NC State safety Jakeen Harris out for the season

Jakeen Harris didn’t play against Notre Dame on Saturday, and unfortunately, he’s not just nicked up—he tore a pectoral muscle early in the UConn game, and that’ll keep him out for the rest of 2023.

The injury, which Dave Doeren called “just kind of a freaky deal,” apparently happened on the third snap of the night. Harris made a routine-looking tackle on that play, but did have the receiver come down on his left side, which may have contributed.

It’s a significant blow to the defense to lose Harris, who definitely was missed against the Irish. The Wolfpack will turn to Sean Brown or Bishop Fitzgerald to start in that spot moving forward, and perhaps Rakeim Ashford can help there once he’s ready to go as well.

Harris’ injury represents a lot of valuable experience sidelined, and his backups are going to have to grow up quickly.