i think there was a discipline issue w/ ruiz, i could be making that up though.

but god damn this is getting close. i really really really hope we're not embarrassed in columbia.

7/21/2008 9:32:18 AM

http://www.wral.com/sports/story/3178886/

O'Brien says N.C. State must improve running game and cut turnovers

N.C. State finished just 5-7 in Tom O’Brien’s first season as head coach, and O’Brien sees clear areas for improvement as he looks ahead to the coming football season.

His priorities?

Reducing turnovers.

Running the ball better.

Stopping the run on defense.

“Those are the things we have to do a much better job of this year,” O’Brien said in an interview Sunday at Operation Football with 99.9 FM The Fan.

State threw 23 interceptions last year and intercepted just 10 balls. The Wolfpack lost nine fumbles and recovered only six.

In the run game, State rushed for just 89.2 yards and allowed a staggering 186.4.

State has plenty of talent at running back, but had poor play along the offensive front. The Wolfpack is moving John Bedics and Ted Larsen from defense to the offensive line in an effort to put more talent in the blocking corps.

"We got our quarterback hit too much last year,” O’Brien said. “That’s a continual project for us. Moving Larsen and Bedics will help us depth-wise. And both have shown flashes.”

Depth is another concern, O’Brien said.

“We had so many seniors, so depth will be a big consideration this year,” he said. “You want to get into a situation where you don’t play a lot of freshman, but once again we may have to.”

He did not, however, sound concerned about quarterback Daniel Evans’ progress from off-season shoulder surgery.

“I think he’s fine,” he said. “They say he’s working out and throwing the ball well now. We’ll find out in another week.”

State isn’t announcing who will start the opener at South Carolina Aug. 28, but O’Brien did say experience is critical at quarterback.

“You can watch all the tape you want [but] you have to do those things on the field. Especially at the quarterback position, there is no substitute for experience.”

Players feel more comfortable going into 2008

Anytime a program brings in a new coach, there is bound to be an adjustment period. For N.C. State, that learning curve took about half of O'Brien's first season as head coach, as Wolfpack fans saw a dramatically improved team after the bye week.

Now, with a year in the system under their belts, the Pack players feel that the 2008 season will bring a greater sense of comfort, and with it, better results on the field.

Anthony Hill wasn't able to play on the field at all in O'Brien's debut campaign because of a knee injury he suffered in the offseason, but the All-ACC tight end still gets the sense that the team has a better understanding of what is expected of them after a year of watching film and sitting in meetings with the new staff.

"Guys are a lot more comfortable now, because we know exactly what we have to do in coach O'Brien's program. There's nothing hidden, all he wants to do is come out and work hard.

Fifth-year senior Jeremy Gray echoed Hill's sentiments.

"The transition from the first to the second is going to be good, because the first year we didn't know what to expect and it was hard to get a feel for somebody you really don't know," said the cornerback. "The first year, they come in and you really don't know what to expect from them, you don't always know what they're trying to throw at you...new stuff. This year we can take everything we learned from last year and build from that."

-Ryan Craig

KEY GAME: You don't want to overemphasize nonconference games, but there's no doubt the East Carolina contest on Sept. 20 looms large for the Wolfpack. Two of State's first three games are at South Carolina and Clemson, both potential losses. State's 34-20 win at ECU last year was huge - a home loss to the Pirates would be a setback for O'Brien's rebuilding plan.

THE SEASON WILL BE A SUCCESS IF: N.C. State has real talent at running back, with Jamelle Eugene returning as the starter and Toney Baker and Andre Brown coming back from injuries. But State's offensive line struggled to master the new blocking techniques under coach Tom O'Brien. If State can block, it can run. If it can run, it can win - regardless of who plays quarterback.

MARK THOMAS' TAKE: Who’s the starting tailback? Who’s the starting quarterback? That would matter if Chuck Amato was still the coach of this team. (I also forgot what color shoes will they be wearing?) You want to know what’s more important _ Can you protect a passer long enough to complete a 5-yard out? Tom O’Brien is a guru when it comes to developing offensive line play. He began to work last season at the halfway point when he got fed up with the way the pack was playing and quickly made changes. Watch out for these two guys – Sam Jones and Jake Vermiglio. You’ll thank me later. Oh, by the way, the answers to those first questions. Jamelle Eugene, a healthy Daniel Evans, and shoes don’t win games.



