Aydan White was NC State’s latest breakout star on defense last year. Who’s next?

It was the game against Wake Forest, in early November, when Aydan White realized his side of the field had gone suspiciously quiet. The Demon Deacons kept throwing the other way, even though it meant forcing Sam Hartman to throw across his body over and over again, the ultimate sign of respect for a defensive back.
White, whose breakout sophomore season at N.C. State ended up earning him All-ACC honors, had by that point gone from unknown to very much known. Not only was there no room throwing his way — he didn’t allow a single touchdown in coverage all season — it was too dangerous to even try.
“It’s a harder throw for the quarterback, across the body,” White said. “I was wondering, when am I going to get some action?”
But after Jakeen Harris and Cyrus Fagan both intercepted Hartman throws, Wake Forest couldn’t avoid White any longer. And his interception on the first play of the fourth quarter left the Deacons with too much work to do in what ended up being a 30-21 N.C. State win.
N.C. State’s Cyrus Fagan (4) celebrates with Aydan White (3) after White returned his interception 84-yards for a touchdown during the first half of N.C. State’s game against Texas Tech at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.
N.C. State’s Cyrus Fagan (4) celebrates with Aydan White (3) after White returned his interception 84-yards for a touchdown during the first half of N.C. State’s game against Texas Tech at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com
White only had the one interception return for a touchdown, against Texas Tech in September, among his four on the season. It felt like more than that because of his knack for not only being in the right place at the right time, but the ball-hawking instincts of a receiver.
“He catches the ball well, which a lot of DBs don’t,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “And as you saw, he can run when he gets his hands on it.”
White is not the first N.C. State player to go from name on the depth chart to name on the honors list without much advance warning, a product of a defensive culture that is now being passed down from generation to generation.
White and Shyheim Battle came into the program together and learned to adapt and buy in. Now, they have become the starters at cornerback on opposite sides of the field and mentors of their own, what White called a “full-circle moment.”
“This is how we play,” White said. “This is how we operate. You get with it, or you’re gone.”
New quarterback Brennan Armstrong, the Virginia transfer, didn’t need to get to N.C. State to see that. He could see it from afar. (And all too closely: He was knocked out of Virginia’s 2020 loss to N.C. State with a concussion; Tanner Ingle was ejected for targeting on the play.)
N.C. State cornerback Aydan White (3) tackles North Carolina wide receiver Antoine Green (3) during the first half of N.C. State’s game against UNC at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday, Nov. 25, 2022.
N.C. State cornerback Aydan White (3) tackles North Carolina wide receiver Antoine Green (3) during the first half of N.C. State’s game against UNC at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com
“Hard. They just play hard. Tough,” Armstrong said. “When I played them in 2020, I was like damn, these guys hit hard. They play fast. You can feel that as you get into a game, you can feel how they’re playing. I was like, these guys play hard. This is going to be a tough game. And sure enough, I got knocked out. But I had that impression of them and I still have that impression of them going against them every day on defense now. I’m getting used to it. They make our lives hard. Their defense is tough.”
And as veteran defensive stars like Isaiah Moore and Drake Thomas finally move on — although Payton Wilson has not — White’s experience is instructive. Not only will the Wolfpack need a few more players to take that kind of a jump this season to once again restock on defense, there’s still room for White to get even better.
Doeren thinks Davin Vann can rise to the level of C.J. Clark and Savion Battle on the defensive line and Devan Boykin can claim a spot in the secondary, but it’s a defensive culture that is built to provide opportunity to whomever is willing to claim it, and the next Aydan White may not identify himself until August.
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