NC State defensive tackle C.J. Clark out for season with knee injury

C.J. Clark did not suit up against Clemson because of an injury and now we know that, unfortunately, it’s a serious one. Clark announced Sunday night that he needs knee surgery, which will keep him out for the remainder of the 2021 season.

Four games into the season and the Wolfpack is down two defensive starters—Clark and Payton Wilson—plus a regular in the secondary (Cyrus Fagan). These are tough setbacks, but at least the Wolfpack’s defense has the depth to prevent those losses from becoming a crisis.

Clark started all three games prior to this weekend at nose tackle; in his absence, Cory Durden got the nod and stepped up with his best game of the season: six tackles, including 1.5 sacks. Durden probably solidified himself as the starter moving forward, but State’s got options with decent depth still to work with.

State should be okay despite the personnel losses so far, but let’s not go testing that depth too much, okay, football gods?