http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/insider/news/story?id=3477965

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" COACH AND PROGRAM Tom O'Brien fully expects the second time around to be much different. Sure, there were things that he learned in his first season as the head coach at NC State and things his players learned about playing for him. Don't be late. Don't mess up. Hold on to the ball. That last one took a while to sink in for a Wolfpack team that committed 22 turnovers (15 interceptions and seven fumbles) in the first six games alone. No team can survive nearly four giveaways a game, but after a few changes in personnel and a few changes in attitude, the Wolfpack stopped turning the ball over -- for a while -- and turned its season around. In fact, the Pack won four consecutive games -- over rivals East Carolina and North Carolina, over O'Brien's former employer Virginia and at Miami -- to even its record at 5-5. Amazingly, considering how the season started, the Wolfpack would have qualified for postseason play if it had won either of its last two games. But the turnover bug returned, State lost at Wake Forest and at home to Maryland in the regular-season finale to finish the season 5-7. O'Brien charged into his second spring practice refreshed and ready to coach. He reshuffled his offensive line, switched a handful of positions on his defense and opened up the competition for the starting quarterback while two-year starter Daniel Evans recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. And he saw a completely different program. "I think the difference is night and day from last year," O'Brien said at the end of spring practice. "I think everything in our program is way ahead of where we were a year ago. Last year, it took us until the 13th or 14th practice before we got a whole script in. That started the first day of practice in the spring. Our players have a much better understanding of our coaching staff and what we are asking them to do." There were some reasons last year's team was slow to grasp O'Brien's concepts. The regimented head coach, a former Marine Reserve officer, couldn't have been more different than his predecessor, free-spirited Chuck Amato, who was let go by his alma mater after seven consecutive losses to end the 2006 season. And, even before the season began, O'Brien had to deal with more injuries than he ever had to during his 10 years at Boston College. All-ACC tight end and Mackey Award candidate Anthony Hill, the team's leading receiver in 2006, was lost before drills began with a knee injury. Toney Baker, the team's leading rusher in 2006, was lost in the first game of the season to a knee injury. Andre Brown, NC State's leading rusher as a freshman in 2005, went down with a broken foot in the season's sixth game. Quarterback Harrison Beck, who replaced Daniel Evans as the starter in the second game of the season, suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth game and didn't return until the season finale. And those were just the big names. "I've never been around anything like it in all of my years as a college football coach," O'Brien said. The coach and his staff, down to fewer than 60 healthy scholarship players midway through the season, picked up the pieces and moved forward. That it almost managed to qualify for a bowl game is fairly remarkable, though not necessarily surprising given O'Brien's success during his 10 years at Boston College, when he compiled a 75-45 record and won eight straight bowl games. In the spring, O'Brien demanded that his team be more physical on both the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage and more protective of the ball. He let everyone know that every position was up for grabs and that the players most willing to be coached would be the ones most likely in the starting lineup when the Wolfpack opens the college football season with a nationally television Aug. 28 game at South Carolina. O'Brien wasn't alone in thinking that his team improved dramatically during the spring. "I feel so much better now than I did at this time last year, when there were so many questions and uncertainties," defensive coordinator Mike Archer, the former head coach at LSU, said. "I can't sit here and tell you we are going to win this many games. But I do know this -- we are a lot better. We played a lot faster in the spring. We were more aggressive and played with more downhill intensity in the spring. Those are things that are important in stopping big plays, which killed us last year." Heading into the fall, the Wolfpack still has some major questions to answer. Will Evans, a two-year starter at quarterback, be replaced by one of the four talented underclassmen in the program? Can O'Brien, a former offensive line coach, and his assistant in charge of the offensive line, Don Horton, cobble together a collection of five players to protect the quarterback and perhaps open holes for the team's three talented tailbacks? Can the defense fill its holes at linebacker and in the secondary to slow down opponents? And can anyone here hold on to the ball? Transitions, of course, are always tough. And, no matter how good a coaching staff is, there are no quick fixes, especially when it comes to finding players who have to buy into how a new coach runs his program. O'Brien hopes this year's team, which is sprinkled with young talent, will find its identity a little quicker than last year's team and buy into his program a lot sooner. But it's hard to predict with a team that is fairly young and lacking senior leadership. "If you look at our roster, there aren't a lot [of seniors] on it," O'Brien said. "I think we only have 14 seniors, and that includes the four former walk-ons that we gave scholarships to and the two transfers we brought in last year. That means almost half of the senior class are walk-ons or transfers we brought in." The coach also brought in a highly regarded recruiting class, peppered with local talent and a major catch at quarterback, Virginia's Mike Glennon. Now, he's ready for his second go-round with the Wolfpack, a program that is eager to get back to the postseason after back-to-back losing records. "We understand what our concepts are," O'Brien said. "We did not have as many missed tackles and assignments as we did last spring and last season. We are not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination, and we are in no position, at the end of spring, to win a football game right now. "As long as our players recognize that, and are prepared to come into the fall ready to work hard, then I think we can get better.""

