#ReportCards: Grantham and Cards Prepare for NC State's Explosive Offense
October 01, 2015 | Football
NC State offense averaging 41.3 points per game in the first four games
Facing NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham faced NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett last year, and the second-year defensive coordinator is a big fan of the quarterback's ability. Brissett completed 18-of-32 passes for 223 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the 30-18 loss to the Cardinals last season. So far this year, Brissett has improved his game and has yet to thrown an interception and leads the nation in completion percentage.
"He is completing the ball at a high percentage, hasn't thrown an interception this year," Grantham said. "He makes plays, he is a guy that is hard to tackle. He can make a guy miss and extend the play to create an advantage for them moving the ball down the field."
Defense Continues To Make Interceptions
The Cardinals hold the nation's longest consecutive games with an interception steak at 17 games after recording three pick versus Samford. Last season, the Cardinals had 26 interceptions, and the secondary is one pace to surpass that total..Louisville has nine interceptions , which is more than they had last season through the first four games.
"They do a good job of understanding the system, they understand the calls and the looks you want to give," Grantham said. "Then the make a play on the ball and that is something we have really done a good job of. It is important to continue to do that because when we create turnovers, it obviously increases our chances of winning."
Jaire Alexander's Strong Play
Freshman cornerback Jaire Alexander is one of the many underclassmen playing significant time for Louisville, and making big contributions on the field. Alexander has appeared in all four games this season on special teams returning punts and in the defensive back field. He has a team-long 24 yard punt return in the home opener against Houston, and recorded his first career interception last week against Samford.
"Jaire is a guy that has played in every game, and has appeared early in those games," Grantham said. "He is obviously a guy we look at as a major contributor. He is a guy that gets better every week and gets better at practice each week."
Junior linebacker Keith Brown
On the improvements from the defense last week
"Yeah, we got more turnovers, we were playing super fast, we got sacks. We played good no matter the competition."
On the importance of winning the next game
"It is a must for us, just for us, for our team and our confidence and to get ourselves back on track. That is big for us."
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham faced NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett last year, and the second-year defensive coordinator is a big fan of the quarterback's ability. Brissett completed 18-of-32 passes for 223 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the 30-18 loss to the Cardinals last season. So far this year, Brissett has improved his game and has yet to thrown an interception and leads the nation in completion percentage.
"He is completing the ball at a high percentage, hasn't thrown an interception this year," Grantham said. "He makes plays, he is a guy that is hard to tackle. He can make a guy miss and extend the play to create an advantage for them moving the ball down the field."
Defense Continues To Make Interceptions
The Cardinals hold the nation's longest consecutive games with an interception steak at 17 games after recording three pick versus Samford. Last season, the Cardinals had 26 interceptions, and the secondary is one pace to surpass that total..Louisville has nine interceptions , which is more than they had last season through the first four games.
"They do a good job of understanding the system, they understand the calls and the looks you want to give," Grantham said. "Then the make a play on the ball and that is something we have really done a good job of. It is important to continue to do that because when we create turnovers, it obviously increases our chances of winning."
Jaire Alexander's Strong Play
Freshman cornerback Jaire Alexander is one of the many underclassmen playing significant time for Louisville, and making big contributions on the field. Alexander has appeared in all four games this season on special teams returning punts and in the defensive back field. He has a team-long 24 yard punt return in the home opener against Houston, and recorded his first career interception last week against Samford.
"Jaire is a guy that has played in every game, and has appeared early in those games," Grantham said. "He is obviously a guy we look at as a major contributor. He is a guy that gets better every week and gets better at practice each week."
Junior linebacker Keith Brown
On the improvements from the defense last week
"Yeah, we got more turnovers, we were playing super fast, we got sacks. We played good no matter the competition."
On the importance of winning the next game
"It is a must for us, just for us, for our team and our confidence and to get ourselves back on track. That is big for us."
Players Mentioned
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