i'm now putting all my faith in nc state athletics on the shoulders of this football team. dangerous, i know. don't let me down TOB.

3/12/2009 9:02:20 PM

^Yeah...thats a set up, but I think that I will be in the same boat. Oh well. GO MOTHA FUCKIN PACK!

3/13/2009 8:22:32 AM

This topic is relevent to my interests.

Honestly, football is the only thing that keeps me giving my $ to the WPC

3/13/2009 4:26:11 PM

Quote :

"BY TIM PEELER RALEIGH, N.C. – Carter-Finley Stadium is about to lose it’s “crowned” jewel: the 2-foot hump in the middle of the football field. Beginning April 20, two days after the annual Red & White Spring Football game and former player reunion, thousands of cubic yards of dirt will be hauled out of stadium, as contractors dig down as much as two-and-a-half feet in the center of the field. In its place, the selected contractor will essentially build a 75,000-square-foot sand-based golf green – almost exactly like the ones about to open at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus, without all the undulations – as the Wolfpack's new playing surface. Bids are currently under review from three prospective contractors. “The entire field will be built to United States Golf Association specifications for new greens,” said Ray Brincefield, NC State’s assistant athletics director for outdoor facilities. “It’s the exact same drainage pipe, it’s the exact same gravel, it’s the exact same peat moss and sand mix. The USGA sets the specs for how they build well-draining greens, from the subsurface to the grass, and those are the specs we are using.” The new field, covered with Tiftway-419 hybrid Bermuda grass, will be able to drain as much as 13 inches of rain per hour. Third-year Wolfpack football coach Tom O’Brien has lobbied for replacing the outdated crowned field ever since he watched then-sophomore running back Jamelle Eugene step in a mush hole and fall down while attempting to run into the end zone against North Carolina two years ago. Carter-Finley is the only field in the ACC that still has a crown. The field was built with a slight incline when the stadium opened in 1966 to help water drain from the middle of the field to the drains in the corners, with the added benefit of helping teams that ran veer-style offenses, which were popular in the 1970s. Over the years, the crown has become more pronounced. But the Dail Practice Fields adjacent to Carter-Finley are level, as are the fields at every other stadium where the Wolfpack plays. So, quite literally, the team has not been competing on a level playing field with its opponents. “We go from our own practice fields, which are level, and then go play our home games on a field with a huge crown on it,” O’Brien said. “That’s one of the reasons we wanted to get it done. The field is also 30-some years old. Plus, the drainage is something that is important for us, after two of our home games were affected last season by heavy rains.” Brincefield and his staff borrowed two baseball tarps to cover the field prior to the William & Mary game, the first time in the 43-year history of the stadium that the field was covered before a game. The school then bought its own tarp to protect the field, which was covered prior to the South Florida game as well. The long-awaited leveling is expected to cost up to $1 million, said NC State athletics director Lee Fowler. However, neither state funds nor Wolfpack Club contributions will be used for the 103-day project, which is expected to create jobs for up to 100 laborers, Fowler said. It will be paid for from a recently approved increase in student fees, which will fund up to $12 million in renovations and improvements to various athletics facilities. Among the other projects are video boards for Reynolds Coliseum and Doak Field at Dail Park, completion of phase II of the NC State Soccer Field and Derr Track, a revamped outdoor tennis facility (new courts, lights and stands) and the laser-leveled football field. By starting just after the spring game, the three-month field renovation will be done in plenty of time for the Sept. 3 season-opener against South Carolina. That game kicks off the busiest season in the history of Carter-Finley, which will host eight NC State home games and three North Carolina High School Athletic Association state championship games. Brincefield said the field may show some of that wear-and-tear by the end of the season, but “We know by the end of the season there will be some wear-and-tear, but that is what you face when you build a field for drainage,” Brincefield said. “It will be an on-going battle between the hash marks to strip off thin sod and replace it from time to time. “That’s the same battle everyone faces with a sand-based surface. There is nothing wrong with taking off 5,000 to 10,000 square feet of sod and replacing it every spring. It gets caught up by the beginning of the season and you will never know there is any difference by the beginning of the season.” Brincefield has worked with the school’s design and construction services team and has access to the nation’s top-ranked turfgrass management program to help overcome any challenges. The three contractors who are bidding on the project have all been pre-qualified to build the field to the desired specifications, and Brincefield is confident that the Wolfpack will be playing on one of the nation’s finest surfaces this fall. “At a school like NC State, the premier field on our campus should be built the premier way,” Brincefield said. "

3/16/2009 11:27:44 AM

Good to see that they are finally fixing this.

