clemson passed for over 300 yards, and Wake Forest and Virginia were the only teams to throw more than one touchdown pass against the Wolfpack defense.  

His best performance may have come at Marshall, where NC State allowed him to shadow Herd star wideout Tyree Brady.  McCloud followed Brady all over the field, limiting him to just three catches for 25 yards.

“It definitely hurts,” Barlow added on McCloud’s absence.  “The first game we were able to move him around some and even last year when things were breaking down we could move him to where guys were struggling or a receiver is really going. 

“It’s an advantage when you have a guy who has been through the fire like he has and improving each year.  We’ve been expecting this to be his year, leadership-wise and productivity-wise, so he has been missed.”

For Barlow, one of McCloud’s biggest strengths is his confidence.

“That’s the key to the position,” Barlow stated.  “It’s not only the repetition but having that confidence and playing with technique and poise when you're out there.  Nick is the guy where you know he’s going to play with confidence and technique.

“For him, that confidence is so critical.  We can talk technique, but these guys really have to play with confidence if they are going to excel at cornerback.”

NC State started sophomore Teshaun Smith in McCloud’s spot at West Virginia, and Smith struggled at times, particularly in coverage.  West Virginia wideout Sam James totaled nine catches for 155 yards and a touchdown, and the majority of his production came against Smith.

This week it appears NC State will be going with senior Kishawn Miller.

“Kishawn will continue to get better,” Barlow said. “The one thing he does is play with energy and confidence.  He could make a mistake here or there, but I like the mindset he’s in.  He’ll continue to get better and play more and more because he plays with technique, he plays with pad level, and like we talked about earlier, he plays with a lot of confidence.

“Kishawn will tackle, and he's been doing a good job in our dime package.  We're going to have to him play some more at the corner position because he’s playing with so much confidence.  He hasn't played a whole lot of snaps, but with each snap he's going to improve and get better.”

The Wolfpack could also lean more on junior cornerback Chris Ingram.  He has made strides the last two seasons, and Barlow has been pleased with Ingram’s development.

“He is playing better,” Barlow said of Ingram.  “He had a couple of plays in the West Virginia game where he lacked technique, but he's playing with confidence and swagger. He is tackling better.

“The thing he's trying to do, that Nick had advanced to, is being more of a vocal leader among the players.  He needs to keep them going and make sure they are in the right mindset every play, every practice, every meeting.  Chris is learning and growing into that role, sort of like Nick had to do.”