James learns lesson

N.C. State receiver works to get back
Ken Tysiac, Staff WriterComment on this story
RALEIGH - There couldn't have been a more agonized soul in Carter-Finley Stadium last season than Geron James.

Along with his parents, James made the two-hour trip from his home in Wilmington to watch N.C. State play without him.

James wasn't enrolled at N.C. State last fall for reasons he is vague in explaining.

A talkative wide receiver with an electric smile, James said only that he had "a little family problem or something like that."

"I just had to go home and get everything in order," James said.

Dylan Dimock, his former coach at Wilmington's Ashley High, said James might have had too much fun at N.C. State.

The time away motivated James to take advantage of his tremendous athletic ability. He returned for the spring semester, is working in fall camp and gives N.C. State a 6-foot-3, 220-pound, pass-catching force.

As a sophomore in 2006, he caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in a win over Florida State, using his height advantage to haul in passes over smaller defensive backs. In seven other games, he caught two other passes.

After that sparkling night on national TV in '06, the fall of 2007 was humbling.

James took math, history, Spanish and softball classes at Cape Fear Community College in order to get his academics in order for a return to N.C. State.

The classes were easier than N.C. State's, which helped James realize the academic opportunity he had squandered. He was determined to get a second chance.

In addition to studying at Cape Fear, James worked out with a personal trainer each day at 6:30 a.m. On Wednesday and Friday evenings, the trainer would run James through sprint intervals on a treadmill.

James also helped build houses on a construction crew from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, James watched in frustration during N.C. State losses at Carter-Finley.

"When you're sitting in the stands and see your team out there, not doing as well as they need to be doing, it gets sad," he said. "It motivated me more to go back home and work harder, get my grades better and come back up here."

Now James is a mixed blessing for N.C. State. He gives the team a big, physical, pass-catching talent who could help take heat off whichever player wins the three-player race for the quarterback job.

But if he had been around last fall, he would be more familiar with second-year coach Tom O'Brien's system. A hamstring injury hampered James in the spring, so O'Brien said he is somewhat like a first-year freshman in the current offense.

"He's a big body that can run, and he's a threat out there at wide receiver," O'Brien said. "The thing he's struggling with right now is learning everything he's got to learn, being where he's supposed to be."

Dimock, his former high school coach, is confident James will fulfill his potential.

Before James' senior season in high school, talented teammate Levin Neal (who spent 2005 through 2007 at N.C. State) broke an ankle.

James stepped into a leadership role, caught 17 touchdown passes and also became a standout free safety. He trained religiously in the weight room and was able to power clean 300 pounds by the time he left high school.

He has responded to his brief departure at N.C. State with the same urgency he displayed after Neal's injury, the coach said.

"I think he could have a great year," Dimock said. "Athletically he has the tools. ... He's a good kid. I think he made some mistakes, and I think he's ready to get back and finish strong."

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 3:25 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2008 10:27:52 AM

we really need to get on skewing this 3rd/4th quater song poll towards 'song of the south' cuz right now 'i wont back down' is in the lead and it would be unbelievably embarrassing to hav tom fucking petty on the loudspeakers in our stadium

8/14/2008 3:05:42 PM

Despite what you might think noob, I don't think a fucking country song is what this university needs either. Incredibly lame. Oh, and could you keep that shit in the thread:

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=537309

8/14/2008 3:11:53 PM

^ I agree and I fucking love Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It's just not a song that belongs at a sporting event.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3531112

We got some love in this article. They list us as the 4th most spirited student section behind LSU, Wisconsin and West Virginia, and just ahead of Michigan State.



But there's one part in the article that just doesn't make sense.

Quote :

"They set a tone for the madness to follow. That's why South Carolina undergrads make the two-mile walk from campus to Williams-Brice Stadium on fall Saturdays and why North Carolina's students emerge en masse from the woods into Kenan Memorial Stadium."

does not compute

8/14/2008 3:15:01 PM

^ lol i saw that earlier. retarded. i'm tired of kenan getting respect just b/c their basketball program is good. WATCH A FUCKING GAME ON TV THERE - THERE ARE MORE VISITING FANS THAN TARHOLES


woot 14 days btw. my gf is already mad we're taking a break from sightseeing/gambling to watch the game in las vegas she'll live


if you're going to lie and say they're loud, at least be part right:

Quote :

"North Carolina's students emerge en masse from the woods men's showers into Kenan Memorial Stadium"

otherwise i liked the writeup

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 3:21 PM. Reason : .]