3/16/2009 11:51:20 AM

maybe the endzone paint will look cooler

here's to red with white letters

3/16/2009 12:07:54 PM

someone photoshop TOB on top of that thing with butch davis getting smushed on the bottom

[Edited on March 16, 2009 at 2:27 PM. Reason : .]

3/16/2009 2:26:46 PM

I'm living for football season now. A winning record, a beatdown of chapel college, and a bowl game, that's all I'm asking for. Make that countdown clock run faster.

3/16/2009 2:44:34 PM

Quote :

"I'm living for football season now."

I have been since early Feb.

3/16/2009 2:48:20 PM

http://media.scout.com/media/doc/65/653920.pdf

2009 Depth Chart Released

Toney Baker listed as starting tailback, lol

3/16/2009 4:37:36 PM

Eugene is injured and not participating in spring practice. Even so, the only place i see us possibly being soft is our secondary, but with some improvement from last year plus a healthy Clem Johnson we look pretty badass. (factoring in the guys that are missing spring practice due to injury, esp Bowens, Eugene, and TJ Graham)

3/16/2009 4:52:10 PM

our O line averages 315lbs plz to open holes / give R-Wil time


and at that LB core. Sterling Lucas, Dwayne Maddox, Nate Irving, Ray Michel = SOLID

[Edited on March 16, 2009 at 4:59 PM. Reason : .]

3/16/2009 4:57:42 PM

Quote :

"A winning record, a beatdown of chapel college, and a bowl game, that's all I'm asking for."

CALL ME CRAZY, but for a team that has a proven coach and the returning best qb in the acc, i'm hoping we get more than "a winning record" and "a bowl game".

3/16/2009 5:00:17 PM

^I understand, I'm just trying not to fall into the over-hyped expectations trap like I do every year.

3/16/2009 5:04:38 PM

the pronunciation chart is really funny to me for some reason.

3/16/2009 5:41:20 PM

Quote :

"KOON"

3/16/2009 6:09:08 PM

I wonder if Asante Cureton will work his way into the two deep. Anybody know anything about him? Apparently he's the Defensive POY on the Scout.

3/16/2009 6:31:30 PM

Well, well, well. juh MELL, juhr EL, & mee SHELL (and Juh MAWL).

3/16/2009 6:42:50 PM

Wow, I really, really like the looks of our team next year. The only question marks in terms of personnel are:
DE - who is opposite Willie Young?
Safety - Clem should be solid, if not good, but Simmons at FS is a big ? I know he's fast, but can he play?

That offense is particularly impressive. You got a big, veteran O-line (3 seniors, 1 junior, 1 grad student), Eugene and Baker (both veteran backs with potential), Wilson (and added depth at QB in Glennon), and Spencer, Bowens, and Graham at WR (not great years YET for each, but potential and great speed are there).

3/16/2009 6:48:15 PM

^ Jimmaul Simmons had two interceptions last year. I think he'll be fine.

3/16/2009 6:53:31 PM

is bowens gonna be healthy this year?

3/16/2009 7:02:21 PM

Quote :

"DE - who is opposite Willie Young?"

Rieskamp is a good pass rusher as is audi. Shea McKeen will start and he was really coming into his own last year before he went out with that ankle injury. I think our team is as solid as its been since Rivers' junior year, to be completely honest. We are VERY young though. Luckily, we have some vets that have been around the block at all the positions.

3/16/2009 7:08:04 PM

This is the first time in a long time I've been able to look at NC State's roster and smile. We actually have quality players and quality depth throughout the team.

I agree that FS is our biggest question mark: Simmons might get the early nod, but TOB has said he might move a CB back there if things aren't working out.

I'd say SLB is going to be interesting to watch. Does Maddox come back much improved this year? Does Manning play like a top-tier recruit or a guy who blew out his ACL? Should be a fun position to watch. Seeing how much that position has to cover the TE (basically another DB), I'd give the nod to Manning early on. We shall see.

3/16/2009 8:39:05 PM

Quote :

"Has anybody left the program? No one has left. Everybody else is still here, as far as I know. "

w00t

3/16/2009 8:45:44 PM

They have Nate Irving listed at 235. If he is up to that weight and can maintain his speed... He could be even more hell on wheels than he was last year. Think the predator cruising around in a Hum-V. Somebody get on the photo-shop. stat!

3/16/2009 9:46:26 PM

Is Javon Walker a SS or FS? I had figured once he wasn't injured anymore we'd have a starting combo of Johnson/Walker.

3/16/2009 9:58:59 PM

Nate is gonna be decapitating people for sure. Really looking forward to seeing some of the young guys take the field...brandon barnes, nathan mageo, terrell manning...plus seeing guys back on the field like toney baker and donald bowens.