7/10/2008 12:35:37 PM

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"QUARTERBACKS It's not like offensive coordinator Dana Bible doesn't have options at quarterback. He just has to find the right person to help the Wolfpack be more successful. Inside the ACC ACCTake an Inside look at the ACC with Blue Ribbon's 2008 team reports Insider: Atlantic Boston College Eagles Clemson Tigers InsiderFree Florida State Seminoles Maryland Terrapins NC State Wolfpack Wake Forest Demon Deacons Coastal Duke Blue Devils Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Miami Hurricanes North Carolina Tar Heels InsiderFree Virginia Cavaliers Virginia Tech Hokies 2008 Blue Ribbon Index Fifth-year senior Daniel Evans (5-10, 180), the son of former Wolfpack quarterback and current radio analyst Johnny Evans, has started 17 games over the last two seasons, including a handful of big wins over the likes of Boston College, Florida State and Miami. That alone will earn him a shot at being the starting quarterback in his final season. But Bible will have to explore his other options, primarily because Evans -- for all of his love of the program and his willingness to take a pounding behind a lackluster offensive line -- is a limited quarterback prone to making costly mistakes. He had 12 interceptions last year to go along with his 11 touchdown passes. He also missed spring practice after having surgery to repair a problem with his right (throwing) shoulder. He should be fit and fine when fall drills begin. But the three underclass quarterbacks in the program got plenty of repetitions in the spring to make their claim for the starting job. Junior Harrison Beck (6-2, 200), who replaced Evans as the starter in last year's second game, guided the offense for four games until he suffered a bruised knee that kept him out until the season finale against Maryland. Beck has a strong arm, and is capable of putting up big numbers, as he did against Boston College, when he completed 26-of-50 passes for 321 yards, the most by an NC State quarterback since Philip Rivers' final game. But he also threw five interceptions against the Eagles, which prevented the Pack from coming away from Chestnut Hill with an upset victory. Sophomore Justin Burke (6-3, 210) came to NC State from Lexington, Ky. with exceptional credentials, as the state's Gatorade Player of the Year and the No. 12 quarterback recruit in the nation. Yet he saw only spot duty last year as a redshirt freshman, completing two of his three passes for 15 yards and throwing one interception. Redshirt freshman Russell Wilson (5-11, 191) was impressive in his first real action with the offense. The two-sport standout saw more action with the starting unit than the other two quarterbacks during spring practice, even though he spent much of the spring bouncing back and forth between the football practice field and the Wolfpack's baseball stadium. The all-star infielder helped Elliott Avent's team get within one game of the College World Series but still made all 15 spring football workouts, putting himself in position to win the starting job. The biggest question mark, however, is whether incoming freshman Mike Glennon (6-6, 195), the top member of the Wolfpack's highly regarded recruiting class, is ready to compete for the job as well. The Centreville, Va., native is the brother of Virginia Tech's Sean Glennon and was ranked as the nation's No. 3 quarterback prospect by ESPN.com. Not only did Glennon pick up a few things by watching a handful of spring practices and the annual Red & White Spring Game, he's already familiar with Bible's offense, because it is exactly what his Westfield High School team ran. Each of the five candidates has an upside and downside. Evans has the most experience and has been under the most pressure in his career. Beck has a strong arm and some game experience. Burke was the most impressive signal-caller in the spring game. Wilson, though small, is a versatile player who runs almost as well as he throws. And Glennon, a Parade All-America, has all the tools and size needed to be a successful college quarterback. The job appears to be wide open, as O'Brien looks to find out who can best take care of the ball. He has let everyone know that last year's total of 23 interceptions and 14 touchdown passes needs to be, at a minimum, reversed. So they will spend all of August practice fighting for the job. "We are working towards better productivity at quarterback," O'Brien said. "We gave Russell a little more of a look during the spring because Beck and Burke had been in the sys-tem for a year and we wanted to see what Wilson could do. He has a pretty good grasp of the offense and what is expected. "But I don't think that position will be solved until the week of the South Carolina game." Last year, O'Brien steadfastly refused to choose a starting quarterback until just before the season opener against UCF. It's likely that he will play it close to the vest again this time around. RUNNING BACKS Heading into last season, the Wolfpack backfield was one of the deepest in the ACC, with a pair of returning starters looking to compete for enough carries to reach 1,000 yards. That battle never even started. In the opener against UCF, junior Toney Baker (5-10, 225), the Wolfpack's leading rusher in 2006, suffered a season-ending knee injury. Five games later, senior Andre Brown (6-0, 228), the team's leading rusher in 2005, broke his foot against Florida State and missed the Pack's next four games. That left junior Jamelle Eugene (5-10, 195), the team's only healthy scholarship tailback for most of the year, to carry the ball most of the time. He performed admirably, even though the Wolfpack was last in the ACC in rushing yards per game. He had three 100-yard rushing games, finished the season with a team-high 667 yards on 172 carries with five rushing touchdowns and caught 42 passes for 263 yards and one receiving touchdown. For that, he won the Governor's Award as the team's most valuable player. "Jamelle is the Energizer Bunny," O'Brien said. "He just keeps on ticking. He goes and goes and goes. We are very fortunate to have him in the program, especially last season." So the good news is that the Wolfpack, like division-favorite Clemson, has its top rusher for the last three seasons returning this year. Brown heads into his senior season with 1,772 career rushing yards, while Baker has 1,272 and Eugene has 726. They have a combined 827 carries during their careers, which gives the Wolfpack one of the most experienced backfields in the league. Brown re-injured his foot in the spring and Baker did not participate as he continued to rehabilitate his surgically repaired knee, but both are expected to be at full strength when fall practice begins. Curtis Underwood (5-11, 215) saw action last year as a freshman when Brown and Baker were out, gaining 84 yards on 19 carries. He missed spring practice because of injury but will return to provide depth, along with Ulysses Tuft, Jr. (5-11, 185), who saw lots of action in the spring. The Wolfpack also brought in two highly regarded running back prospects, Brandon Barnes (6-0, 180) of Bunn, N.C., and Tobias Palmer (5-10, 165) of Pittsboro, N.C. However, they aren't likely to see action in the backfield unless the injury bug hits for the second year in a row. Traditionally, Bible's offense uses the fullback as a blocking position. There are three walk-ons competing for the job -- junior Derrick White (6-1, 225) and sophomores Corey Darrington (5-11, 211) and Harrison Ritcher (5-11, 215). Of the three, Darrington saw the most action in the spring, but that was because he filled in at tailback. Ritcher is the son of former Wolfpack and Buffalo Bills center Jim Ritcher, who won the 1979 Outland Trophy as the nation's most outstanding lineman, and the brother of former Wolfpack tight end John Ritcher. Incoming freshman Colby Jackson (6-2, 225) could help as well, if he's recovered from the serious knee injury that limited his high school senior season."