N.C. State
Head Coach: Tom O'Brien (2nd season at N.C. State)

2007 Record: 5-7 (3-5)

ACC Championships: 7

Last ACC Title: 1979

Returning Offensive Starters: 6

Returning Defensive Starters: 4

All-ACC Returnees: 0

2008 Schedule:

Aug. 28 (Th) at South Carolina (ESPN)

Sept. 6 William & Mary

Sept. 13 at Clemson

Sept. 20 East Carolina

Sept. 27 South Florida

Oct. 4 Boston College

Oct. 16 (Th) Florida State (ESPN)

Oct. 25 at Maryland

Nov. 8 at Duke

Nov. 15 Wake Forest

Nov. 22 at North Carolina

Nov. 29 Miami

7/21/2008 9:33:40 AM

are our new unis going to be like the ones in NCAA 09, because that would be fucking sweet

7/21/2008 10:23:50 AM

^That's what dudes over on PP are saying. I don't know about credibility, but I sure hope they're correct, b/c I've always disliked the Adidas unis to date.

7/21/2008 11:59:09 AM

^any pics?

7/21/2008 1:31:18 PM

i've heard speak of a red helmet also. I'm seriously like ready to talk my boss into letting me sneak into murphy center to try to find something on these bad boys.

[Edited on July 21, 2008 at 1:35 PM. Reason : .]

7/21/2008 1:32:10 PM

Eh I think we should stay with the white helmets. We've got to try and stay consistent but improve some on the uniforms. We should try to go back to something like the Rivers era uniforms. They looked similar to Penn State's uniforms. And most here would agree that Penn State's unis are some of the most classic in college football. We've got to keep some recognition with our uniforms.

7/21/2008 1:50:20 PM

Preseason Depth Chart

http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/770895.html

Russell Wilson is the backup QB behind Evans

No Geron James on the two-deep.

7/21/2008 2:22:10 PM

Yeah... I am surprised that Geron James isn't up there. I have high hopes for him...

7/21/2008 2:46:57 PM

I've heard the unis will be pretty close to the EA version.

7/21/2008 2:54:19 PM

evans, great

7/21/2008 3:30:57 PM

I have no problem with Evans starting, but you have to remember that isn't even close to final. Coach has already said he probably won't know the starter until the week of the SC game. They haven't even started "official" practices yet.

7/21/2008 3:40:36 PM

Can you really start someone who hasn't played a minute of college football?? I'm fine with Evans being the starter, so long as we can sub in Wilson or Glennon if shit starts to go downhill

7/21/2008 3:45:45 PM

Quote :

"Punter 26 Bradley Pierson 5-9/163 Sr.* 38 Jeff Ruiz 6-2/185 Jr."

seriously?

7/21/2008 3:54:39 PM

Quote :

"if shit starts to go downhill"

what's the over/under on how long this will take?

7/21/2008 3:56:45 PM

really good article about Evans
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/ncsu/story/1146910.html

7/21/2008 4:32:50 PM

That 2-deep isn't even close to what it will be next month come game time. I wouldn't worry about Evans, GJames, or Vermiglio's current spots at all.

7/21/2008 4:44:08 PM

Anybody want to let us know which three freshmen didn't qualify? William Beasley on the front of PP so I assume he's one. Mangram? Everett? Palmer?

7/21/2008 6:30:10 PM

^palmer, everett, beasley

7/21/2008 6:31:44 PM

wow, mangram qualified? i thought he was already enrolled in JC

7/21/2008 6:33:12 PM

^he is....thats why he was failed to mention

7/21/2008 6:34:26 PM

damn, already 1/6 of the class gone and we're still waiting to see if the JC transfers qualified

7/21/2008 6:40:57 PM

its aight....palmer and beasley will prolly be here next year. Im pretty sure they barely missed making it. I'm not sure how far off everett was.

7/21/2008 7:18:51 PM

A short interview video with Mike and Sean Glennon is on here.

http://ttp://www.fp.tv/features/326?page=

7/21/2008 9:06:36 PM

I got a 404 from the link.

7/21/2008 9:34:00 PM

http://www.fp.tv/features/326?page=

try that instead

7/21/2008 9:35:29 PM

^thanks

damn, mike is tall

7/21/2008 9:42:38 PM

37 - Donovan Counts


Position: Running Back
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-1
Weight: 210
Hometown: Tryon, N.C. (Polk County)

7/21/2008 10:41:57 PM

How cool would it be to have a story book like season with Glennon coming in and winning the job sometime during the season and taking us to the Atlantic division title and a berth in the championship game in Tampa where he'd face off against his older brother Sean and his Virginia Tech team?

7/22/2008 8:52:57 AM

That would not be cool at all.

7/22/2008 8:57:57 AM

i would love that, and then winning

7/22/2008 9:08:04 AM

Quote :

"what's the over/under on how long this will take?"

Ha. When I read that I though:

"So, what's that? Like half-way through the 1st quarter or something?"