8/14/2008 3:19:19 PM

^^ Haha. Yeah, I was all like "WTF" when I saw that. All 12 students who actually go to the games does in no way, shape, or form constitute a masse. Does anybody know what they're referring to?

Other than that little bit, I liked the article a lot. Very informative and didn't seem to be biased towards any one school.

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 3:20 PM. Reason : ^]

8/14/2008 3:19:50 PM

Quote :

"North Carolina's students emerge en masse from the men's showers into Kenan Memorial Stadium"

lmao, gg

8/14/2008 3:24:24 PM

well since we've hit the 2 week mark, its about that time..

8/14/2008 3:36:28 PM

Quote :

"it would be unbelievably embarrassing to hav tom fucking petty on the loudspeakers in our stadium"

What the hell is wrong with Tom Petty? I'm not a big fan of the song, but Tom Petty is the shit.

My only real problem is that, except for the chorus, I can't see a stadium of 60,000 people singing along to this song. Might as well stick to "Hey Baby" and be done with it.

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 3:39 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2008 3:38:51 PM

^^ thanks for the clock btw, i managed to get it on my desktop permanantly a couple weeks ago. people here at work love it

8/14/2008 3:44:01 PM

maaaaaaaan this song thing is going to be a failure.

8/14/2008 3:59:21 PM

^^ i had mine like that last year but vista doesn't do active desktop anymore, you have to use widgets..

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 4:11 PM. Reason : i liked it.]

8/14/2008 4:11:53 PM

Where is everyone tailgating? Seems like the fair grounds are reserved for club members.

On the USC website it says visitors can park in the Capital City lot.

Parking Map: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/scar/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/FB-Parking-012508.pdf

Quote :

" Visitor Parking Please review the pre-game and post-game traffic flow maps to help you plan your visit to Williams-Brice Stadium. Beginning this year, all parking in the South Carolina State Fairgrounds is reserved parking for the football season. No individual parking is available. Visitors are also encouraged to park in the Capitol City Parking Lot. This lot is located less than a half-mile from the stadium on the west side of Assembly Street and costs $10 per car."

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 5:08 PM. Reason : .]

8/14/2008 5:08:08 PM

Although a bit early.. Here's the game thread

message_topic.aspx?topic=537618

8/14/2008 5:39:04 PM

8/14/2008 6:53:39 PM

13 - Owen Spencer





Position: Wide Receiver
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-3
Weight: 180
Hometown: Leland, N.C. (N. Brunswick)

In 2007: Reserve wide receiver, he saw action in all 12 games as a rookie ... In for a season-high 21 snaps at Florida State, he had a 20-yard reception in that contest ... Longest catch was a 30-yarder in the win over Virginia ... Scored what he thought was his first career touchdown in the win at Miami, the play was reviewed and he was called down at the six-inch line ... The Pack scored on a rush on the next play ... Pulled down five catches for 80 yards in the 2008 Red/White spring game, he had 14 grabs for 171 yards in three spring scrimmages combined.

Prep: Originally signed with NC State in the spring of 2006, but did not enroll until January of 2007 ... Through the first nine games of his senior season at North Brunswick High School, he snared 27 passes for 530 yards and 13 touchdowns ... As a junior, he caught 30 balls for 802 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging nearly 27 yards a catch ... Rated as the No. 33 player in North Carolina by SuperPrep in the spring of 2006 ... Under Coach Gary Bishop's guidance, his prep squad went 7-0 in conference and 10-2 overall during his junior campaign ... Enrolled in the first-year college program ... Born 11/2/87.

8/15/2008 1:17:39 AM

I didn't realize that I hit the wrong button in my previous post. I meant to post it as a link.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=12281642827

8/15/2008 1:35:51 AM

oh shit ^^ I played against Owen Spencer in high school too, it's weird when you play for a 1a school and these guys can't really stand out like they do when they have decent players around them. They shouldn't have been 7-0 in conference, they won by 5 on a bullshit touchdown where our quarterback was sacked and laid the ball next to him after he went down and one of their corners picked up the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. We beat the team that knocked their asses out of the playoffs so it was a moral victory.

[Edited on August 15, 2008 at 1:54 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on August 15, 2008 at 1:55 AM. Reason : .]

8/15/2008 1:51:31 AM

haha. i went to high school with owen.

8/15/2008 1:14:02 PM

He could be good down the road. I look for him and Jay Smith to be clutch in a year or two.