7/10/2008 12:36:53 PM

why only the intro

7/10/2008 12:37:25 PM

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"WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS The Wolfpack lost three players who caught at least 36 passes last year -- wide receiver John Dunlap (team-high 45 catches for 375 yards), H-back Darrell Blackman (41-593) and tight end Marcus Stone (36-452). The good news is that none of them is irreplaceable. Junior Donald Bowens (6-3, 206), who caught 41 passes for a team-high 598 yards, is a big-play receiver, as he proved in the win over Virginia, when he caught 11 passes for 202 yards, the fifth-best single-game reception and receiving yards totals in school history. A trio of sophomores -- Jarvis Williams (6-4, 205), Darrell Davis (6-4, 200) and Owen Spencer (6-3, 180) -- showed they are ready to contribute, combining to catch 25 passes last season. Junior Geron James (6-3, 200) was not enrolled in school last fall, but he has seen action in important games and has what O'Brien calls "big-play ability." He proved that two years ago when he caught four passes, one of them going for a touchdown, in the Wolfpack's home win over Florida State. But he had to reach several academic benchmarks to be reinstated to the team and will have to work his way back into the rotation. The Wolfpack is also looking for big things from a pair of redshirt freshmen, Steven Howard (6-2, 185) and Jay Smith (6-2, 197), both of whom were highly regarded members of O'Brien's first recruiting class. The Wolfpack will have perhaps the ACC's best tight end, fifth-year senior Anthony Hill (6-6, 265), who missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee just before the start of fall practice. Hill was shaping up to be a first-day NFL draft pick before he suffered the disappointing injury, the first of many that decimated the Wolfpack's roster. In 2006, he was the Wolfpack's team leader with 45 catches -- 15 more than any player on the team. That earned him second-team All-ACC honors. Despite the injury, Hill be-lieves he can improve on those numbers. Watching his teammates go 5-7 last season was almost as difficult as going through rehab, Hill said, but he's eager to put both things behind him. "I think I will be better than ever," Hill said. "I am working on improving my speed, and I feel like I have matured a whole lot since the injury. I am a much more vocal leader now." Hill went through limited drills in the spring, but is expected to be at 100 percent when fall drills begin. He will be joined in the lineup by junior Matt Kushner (6-4, 259), who saw more action than expected last season because of Hill's injury. Kushner twice started games opposite Marcus Stone when the Wolfpack opened games in a two-tight end set. He caught 10 passes, including his first career touchdown reception, for a total of 67 yards. Redshirt freshman George Bryan (6-5, 250) was the hero of the spring football game, pulling down a desperation 30-yard pass from Justin Burke in a crowded end zone to score the game-winning touchdown as time expired. He also performed well throughout the spring, giving the Wolfpack three capable blockers and pass catchers to call on. OFFENSIVE LINE O'Brien doesn't look much like a riverboat gambler, but he's not afraid to shuffle. That's what he and offensive line coach Don Horton did throughout the spring as they tried to find a group of five starters that could protect whoever the quarterback might be a little better and open up a few holes for the Pack's veteran running backs. Last year, a patchwork group of linemen allowed 28 sacks and never really controlled the line of scrimmage, a contributing factor for State finishing next to last in the ACC and 110th in the nation in rushing offense at 89.2 yards per game. To infuse the offensive line with some experience and a little more aggressive spirit, the coaches moved two veteran defensive linemen, junior Ted Larsen (6-2, 285) and senior John Bedics (6-4, 295), to the offensive side of the ball. Bedics had never played offense before, but Larsen had some experience there and excelled, primarily at guard and