RALEIGH, N.C. -- There are a lot of numbers that could be used as evidence that N.C. State’s defense just wasn’t very good last year.
But
sophomore linebacker M.J. Salahuddin doesn’t need to see any of those
numbers. He was on the sideline for much of his freshman year, watching
as the defense -- and the linebackers, in particular -- struggled to
stop anyone. He saw it firsthand.
During N.C. State’s 38-24 Music City Bowl loss to Vanderbilt, Salahuddin decided that he was sick of being a bystander.
“It
started right after we lost the bowl game. I told myself that I had to
do something about it,” Salahuddin said. “I can’t keep sitting on the
bench. I just wanted to get in the action.”
Salahuddin
spent most of his freshman year on special teams, rarely getting any
snaps on defense. He embraced his role on that side of the ball, knowing
it’s tough for freshmen to play.
But as he watched the defense get gashed on a seemingly regular basis, it was hard for him not to feel frustrated.
“I
definitely thought I could have contributed a little bit, but I feel
like everything happens for a reason. So obviously, if it wasn’t my
time, it wasn’t my time,” Salahuddin said. “But I definitely saw a lot
of what to do and what not to do. ... I sat behind all the linebackers,
just learned a lot from them and now it’s my time to go ahead and do
what I’ve got to do.”
When new head coach Dave
Doeren and his staff came in the next month, Salahuddin took that as a
fresh start for Salahuddin, too. New strength and conditioning coach
Jason Veltkamp felt like Salahuddin could put on weight without losing
any speed, and he did that. He gained 15-20 pounds of mostly muscle
before spring practice started, and he’s just as fast as he was before.
He
had to dedicate himself to the weight-gain program to put it on so
quickly. After the bowl game, though, he went home to visit his family
and took a break from football, and a talk with his father helped
everything click into place for him.
“After
the season, I just went home and talked to my family, had a little break
with them. Me and my father, we basically decided it was my time, right
here, right now,” Salahuddin said. “I came back ready to go with that
mentality, and I think it worked out for the better for me.”
When
spring practice began, Salahuddin was moved from the outside to the
middle linebacker spot. That’s not as easy a transition as it sounds --
the middle linebacker is often responsible for making calls on defense
-- but the new and improved Salahuddin was ready for it.
After spending a season on the sideline and waiting patiently for his time to come, he was willing to do whatever he had to do.
“I’ve
always felt like I was coachable, so whatever the coaches need me to do
and whatever the team needs for me to do, I always feel like it’s my
responsibility to get it done,” Salahuddin said. “So if they need me to
move to offense, I’ll do that. If they need me to move around on
defense, I’ll do whatever the coaches need me to do to benefit the
team.”
N.C. State’s spring game was dominated
by the defense, which was to be expected considering all the playmakers
N.C. State lost on offense, not to mention a whole new scheme. N.C.
State’s defense is the same as it was under the previous coaching staff
-- a 4-3.
But Salahuddin was the story, as he
came from virtually nowhere to register eight tackles. His combination
of speed and newly-gained strength was obvious.
Salahuddin
was feeling the effects of his hard work paying off during that game,
and he knew he was on the right track. “I definitely think it was a
boost coming into the fall camp, trying to build on the spring and going
into the fall to do what I did in the spring, if not better,”
Salahuddin said. “I’m just ready to build off that and feed off that and
get better every day.”
Since training camp
started, Salahuddin was moved back to the outside and he’s been able to
keep the positive momentum from the spring going. His head coach called
him someone who “grinds every day”, and his teammates at linebacker feed
off of that energy. A position of weakness last year for N.C. State is
slowly turning into a strength, and one with a lot of depth.
A
season on special teams can humble any highly-touted freshman.
Salahuddin was a two-star recruit, and he has always had to prove
himself on the field. But he’s fine with that, and after a season spent
observing older teammates, he’s found a new appreciation and love for
the game.
“I definitely think I’m more mature. I
think I love the game a little bit more every day. Every day I come out
here, I just appreciate that this is what I once dreamed of as a kid,”
Salahuddin said.
“This year, I just wanted to
add a little bit more to my team as a leader. I wanted to come in here
and focus, play with a chip on my shoulder and provide for my team as
much as they need and do all that I can this year.”