7/22/2008 9:22:24 AM

^ If this season is anything like last year, it would be the first play from scrimmage aka 15 seconds into the game.

7/22/2008 9:33:36 AM

I don't know why but that long run to start the season was no surprise to me. It just seems like we always do that whenever we are hyped up for a game. I will never forget the devin hester kickoff return and how crappy that was. Stuff like that seems to happen regularly. I'll be so happy if we can hold South Carolina scoreless after opening kickoff and the first play from scrimmage. If we can do that, we might have a chance!

7/22/2008 10:31:56 AM

Remember last season's first breakdown against UCF?

Kevin Smith, taking it to the house, on like the first play from scrimmage. I think everyone in the stadium and watching on tv was at a loss for words.

If you are a sadist and want to reopen some scabs, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viCWqnZcIKs

7/22/2008 11:03:40 AM

Where are those photoshopped pics of Carter-Finley Stadium if it were to be expanded? One even had what looked like the largest HD Video Screen in the world.

7/22/2008 2:17:48 PM

National Title contenders, who ya got?

Clemson - They are my darkhorse candidate even though Tammy Bowden will probably choke and lose a game that keeps them out of it. They should run through the ACC (keyword being should) despite their lack of experience on the offensive line.

WVU - Bill Stewart could have a Larry Coker like first year in Morgantown, but will he follow the same path that Coker did? The Mountaineers should be the class of the Big East again with Pat White back for his senior season. The loss of Steve Slaton will be somewhat filled with the insanely fast Noel Devine who had a crazy rushing average per attempt as a true freshman. Devine is a home run threat every time he touches the ball. Look for Stewart to have more trust in White's arm and see him throwing more this year.

Oklahoma - The defending Big XII champs return a ton, and at times looked scary good last year. Why they have sucked so badly in BCS bowls since 2000 is puzzling. QB Sam Bradford was one of the best freshmen nationally last year and should be even better this year. They shouldn't have much trouble in the Big XII South even despite Texas having similar overall talent level and Texas Tech perhaps being even better than they normally are.

Southern Cal - Does this really need to be explained? The only question mark is Mark Sanchez who looked only decent and threw a fair amount of interceptions while filling in for John David Booty while he was injured. They shouldn't really be challenged by anyone in Pac 10 play save for Arizona State. The game against tOSU has the potential to decide who plays in the national championship game.

Georgia - The hottest team to end the season will have a ton of hype entering the season as they are many people's No. 1 team in the nation. They have a brutal schedule and still need to show that they can beat Tennessee a team that they have lost to for the past two seasons in embarrassing fashion. The loss to the Vols kept them out of the SEC Title game and a potential shot at the BCS National Championship game. Florida will also be a tough obstacle as the Gators will be seeking revenge for what took place in Jacksonville last season.

Florida - Led by Tim Tebow, the returning Heisman Trophy winner and supposedly the greatest player of our era according to Urban Meyer , the Gators look like they will be once again in the hunt for a national championship. Their one concern is the secondary which has seen losses in the offseason, so much so that a freshman or two may have to play. With an improved backfield, which includes USC transfer Emmanuel Moody, the Gators won't have to rely on Tebow to run as much as he did last year. Last season Tebow became the first player in NCAA history to score 20 touchdowns rushing and 20 touchdowns passing in the same season. At the end of the season he had 32 passing touchdowns, and 23 rushing touchdowns for a staggering total of 55 TDs. The road to the SEC East title, the SEC Championship game, and a possible berth in the national title game goes through Georgia.

Ohio State - After two straight embarrassing beat downs at the hands of the SEC in national championship games the Buckeyes are looking to get redemption. They return a ton of talent. With their highly anticipated game against the Trojans of Southern Cal looming early on in the season, the Buckeyes will be tested early on. If they get by the Trojans it seems like they would have a cakewalk through their Big 10 conference slate. Even if the Buckeyes lose to the Trojans they may still be in the national title hunt. The loss would be early enough that it wouldn't hurt them as bad as if it were toward the end of the year. If there is at most only one undefeated team and a bunch of one and two loss teams tOSU could sneak into the title game provided it is not against USC. Most voters will say that tOSU had their shot against them in the regular season and another team needs to be given a shot. A similar situation thankfully happened in 2006 when Florida leapfrogged Michigan to play and ultimately demolish the Buckeyes in that year's championship game (note: it's no secret that I like Michigan and have rooted for them since I was 4 or 5, but for the sake of the game I had no problem with Florida getting their shot to take on tOSU. We had our shot and didn't capitalize on it. Other Michigan fans felt differently and they were wrong for thinking so.)


Teams I feel have very outside shots include:

Mizzou - The loss of Tony Temple hurts and they are cursed against OU having only beaten the Sooners once since 1981.