8/15/2008 1:38:57 PM

He has a weird face

8/15/2008 2:07:06 PM

Quote :

" Redshirt freshman Simmons now battling for starting job for State Jimmaul Simmons By James Henderson, Pack Pride Posted: Today at 11:53 a.m. Updated: 23 minutes ago Raleigh, N.C. — With the news that junior college transfer Clem Johnson could be out for the season after breaking his jaw in Sunday's scrimmage, arguably the thinnest position on N.C. State's roster just got thinner. Senior J.C. Neal and Javon Walker are battling at strong safety, and the free safety position is up for grabs between redshirt freshmen Justin Byers and Jimmaul Simmons. Simmons enrolled last January after a prep season at Hargrave Military Academy. The 6-2, 200-pound defender with 4.51-second speed in the 40-yard dash played high school ball at Wilmington New Hanover before prepping at Hargrave where he impressed head coach Robert Prunty. "He started for us at safety, and he's going to be a great one," Prunty stated when Simmons committed to the Wolfpack. "He won't be any different than some of the others we've been fortunate enough to have play in Raleigh. "Jimmaul comes from great pedigree too. His uncle is Clyde Simmons, who played linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles, and his dad played at Wake Forest. So he has that toughness in him. I'm telling you, he's a player." An explosive athlete, Simmons has plenty of physical tools. During the 2007 Red/White Game, he flashed that explosiveness when he picked off a Harrison Beck pass in the endzone and returned the interception 100 yards for a touchdown. He redshirted last season, and Simmons is now poised to receive major playing time. Each practice he looks to try and continue developing as a football player. "We're best friends." "I think I'm doing pretty good right now," said Simmons. "I'm just here to play. I'm just here for my team. Whatever I can do to make the team better, that is what I'm going to do." The toughest part could be he is competing for the starting spot with one of his closest friends, fellow redshirt freshman Justin Byers. A versatile defensive back out of Charlotte (NC) Vance High School, Byers enrolled capable of playing cornerback or safety before settling at free safety. He is one of the fastest players on the team and also a solid tackler. What does Simmons think of the competition? "We're best friends," he said. "We're working hard together. We're doing everything we can to help each other out. We're both fighting for a starting spot, but it doesn't matter because we're a team. "Whichever one of us starts, that will be fine because we're going to back each other up the best that we can. There is no conflict between us." To be successful in 2008, NC State will need Simmons and Byers to step up. The corners and rovers are experienced, and the front four should be able to apply pressure on the quarterback. Solid play at free safety is a must for the defense. Through the first two weeks of fall camp, Simmons thinks the defense has the potential to be a strength for the Wolfpack. "I think the defense is really good," he said. "We're working real hard, and everyone is learning the plays. We're all coming together. We are starting to get a swagger... I think the defense will be good this year.""

8/15/2008 2:18:33 PM

That's some nc state shit

Quote :

"NC State receiver Bowens out for the year N.C. State Sports Logo By Austin Johnson, Pack Pride Posted: 13 minutes ago RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State head coach Tom O'Brien announced tonight that junior wide receiver Donald Bowens will miss the 2008 season with a back injury. NC State head coach Tom O'Brien announced tonight that junior wide receiver Donald Bowens will miss the 2008 season with a back injury. “Bowens is out – he's done," O'Brien said. "He's got a fractured spine... well not a fractured spine I said that wrong. He has a hairline fracture. So he's out for the year.” O'Brien said he's not sure when the injury occurred. “We don't know," O'Brien said. "He never really got going. He went out and tried it one or two or three days and then couldn't practice anymore. He had a series of tests done that came back yesterday.” He also said he wasn't sure if the injury could be considered career-threatening. “I don't know that. They are going to recheck him in three months or something. It's gotta heal. Once it heals I would think.... I would hope. I dunno.” As a sophomore, Bowens posted the team's best reception average at 15 yards per catch. He totaled 41 receptions for 598 yards and three touchdowns. Bowens had a breakout performance in his start against Virginia, recording 11 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Those were the top marks ever posted by a NC State sophomore. Bowens played in 2006 as a true freshman, registering 16 receptions for 200 yards and two scores. Because he played as a true freshman, Bowens should be able to receive a medical redshirt for the 2008 season, enabling him to have two years of eligibility remaining. "

8/15/2008 10:17:03 PM

^ Our receiving corps will be fine, although you can't replace Donald Bowen's experience value.

This is the perfect chance for Geron James or Jay Smith to show us what they can do.

8/15/2008 10:38:59 PM

Didn't know where else to post this, but I had a good/almost tragic story to tell.