center, throughout the spring. They saw action with tackles Julian Williams (6-5, 305) and Meares Green (6-4, 306) and guards Curtis Crouch (6-5, 324) and Jake Vermiglio (6-5, 315), with Larsen joining that group at center on the first team in the spring game. Williams, a junior, seems to be set at the left tackle after starting nine games there last year. He missed three games with a knee injury midway through the season, but returned to his starting role when he recovered. Vermiglio, a sophomore, was the only freshman to start a game for the Wolfpack last year, making four starts at left tackle while Williams was out of commission. But he is now the favorite to start at right guard. Green, a senior, is the Pack's most versatile lineman, having seen action at center, guard and tackle during his career. His adaptability gives him an edge over junior Jerrail McCuller (6-7, 330), who made four starts at right tackle last season. Crouch, entering his senior season, has long been expected to be a dominant blocker. That's only happened a few times, but he had a good spring after trimming down to a "svelte" 324 pounds. "We are still looking to find the best rotation, the best starting five we have," O'Brien said. "Hopefully, we will get that settled in the fall. We did a lot of mixing and matching in the spring, which is not good for your continuity, because the more you are together as a unit, the better confidence you have. So doing it this way is not good for the short run, but it is what we have to do to become efficient and effective up front." At center, Larsen could be spelled by Green, junior Andy Barbee (6-3, 310), sophomore Matt McKeon (6-3, 260) or redshirt freshman Henry Lawson (6-3, 285). Other guards in the program include junior Zachary Williams (6-0, 285), sophomores Adam Beasley (6-4, 290) and Gary Gregory (6-4, 305) and redshirt freshman Mike Golder, Jr. (6-4, 286). Other tackles include redshirt freshman Desmond Roberts (6-4, 295), senior walk-on Matthew White (6-6, 360) and junior walk-on Keonta Wallace (6-4, 280). KICKERS O'Brien has been extremely fortunate the last two seasons in digging up productive place-kickers out of nowhere. In 2006 at Boston College, he made Steve Aponivicious college football's best feel-good story a star after finding him in an open tryout. Weeks earlier, Aponivicious was just another face-painted kid in the stands until he won the tryout and helped the Eagles to another bowl victory. Last year, O'Brien turned to Steven Hauschka as a one-year fix at place-kicker. Hauschka never played football in youth leagues, middle school or high school. Instead, he was recruited to play soccer and lacrosse at Middlebury College in Vermont. When that didn't work out, he joined the football team and was the starting place-kicker for four years. He took advantage of a now-repealed NCAA rule that allowed student-athletes who graduated in four years to transfer to any NCAA school that does not offer graduate studies in his or her chosen field. Hauschka won the starting kicker job in August and became the ACC's most accurate kicker. He made 16-of-18 field goals, including four in the Wolfpack's overtime victory over Miami, and all 25 of his extra points. He scored twice as many points (73) as any other player on the team and caught the attention of NFL scouts. He signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings in May. But Hauschka was a one-year fix, and now the Wolfpack will turn to sophomore Josh Czajkowski (5-9, 178) to become the team's regular kicker. Czajkowski won the job last spring, but took a backseat to Hauschka. The former all-state punter in Virginia also redshirted the 2006 season, so he has yet to kick in a college game, other than two Red & White spring contests. But he was ranked as the nation's No. 18 place-kicker after making 11-of-13 field goal attempts and 62-of-64 in his final two years of high school. Czajkowski won't have much competition this year. The Wolfpack did not sign another kicker and redshirt senior Bradley Pierson (5-9, 163) is the only other player on the current roster with place-kicking experience."