VT - The Hokies lose a ton, but Beamer is known for reloading with well coached talent that overachieves based on their rankings coming out of high school. How will their running game fair is one of the biggest off-season questions for the Hokies outside of will their defense continue their stingy ways.

Auburn - Don't sleep on the SEC West. The SEC East looks to be the best of the two divisions, but Auburn has been a thorn in the side of Florida for awhile now. Tommy Tuberville is one hell of a coach. His arrival at Auburn has seen him win over 70% of his games and win at least a share of the SEC West in 5 of his 9 years. The Tigers should be solid again this year and perhaps win the SEC West

LSU - The defending national champions lose a fair amount, but they are at the point where they are reloading at most of the positions. The biggest question mark is at QB with Ryan Perilloux's dumbass being kicked off the team after numerous second chances.

Texas - Year in and year out the Longhorns have some of the best talent in the nation. The problem comes in it finally all coming together like it did in 2005 and their annual meeting with Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Will this be the year? I personally think not, but you can never count them out.

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 12:01 AM. Reason : ]

7/22/2008 11:53:42 PM

Quote :

"numerous second chances"

7/23/2008 12:11:55 AM

36 - Josh Czajkowski




Position: Place Kicker
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
Height: 5-9
Weight: 184
Hometown: Springfield, Va. (W. Springfield)

In 2007: Did not get into a game last season, he had a solid performance in 2008 spring drills, hitting all of his field goal attempts under 40 yards.

In 2006: Redshirted the season ... Listed as the starter at placekicker heading into fall camp, he kicked a 40-yard field goal in the Red/White Spring game and was good on seven PATs.

Prep: Ranked the 18th-best kicker in the nation by Rivals.com ... Named first team all-district, all-northern region, all-metro, all-AAA state as a senior ... Finished his career with 106 points scored ... Was 6-of-7 on field goals and 33-of-34 on extra points as a senior ... Hit 29-of-30 extra points as a junior, with the lone miss getting blocked ... Connected on 5-of-6 field goal attempts with his longest as a junior being 47-yards ... Coached by Bill Renner ... First-team All-MET in 2005 and honorable mention All-MET in 2004 by The Washington Post ... Enrolled in the first-year college program ... Born 6/15/88.

7/23/2008 12:14:35 AM

36 - Evan Dooley


Position: Wide Receiver
Class: Senior
Height: 6-2
Weight: 190
Hometown: Greensboro, N.C. (Page)

7/23/2008 12:16:17 AM

i had a shoot with anthony hill last week for PP. he didn't even know what the new jerseys were going to look like. we walked through murphy and i saw white helmets. probably for practice. my guess would be that they are the ones in NCAA 09.

7/23/2008 8:24:41 AM

Anybody have screenshots from NCAA '09 to see what they look like? What do the helmets look like in the game?

7/23/2008 9:10:57 AM

They are nothing "fancy" like the ones we had. They are more old school, which is what you would expect from a coach like O'Brien.

7/23/2008 9:12:21 AM

I answered my own question, found these screenshots on PP. If this is in fact them or close, then like them A LOT better than our current unis.

Quote :

"HOME- solid red jerseys with adidas logo on the left shoulder in white and the new 3 wolves on the rock logo under the V neck, pretty small. solid white pants, no stripe, block S logo on the hip AWAY- solid white jerseys, red adidas logo, 3 wolves at the V, solid red pants, no stripe, block S on hip. Also a small block S over the nameplate on the rear of the jerseys (white block S on home, red on away) "

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 9:42 AM. Reason : added desc. from PP dude]

7/23/2008 9:39:05 AM

ugh, i hate red pants but oh well. if true they are still better than our current unis. btw, what is this "new 3 wolves on the rock logo"?

7/23/2008 9:59:29 AM

red shirts + red pants = pajamas

7/23/2008 10:01:42 AM

Don't they also mean automatic loss? Have we ever won in those? If we pull those out, we might as well replace the block S on the helmet with [fail]

7/23/2008 10:30:49 AM

^^^I'm not sure, but I think it's this one:


[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 10:37 AM. Reason : ^'s]

7/23/2008 10:37:20 AM

Games just off the top of my head that we have won with red pants and red shirt combo:

2003 UNC
2006 BC
2006 FSU

7/23/2008 11:18:53 AM

^ haha, that FSU game threw me... I had a fifth of Makers Mark before the game, got to the game I was so drunk I couldnt tell which team was which (all red unis confused me)... ended up asking the 16 year old Goodberry Ice Cream girl for ice cream in exchange for going down on her or something, cant really remember

7/23/2008 12:17:56 PM