3/16/2009 10:10:06 PM

I'm taking bets on the over/under for season-ending injuries before the South Carolina game.

Over/Under - 3
aph319 - over

3/16/2009 11:02:34 PM

more like how many games russell wilson will play until he fully tears his acl.

3/16/2009 11:12:51 PM

at least this year, if something happens to russell, we won't have to decide between losing the game with beck or losing the game with evans...we'll just bring in glennon and keep on kicking ass. Plus it's nice to see Glennon has put on about 15 lbs since coming to ncsu.

3/16/2009 11:58:02 PM

and believe me, i'm holding my breath on that one, too.

3/17/2009 12:10:27 AM

so fickle
http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=539327

3/17/2009 12:23:35 AM

sup man. how about you read ze thread.

Quote :

"i don't expect glennon to come in and win right away like rivers did, but i do expect him to come in and play better than daniel evans, which is no hard task for someone w/ any actual arm strength."

the whole argument was that it's better to get glennon experience than play half a season with daniel evans. not that glennon was going to come in right away and wreck shit.

[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 12:39 AM. Reason : good burn dude.]

3/17/2009 12:36:15 AM

3/17/2009 12:41:12 AM

^ just never tell anyone how long they had to give directions for that 'card stunt' when you show them the pictures.

3/17/2009 12:42:50 AM

i shouldn't have been all that necessary though if they were really typed out on the cards..

3/17/2009 12:50:37 AM

I wasn't at that game. In fact I haven't been back to Carter-Finley since 2006.

I have gone to a couple of away games though.

3/17/2009 12:56:22 AM

i can't wait to see the new field

3/17/2009 6:08:27 AM

i might actually go to the spring game this year. never thought about going to one but i need some optimistic sports in my life.

3/17/2009 6:15:54 AM

i'm definitely planning to go to the spring game

3/17/2009 7:00:14 AM

Dammit Brass!! It's far too early in the year for me to be reaching such dangerously high levels of pumpage!!

3/17/2009 7:43:58 AM

^Too much of the pumpage in this thread.

Our LB depth chart makes me happy.

3/17/2009 8:18:28 AM

Looks like the spring game will cost a dollar to attend, but for a damn good cause, IMO. From TOB:

Quote :

"Yes, we are going to dedicate the spring game in the memory of Kay Yow, and it is going to be her foundation. What we will do is we will ask people to make a dollar donation as they come in. Children will get in free, but adults that come to the spring game will have to give a minimum of a dollar. You can give whatever they want, but it is going to cost you a dollar toward the Kay Yow Fund for the spring game. As long as I'm here, that is what we'll do with the spring game, it will be in her memory and her honor and her foundation."

Gotta love TOB. He's embraced NC State Wolfpack culture, knows what's important to our fans, and lets us know what's important to him. Fowler REALLY lucked out by getting him as our coach.

3/17/2009 9:06:55 AM

Quote :

"There are some people who may pick you as the favorite to win the division. Is that alright? I don't care where they pick me. I never have. It doesn't make any difference to me where they pick me. Do you feel like you are getting things going in the direction that you want? Yeah, they are. I don't know why they would pick us, but that is their choice to do what they do. "

lolz. he's a badass

3/17/2009 9:10:28 AM

http://northcarolina.scout.com/2/814556.html

just for smiles.

best line is the last one:

Quote :

"As head coach of UNC, Butch Davis is now 0-2 against NC State. "

3/17/2009 9:24:05 AM

Anyone think Cash and Young could both go on the first day of the NFL Draft next year?

3/17/2009 10:19:17 AM

Young has GOT to show more consistency on the defensive line as a pass rusher. I think he has the physical attributes to be a dominant DE in the ACC and the potential to be a decent one in the NFL, but i think he tends to get big headed and take plays off. cough*peppers*cough

if he can step it up this year he could sneak into a late first round pick. otherwise i'd look for him late 2nd or 3rd

3/17/2009 10:24:03 AM

btw, brass monkey you are my favorite sports poster. always good posts and relevant info and great pics. doesn't level out the amount of idiots on here but it is nice to see at least one intelligent being.

3/17/2009 10:26:22 AM

Cash is good, he's very disruptive and makes plays in the backfield, contains the run, but i have no idea if he'd go in the first round; would depend on alot of factors like how many other DT's are coming out this year, combine workouts, how well the season goes etc. Young...like he (^) said, i think its just a matter of being consistent. The last two years he's started out slow, but come on like crazy the last 5-6 games

3/17/2009 10:26:51 AM

Quote :

""Nobody better think they're starters because nobody owns the jersey. North Carolina State owns the jersey. ... They have to earn it. "

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=528179

A nother badass O'brien quote.

3/17/2009 10:42:56 AM