7/10/2008 12:37:39 PM

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"DEFENSIVE LINE Defensive coordinator Mike Archer wasn't around for what might have been the best defensive line in school history with Mario Williams, Manny Lawson, John McCargo and Tank Tyler, the first three of whom were first-round NFL picks. That was three years before O'Brien became the head coach and hired Archer as part of his staff. But Archer believes his current front-line starters -- junior end Willie Young (6-4, 230), sophomore end Markus Kuhn (6-4, 280), senior tackle Antoine Holmes (6-2, 281) and junior tackle Alan-Michael Cash (6-1, 286) -- just might be good enough to rival that group that helped the Wolfpack lead the nation in total defense in 2004. "I think we will have tackles as good as any in the league," Archer said. "They haven't played a lot of football together, but they have potential. They are as athletic as anybody here since Lawson, Williams, McCargo and Tyler." Young had a breakout season last year as a pass rusher. Lithe and agile, he has speed similar to Lawson, who was the first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers a few years back. Young ranked third in the ACC with 16 tackles for loss and had a team-high six sacks. He could easily double that number this season if he can get strong coverage in the secondary. Kuhn is one of the more interesting stories in college football. A native of Germany, he never played high school football, but he learned the game from playing with some Army brats on a club team near his home in Weinheim, Germany. A frequent visitor to the United States, he fell in love with football and put together a recruiting tape. He and his father flew to Washington in the summer of 2006 and shopped the tape around to some smaller schools, then visited NC State, Virginia and North Carolina, all of whom offered him a scholarship. He chose the Wolfpack. Kuhn might have benefited from a redshirt season to learn more about the game, but injuries forced him into the lineup at tackle in the second game. Midway through the year, he switched positions with Holmes and the two were regular contributors behind the departed combo of DeMario Pressley and Martrel Brown. The coaching staff expects Kuhn and Holmes, who came to Raleigh as junior college transfers before last season, to be key components in an improved rush defense that ranked last in the ACC last season, allowing 186.4 yards per game. Cash was perhaps the defense's most consistent performer last year, registering the most tackles (50) among all defensive linemen in just his first year as a starter. He had 6.5 tack-les for loss, 3.5 sacks and 13 quarterback pressures on the year. Archer felt good enough about his depth on the line to allow O'Brien to move two defensive tackles, Larsen and Bedics, to the offensive line. Sophomore Audi Augustin (6-2, 250) and redshirt freshman Jeff Reiskamp (6-3, 235) are the likely backups on the ends, with senior Keith Willis, Jr. (6-1, 278), senior Jamaine Clemmons (5-11, 255), redshirt freshman Wayne Crawford (6-3, 290) and freshman Kyle Linney (6-3, 300) providing support at the tackles. Willis, the son of Wolfpack defensive line coach Keith Willis, Sr., is eligible this season after transferring from Boston College. Clemmons, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship in the offseason, filled in capably last season when injuries plagued the line in the first three games. Linney was an early enrollee who went through spring practice with his new team. When training camp opens in July, the defensive will add two veterans into the mix in junior college tackles Leroy Burgess (6-1, 300) and Thomas Locust (6-3, 325) and defensive end Shea McKeen (6-5, 250), who previously played at South Carolina prior to attending Nassau County (N.J.) Community College. "We have to determine who all our backups will be," Archer said. "But we are going to play a lot of people." LINEBACKERS The Wolfpack lost four linebackers, including a trio of fifth-year seniors that made a combined 32 starts last season and a total of 55 in their careers. So it will be difficult to replace the experience of the departed LaRue Rumph, Ernest Jones and James Martin II. And there isn't a lot of depth at the position, either, which is why the coaching staff converted one-time safety Robbie Leonard (6-0, 194) to weak-side linebacker. Though undersized, the fifth-year senior was a pleasant surprise to the coaching staff in the spring and is tentatively slated to join sophomore Nate Irving (6-1, 227) as the starting outside linebackers. Junior Ray Michel (6-0, 224) is the projected starter at middle linebacker. Irving, who played in only 101 snaps in the team's first six contests, came on strong at the end of last year, making 27 of his 52 tackles in the Pack's final four games. He also had five tackles for loss in the final five games. Michel has waited patiently for his chance to step into the starting lineup but has participated in every game of his career. He finally earned his first start in the season finale against Maryland and hopes to keep that spot this season. Archer feels good about that trio as his starting lineup, which has speed missing from last year's starters, but he's going to have to scratch around for reserves come August. "We have to find some depth," Archer said. "We need some backups and that is what we are going to have to find in training camp." Vying for those jobs are several young players. Redshirt freshman Audi Cole (6-5, 215) will back up Leonard on the weak side, with sophomore Thomas Barnes (5-11, 200) playing behind Irving. Redshirt freshman J.R. Sweezy (6-5, 245) and freshman Dwayne Maddox (6-2, 220), who enrolled in school in January, back up Michel. The coaching staff tried to infuse some numbers into the linebacking corps through recruiting, bringing in four newcomers, headlined by in-state all-star Terrell Manning. But Manning won't be able to participate this season as he recovers from a serious knee injury he suffered near the end of his high school season. Maddox arrived early and went through spring drills, and William Beasley (6-2, 225) and Sterling Lucas (6-2, 220) will have the opportunity to make an impact as soon as they arrive on campus. Beasley and Lucas as were both rated among the top 20 inside linebacker recruits in the nation last year. DEFENSIVE BACKS The Wolfpack has two senior starters returning to the secondary, but overall the secondary is in need of experience and maturity. Jeremy Gray (6-2, 186) returns at the right cornerback, while J.C. Neal (5-11, 195) will start at strong safety. O'Brien expects both to provide leadership in the secondary, which was decimated by injury last year. The early departure of All-ACC safety DaJuan Morgan, who was taken in the second round of the NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, didn't help. His younger brother, sophomore De'Andre Morgan (5-10, 166), started several games last season at left corner and played more snaps (517) than any other freshman. He will contend for a starting job again against converted junior wide receiver Koyal George (5-11, 169). Gray, who tied for the team lead with three interceptions last season, will be backed up by freshman Dominique Ellis (5-11, 190), an early enrollee who participated in spring drills with his new team. Neal began the season at cornerback but was converted to safety when teammate Javon Walker (6-0, 188), a sophomore, suffered a season-ending knee injury against Miami, just days after he moved into the starting lineup. Neal will help break in converted linebacker John Ware (5-11, 205), a sophomore, at the position. They could also receive help from Walker, who hopes to be back at 100 percent. At free safety, a pair of redshirt freshmen, Jimmaul Simmons (6-2, 190) and Justin Byers (6-0, 170), competed for the starting job in the spring. However, they might be pushed in the fall by junior college transfer Clem Johnson (6-0, 190), a native of Carlisle, Pa., who spent the last two years at Valley Forge Military College playing quarterback. But he expects to be in the secondary with the Wolfpack. "