So I had a flight out of Raleigh for Detroit this morning. It got delayed (of course) so i had a few hours to kill. I decided to drive up to the stadium just to see what was up.

I'm cruising past the Murphy Center and I'm looking up at it the Wolf Mountain thing -- I always forget how perfect that thing looks. Out of nowhere, a man darts in front of my car (I'm assuming he was jogging). I swerved and missed him, but I damn near killed him. I yelled something along the lines of "sorry" to him. That's when he looked back at me, with a pretty evil grimace. It was Tom O'Brien. I almost ran over our football coach. Fuck shit.

I couldn't think of anything to say -- didn't imagine he'd want to talk to someone who nearly took his life. So I drove away and went to Bojangles. True story.

[Edited on August 15, 2008 at 10:55 PM. Reason : ]

8/15/2008 10:55:00 PM

Ah football time in North Carolina is nearly here.

Larger version if any of you want to make it your wallpaper.
http://www.gopack.com//pics11/1024/ZL/ZLDXREBNOJVKQFP.20070922204027.jpg

8/15/2008 11:07:06 PM

AGAIN, EVERYBODY


PLEASE TRY TO NOT KILL ANYONE ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM OR COACHING STAFF

8/15/2008 11:24:25 PM

^^^ see that is why we need an indoor practice facility. TOB could then go run around the field there and not be nearly taken out by our fans being mesmerized by our awesome facilities.

[Edited on August 15, 2008 at 11:32 PM. Reason : ]

8/15/2008 11:32:06 PM

sorry, missed the post about bowens earlier...

anyway, FUCK

maybe Geron James can have a big year.

[Edited on August 16, 2008 at 1:19 AM. Reason : .]

8/16/2008 1:17:52 AM

we also have that 4 star recruit Jay Smith playing this year and our receiving corp is pretty deep, especially with james coming back, spencer, jarvis williams, etc etc

it does blow to have bowens gone though

8/16/2008 1:23:36 AM

^ you forgot to mention Darrell Davis aka Double D.

8/16/2008 1:41:50 AM

scrimmage today was not good. especially the end tied at 10-10.

8/16/2008 1:55:12 AM

Sonofabitch. Bowens seemed poised to have a breakout year...if we could get some QB production.

I think he had the ability to make a QB look a lot better than he really was with his vertical ability, and physical play.

A damn shame that he's out for the year....that's some nc state shit.

8/16/2008 10:56:11 AM

I can count on my hand the number of first year starters at WR that were productive (CJ, Crabtree, etc), so I wouldn't expect any of ours this year to do anything, regardless of potential, Bowens loss hurts, James' role just got about twice as important, Spencer is going to get more PT I would assume.

8/16/2008 11:08:49 AM

Maybe we should have left Koyal George at WR instead of moving him to cornerback?

8/16/2008 11:24:05 AM

Nah we needed the depth at DB. George was mainly a guy that would come in as a reverse decoy (what's an antonym for decoy I couldn't find one on the net). The defense would say "who's this guy" and completely ignore him or just not take him serious enough. Then boom he'd be wide open and catch a pass for a TD/long gain. He was never anything more than that. They didn't have him in their scouting report and they figured he wasn't a good enough athlete for their DB to stay on him. They figured they could tell the DB to play the run b/c they thought that he would be able to catch Koyal if need be. At least that's what I observed when I rewound the DVR.

We have plenty of depth at WR, but yeah losing Bowens will hurt b/c he has probably the most game experience.

NC State's scholarship receiving corps (with national recruiting rankings):

WRs
Fr. - T.J. Graham - *** - #128 - Graham is tied for being the third fastest player currently in college football. His father was an Olympic sprinter. (could likely redshirt)
RS Fr. - Jay Smith - **** - #24
RS Fr. - Steven Howard - *** - #52
So. - Owen Spencer - ***
RS So. - Darrell Davis - *** - #43
RS So. - Jarvis Williams - **
RS Jr. - Geron James - *** - #75
Jr. Donald Bowens - *** (out for the year)

TEs
Fr. - Mario Carter - *** - #26 (will likely redshirt)
RS Fr. - George Bryan - *** - #30
RS Jr. - Matt Kushner - ** (but originally rated as a DE)
RS Sr. - Anthony Hill - *** (but originally rated as a DE)

[Edited on August 16, 2008 at 11:55 AM. Reason : ]

8/16/2008 11:52:30 AM

not sure which threat this should go in, but JP Giglio of the N&O released his preseason top 25,
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/jp-top-25-preseason

Normally I like him but his list is retarded. He has Washington, Florida State and Utah in his Top 25 as well as OSU as number one.