7/10/2008 12:38:19 PM

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"PUNTERS Bradley Pierson (5-9, 163), a senior, began last season as a career walk-on reserve. He ended it as the Wolfpack's starting punter who earned a scholarship for his patience and hard work. He took over the starting job from Nathan Franklin in the season's third game and maintained it the rest of the year. Pierson's 37.2-yard average was near the bottom of the league's regular punters, but the Wolfpack had the ACC's best punt coverage team, allowing just 3.1 yards per return. The Pack netted 35.6 yards per punt, which was in the top half of the ACC. Pierson landed 21 of his 62 punts inside the 20-yard-line and 20 of his kicks were fair caught. After the season ended, Pierson was awarded a scholarship and he enters this season as the starting punter who could help out with some place-kicking duties. There are two other punters in the program, sophomore Jeff Ruiz (6-2, 185) and redshirt freshman Carl Ojala (6-3, 190), both redshirted last season. Ruiz was an All-American two years ago at Southwestern Junior College in Chula Vista, Calif., after averaging 43.3 yards per punt, which ranked second among JUCO punters. SPECIAL TEAMS For the last four years, Wolfpack fans could count on one thing -- anytime Darrell Blackman fielded a kickoff or a punt, he would either end up in the end zone or put the offense in good field position. The wide receiver, twice selected the first-team All-ACC specialist, finished his career ranked in the top 10 in both kickoff-return yardage and punt-return yardage. Blackman fielded all but one punt return for the Pack last year and most of the kickoff returns. He was second in the ACC and 17th in the nation with a 13.2-yard punt return average and fifth in the ACC with a 23.2-yard kickoff return average. Special teams coach Jerry Petercuskie did not spend much time working on the return game in the spring, figuring that was one of the things that could be prioritized in the fall. But in the spring game, he turned to junior receiver Donald Bowens and cornerback De'Andre Morgan to handle punt returns. Bowens proved to be a capable kickoff returner last year, taking over for Jamelle Eugene when he became the team's lone healthy tailback. Bowens averaged 21.5 yards on his 20 kickoff returns. Eugene could also return to that role in the fall. At long-snapper, junior walk-ons Michael Maurer (5-11, 225) and Corey Tedder (6-1, 212) shared the duties last season. Tedder started the season in that role, but he suffered a broken hand against Louisville. Maurer took over and snapped in the final eight games. The two will share duties again this year. BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS Grading the Wolfpack Unit Grade Offense C Special teams B Defense B+ Intangibles B There is no doubt O'Brien and his staff believe their team is much better the second time around, if only because the have a better idea of how things operate in a more regimented, disciplined program. Last year's team had trouble accepting that until midway through the season, when O'Brien made significant changes in the lineup. This year's version of the Wolfpack likely won't contend for the loaded Atlantic Division title, but it would probably be in the top two of the weaker Coastal Division. That means the Pack should be good enough to return to a bowl game for the first time in three years and continue building for the kind of success O'Brien had while at Boston College."

because it's long as fuck and i can't fit it all into one post lol

7/10/2008 12:38:47 PM

lol I would never read all that

way too many words to basically say 'mediocre...at best'

7/10/2008 12:40:16 PM

it's actually a pretty good writeup

7/10/2008 12:40:57 PM

^agreed. I read it last night and learned alot of important things about our team that I didnt know I didnt know...

7/10/2008 12:53:41 PM

Thanks for posting it man.

7/10/2008 1:00:24 PM

damn that took awhile to read

good stuff though

I am soooo pumped for the season to begin

7/10/2008 2:30:24 PM

I'm pumped as well. I'm wondering why they didn't mention my friend who is on the team though, wide receiver

He's in the lineup as second or third string, but he did have a few touchdowns last season...

7/10/2008 3:05:34 PM

God, I cant wait to fucking be in Colombia, SC.....im psyched to see what year two has in store for the Pack!!

7/10/2008 3:07:29 PM

^^They did mention him, he's playing CB now.

7/10/2008 3:18:23 PM

Guys, for real though - THIS is the year.

7/10/2008 3:47:42 PM

haha, i didn't really read the whole thing

7/10/2008 4:02:41 PM

thanks for posting that article man...

I am so pumped for this season to start and for the future of Wolfpack Football...

49 more days...

7/10/2008 4:11:07 PM

nice ty ncWOLFsu

I like how Slave Famous first complained it was too short, then complained it was too long

7/10/2008 4:30:08 PM

I'm fickle

7/10/2008 4:30:55 PM

hahaha. yea no offense to you but that cracked me up too. "wtf I only get to read the intro?"..."wtf you expect me to read more than the intro??" I know im being extreme but its the end of a long work day and it was entertaining.

[Edited on July 10, 2008 at 4:38 PM. Reason : ]

7/10/2008 4:38:18 PM

I enjoyed the article as well. I hope the coaches really mean the team is far ahead of last years squad. In the whole article, the only statement I had a problem with was

Quote :

"But Archer believes his current front-line starters -- junior end Willie Young (6-4, 230), sophomore end Markus Kuhn (6-4, 280), senior tackle Antoine Holmes (6-2, 281) and junior tackle Alan-Michael Cash (6-1, 286) -- just might be good enough to rival that group that helped the Wolfpack lead the nation in total defense in 2004."

Easy there Mike.

7/10/2008 5:20:07 PM

heck as long as there's a little good news i'll be excited about a new season. GO PACK

[Edited on July 10, 2008 at 5:32 PM. Reason : ^ that might b askin for it... definitely some words to live up to]

7/10/2008 5:31:51 PM

Quote :

"Guys, for real though - THIS is the year."

i know i'm always drinking koolaid, but i really think this is the year we arrive

7/10/2008 6:19:50 PM

thanks for posting all that, great read.

our LB's and Secondary sound sketch as hell.

7/10/2008 6:36:08 PM

im not readin that

ill just watch the games

kinda like seeing a movie instead of the book



this is probably the one time when "the book is better than the movie" :-/

[Edited on July 10, 2008 at 6:39 PM. Reason : ]

7/10/2008 6:38:38 PM

the book is always better than the movie i thought.

7/10/2008 7:02:24 PM

i wouldnt know

7/10/2008 7:08:41 PM

I agree that if anything our LBs might be the weak point in the defense this year, but they also might be better than last year. If nothing else they will be a faster unit, even though last year's starters had more experience. Our secondary while it might not be as good as our D-line should still be good. The only way it would have been better is if DaJuan Morgan had stayed. We have guys at safety and cornerback that have plenty of experience in Jeremy Gray, J.C. Neal, and DeAndre Morgan. Also Javon Walker might be back at 100 percent. Also we've got some depth in the secondary now with guys that will be ready to step in and play should any of these guys go down. Jimmaul Simmons and Justin Byers have had a year in the system, and don't forget we've got Clem Johnson coming in and he expects to get some playing time. I doubt he would have come had the coaches not told him that he could seriously get a shot at playing time, or that they would have felt the need to go out and get a JUCO guy that's ready to play after DaJuan declared for the draft.

7/10/2008 7:19:27 PM

"4 losses"

7/10/2008 7:45:47 PM

great read, thanks for the post

Quote :

"i know i'm always drinking koolaid, but i really think this is the year we arrive"

I'm not buying into that yet. This team still has waaaay too many questions around it. 6-6 with a bowl bid, I'll be thrilled.

Next year's when I think we should really show signs of life.

7/10/2008 7:48:10 PM

Yeah I think 6-6 plus a bowl game (Music City Bowl would be nice) would be a good step in the right direction. Let's just make sure three of those wins are over Duke, UNC, and ECU. I can handle losing to Wake right now b/c they have been pretty good, even though I'd really like to end our losing streak to them. We haven't beaten the Deacs since that OT game in 2004 with T.A. running in for the game winner.