8/16/2008 12:10:41 PM

some uni pics






[Edited on August 16, 2008 at 1:01 PM. Reason : .]

8/16/2008 12:34:52 PM

12 - Harrison Beck





Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt Junior
Height: 6-2
Weight: 220
Hometown: Clearwater, Fla. (Countryside/Nebraska)

In 2007: Named the Pack's starting signal caller for the second game of the season at Boston College, he started the next four games before being sidelined with an injury ... Threw for 321 passing yards in that loss, the most for a State player since Philip Rivers had 475 yards in the 2003 Tangerine Bowl ... Also threw five interceptions in that contest ... Threw for an average of 150.5 yards in the six games in which he played ... Also started the Wofford, Clemson and Louisville games, he left the Clemson game after just 10 plays with a bruised knee ... Suffered a shoulder separation in the loss to Louisville, after he was injured on a sack, he threw the longest pass for a Wolfpack player all season - a 53-yarder to Donald Bowens ... Came off the bench in the season opener to throw two touchdown passes and lead the Pack to 23 unanswered points in the second half.

In 2006: Redshirted the season after transferring ... Named to the 2006-07 ACC Academic Honor Roll.

In 2005 (at Nebraska): Saw action in two games late in the season against Kansas State and Colorado ... Completed a 21 yard pass to set up a game winning field goal with a minute remaining in the Kansas State contest ... Completed 1-of-10 passes for 21 yards and an interception in limited action ... Named to the Big 12 Commissioners Academic Honor Roll for the 2005 fall and 2006 spring semesters.

Prep: Played for head coach John Davis, father of former Wolfpack quarterback Jay Davis, at Countryside HS in Clearwater, Fla. ... Threw for 1,695 yards and 11 touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes as a senior ... Won back-to-back district championships as a junior and senior ... Threw for 2,300 yards and 21 touchdowns and completed 70 percent of his passes as a junior while leading the team to the third round of the state playoffs ... Passed for over 900 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore ... Rivals.com ranked him the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the country ... Rated as the No. 20 prospect overall in Florida by Rivals.com ... Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming ranked him No. 58 overall nationally and the No. 4 quarterback in the nation ... Majoring in communications ... Born 9/1/87.

8/16/2008 12:43:39 PM

I believe Burke and Ware are gone.

8/16/2008 12:46:19 PM

12 - Jordan Monk


Position: Defensive Back
Class: Freshman
Height: 6-0
Weight: 180
Hometown: Seekonk, Mass. (St. Raphael Academy)

The 6-1, 188-pound speedster played a major role in St. Raphael's drive to the Division I state title. A pass receiver, defensive back, kick returner and even an occasional passer, he made 60 tackles and had six interceptions. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown. Offensively he had 24 pass receptions for 377 yards and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. His 68-yard punt return late in the fourth quarter set up St. Raphael's game-winning touchdown in the Division I Super Bowl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWw9I5Cw0NQ

8/16/2008 1:01:07 PM

8/16/2008 1:09:26 PM

I like it overall. I'm still undecided though on the wolf rock logo though.

8/16/2008 1:28:43 PM

the uniforms would look great if not for that stupid logo

it's too big and anyone unfamiliar with nc state is going to have no fucking clue what that shit is unless the camera zooms in on it

8/16/2008 1:35:54 PM

any word on helmets or are they not changing as far as we know?

8/16/2008 1:36:13 PM

Quote :

"I believe Burke and Ware are gone."

What are you talking about? Gone like transferred? I can believe Burke would transfer because it looks like he's never going to see the field if he stays, but I think Ware would probably get some quality playing time this year, either at linebacker or safety, considering our lack of depth at both positions.

/run-on sentence

8/16/2008 1:39:04 PM

I hope they don't change the helmets.

8/16/2008 1:40:42 PM

i like the unis because of the solid color, it will look good on tv. I dont like the unis because of that stupid statue logo that looks like a patch that was quickly glued on. hopefully wont be able to see that on tv

8/16/2008 1:46:19 PM

wolf rock logo = poop

you can't tell what the fuck it is from a distance. there is a reason logos are usually stylized letters.

[Edited on August 16, 2008 at 1:56 PM. Reason : the rest of the uniforms are a big improvement tho]

8/16/2008 1:55:16 PM

I agree, the logo should have been left off. But, the uniforms are still an improvement over what they have been wearing.

8/16/2008 2:00:42 PM