I remember that day well. I had hooked up with this girl the night before. Funny thing was that I had met her at a gay bar on Thursday. Somehow my one friend that is gay convinced me to go to Flex for their Trailer Park Trash Drag Show. He convinced me to go by saying that he knew a bunch of single straight girls that were going, and the show was actually pretty funny. It was like one long running gay joke that I didn't feel bad about laughing at b/c of where I was at. Well me and this girl went to a party off of Hillsborough St. that Friday. We walked back to her dorm on west campus. She said she needed to take a shower and kind of gave me that "do you want to join me" look. That was the first time I had hooked up with a girl in the shower. I was slightly hung over that Saturday and tired as shit. We swung by Bojangles' and got some food and barely made it in before kickoff. It was hot as hell that day. I was sitting in the third row of the upper deck and some bitchy black girls got mad at my roommate, myself, and the rest of the people around us for standing. I told them this is a football game and everyone in the student section stands. If you don't like it, well then tough b/c look around you. Everyone else has no problem standing and feels that you should stand. Plus with the way the seats are when we sat down the red bar that prevents people from falling off the upper deck was right in the middle of our view.

[Edited on July 10, 2008 at 8:28 PM. Reason : ]

7/10/2008 8:26:32 PM

i think we'll actually be pretty solid at LB as long as they can stay healthy. that's always a risk though. nate irving is beast though, the guy is a stud.

and yeah Slave Famous needs to make up his mind lol

7/10/2008 8:31:20 PM

Irving seems like he was making every play at the end of last year. He also looks scary. I thought teams started picking on deandre morgan's small size and inexperience last year. He made some plays, but they also abused him a lot.

7/10/2008 11:27:13 PM

OL will be our kryponite

7/11/2008 11:45:24 AM

Quote :

"OL will be our kryponite"

thats easy to say after watching our team for the last four years.... but TOB has a proven track record of making miracles happen with O lines.... if we surprise in any one area while hes the HC, that should be it.... maybe graduating those seniors from last year who were brought up under Chuck and inserting these D line guys trained fully by TOB will pay off?

[Edited on July 13, 2008 at 1:21 PM. Reason : cant spell]

7/13/2008 1:20:01 PM

is mircales related to hercules? cause that would help our O-line

7/13/2008 1:21:15 PM

it'll take 5-10 miracles after watching the mountain of crap that was every OL unit on the field during the Red-White Game

7/13/2008 1:52:26 PM

I want to drink the koolaid but how can you say this is the year??

1. We are NC State
2. Are you that confident in our O-line and QB play? LB?

7/13/2008 5:06:59 PM

Quote :

"the mountain of crap that was every OL unit on the field during the Red-White Game"

god they did look much the same..... which is horrible....

7/13/2008 6:50:45 PM

This year is not the year. We don't have a QB. We may find one this year, but the process will be painful. Get a QB and an OL unit in there with a year of experience, then you can start thinking about good things.

7/13/2008 6:54:40 PM

I am hoping for 6-6.

I would wish for 7-5, but our schedule is to damn hard.

7/13/2008 7:02:26 PM

Quote :

"1. We are NC State"

You're right, this is NC State, where EVERY year is THE YEAR!

If you didn't go into the season believing it was THE YEAR then what's the point of getting excited about it? What's the point of anticipating? Nobody here is realistically expecting an ACC Championship, but if you don't hope for one then there's not much point of being a fan.

Especially at NC State.

7/13/2008 8:09:57 PM

^

7/14/2008 12:02:07 AM

i thought we were Marshall... or Columbine

7/14/2008 12:17:18 AM

i think the OL will be much improved this year. it may not be the best in the ACC or anything, but it's not going to be our #1 weakness anymore i don't think.

7/14/2008 1:10:54 AM

Yeah like said before if there is one thing TOB knows, it is O-Line play....and that is already showing in our recruiting. I am not worried about the O-Line. By the start of the season TOB will have 5 ready.

7/14/2008 1:20:36 AM

Quote :

"is mircales related to hercules? cause that would help our O-line"

lol'ed @ work

and hey, even if we only win two games, at least we have great facilities. amirite?

7/14/2008 11:43:59 AM

^ da Best

7/14/2008 12:34:16 PM

Quote :

"If you didn't go into the season believing it was THE YEAR then what's the point of getting excited about it?"

What do you what's the point of getting excited about it? That's exactly the point. There is nothing be excited about, yet. I'll roll out there to hang out at the tailgate with people I only get to see during football season. I'll sit in my seats I've paid way too much for. And I'll get excited when all the stupid mistakes stop, when we have an OL that knows what the hell is going on, and when we have a quarterback that can complete more touchdown passes than interceptions.

7/14/2008 1:10:16 PM

well technically we had that last part last year if you count the TD's thrown to the other team

7/14/2008 2:30:55 PM