I think Mario holding most all the sack/tackle for loss records here along with being the first/only NC State and ACC #1 overall pick should lead to his # being retired. However......who knows. Im sure there will be more than one opinion on that issue

5/15/2009 9:16:18 PM

GO PACK

5/15/2009 9:17:31 PM

this page needs a countdown

5/15/2009 9:38:42 PM

5/15/2009 10:26:15 PM

Beautiful Old Colored Endzones <3


[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 12:44 AM. Reason : Fixed image tags]

5/18/2009 12:43:58 AM

^ Plz to bring that back. I really wish they would paint the endzones, but I know they really "can't" for obvious reasons with the grass. *sigh* SUCKSSSSS.


Ryan Cheek sounds like such an enthusiastic kid. Can't wait to have him here playing for the Pack.

GO PACK! C'mon 4 months!!!



[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 1:33 AM. Reason : .]

5/18/2009 1:10:02 AM

^^That field looks so much better than what we have now.

5/18/2009 1:12:11 AM

^we got a pile of dirt now

speaking of which, any new pics of how the new field is shaping up?

5/18/2009 1:46:47 AM

Quote :

"maybe we'll quietly go 12-0, how sweet would that be? "

even if this happened, i promise you we would get jipped by the BCS and not play in the national championship, because lets face it, were nc state, and nc state shit happens.

5/18/2009 2:52:21 AM

Quote :

"because lets face it, were nc state, and nc state shit happens. we won't be ranked in the preseason top ten."

the only team that's been able to pull it off otherwise is tOSU, they were preseason ranked 17 when they beat miami in 2003, and were ranked 11 when they lost to LSU in 2007

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 6:24 AM. Reason : .]

5/18/2009 6:11:13 AM

Quote :

"I think Mario holding most all the sack/tackle for loss records here along with being the first/only NC State and ACC #1 overall pick should lead to his # being retired. However......who knows. Im sure there will be more than one opinion on that issue"

I won't throw a fit if they don't retire it, but I don't think where he got drafted should matter, and staying a 4th year would of been nice.

5/18/2009 7:25:38 AM

if you are implying that two 1 loss teams would play for a title over an undefeated nc state, you are incorrect.

5/18/2009 9:28:45 AM

i am implying that i am ready for football season.

5/18/2009 9:33:50 AM

We play two 1-AA teams

that kinds of fucks us from the National Title discussion before the season even begins

and its nobody's fault but our own

5/18/2009 9:34:20 AM

Quote :

"and its nobody's fault but our own ECU's"

5/18/2009 9:35:05 AM

national title. you people are funny.

5/18/2009 9:37:54 AM

^^^Isn't it ECU's fault for backing out of our game?

^^Didn't see that, yeah, ECU's fault.

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 9:44 AM. Reason : edit]

5/18/2009 9:43:50 AM

12-0? I'm out of it for a little while, and everybody gets delusions of grandeur.

5/18/2009 10:14:44 AM

drink the kool-aid, my friend.

drink it up.

5/18/2009 10:19:25 AM

READ THE THREAD DUDE.

that's not what is being discussed.

5/18/2009 10:36:20 AM

So the discussion is if we went 12-0 we still wouldn't go to the BCS-NC game? Well yeah, but why worry about it. You've got to go 12-0 first.

Time to start planning how I'd employ those lottery winnings that are sure to come. All that without buying the ticket in the first place.

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 10:46 AM. Reason : -]

5/18/2009 10:45:37 AM

my point being, no one predicted a 12-0 season. someone said they didn't want the team to "carry a bullseye" or something, and i said maybe instead we could quietly go 12-0. then these idiots had to post their "nc state shit".

5/18/2009 11:15:27 AM

Oh. Well I don't think any team in the nation could quietly go 12-0. In our case we close out the season with FSU, Maryland, Clemson, VT, and UNC. No way on earth we don't have a target on our backs going in to those games with the following records:

7-0 (FSU)
8-0 (M)
9-0 (C)
10-0 (VT)
11-0 (UNC)

In fact the target would probably get larger with each game. Couldn't imagine a bigger bulls-eye than an 11-0 record playing against UNC.

Meh, I don't get it so I'll drop out of that conversation.

5/18/2009 11:50:57 AM

I don't know, unless two other BCS schools went undefeated and each had only 1 FCS school on their schedule, would the BCS be able to help NOT putting us in the Championship game? I guess it would depend on the difficulty of schedule and the victory margin of the other schools. Every BCS school last season had at least one loss on their schedule at the end of the reg. season.

For example, if Florida and Texas both finished 11-1 in the regular season, and we finished 12-0, but they both scheduled only 1 FCS schools, would UF and UT play in the NC? Probably so.

5/18/2009 11:59:47 AM

Quote :

"Well I don't think any team in the nation could quietly go 12-0."

i know, that's my point. these guys want to somehow have every team we play overlook us and somehow at the same time win every game. it's so dumb. unless they don't actually want us to win every game we play, which is even dumber.

5/18/2009 12:03:49 PM

well you have to figure in that we could have potentially beaten 6 or so ranked teams if 12-0 happened.

5/18/2009 12:04:15 PM

Quote :

"national title. you people are funny."

5/18/2009 12:06:50 PM

^ i of course am not holding my breath on a national title, even being in the game or anywhere near it this year, but every year seemingly, you get schools that come out of nowhere, and get to 9-0, 10-0 etc. There's no reason why that can't be us

1) in a league that's definitely going to be a little down this year, and we have every possibility of winning all our conference games,
2) considering the teams that beat us in conference last year, it came down to one scoring drive, (BC, FSU, UMD etc.). We only really got killed by USF and Clempson and that was because we had ("oh fuck it") at QB.

We are better this year across the board, only question mark being will the offensive line be the same or better, and i think better as the season goes on, we've seen it the last 2 years. Can we avoid being 1-4, 2-5 to start the season again is my concern, and i think we can.

5/18/2009 12:40:17 PM

^Until I see otherwise my stance on all NCSU athletics at this point is to assume we'll lose all games. Anything better then that is a bonus. 9-0? 10-0? I've learned better then to even let thoughts like that start to creep into my mind.

5/18/2009 12:47:41 PM

^^ So we lost Andre Brown but somehow our running backs are better this year? I also don't believe our secondary is better than last year as we lost both Gray and Neal. But the returning starters, along with the new talent, should overcome what was lost in the secondary from last year to this year.



[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 1:07 PM. Reason : df]

5/18/2009 1:02:44 PM

The loss of Brown shouldn't really hurt since we gain Baker, Barnes, and Underwood to try and fill his role. Also Jamelle Eugene has shown he is capable of being a full time starter if need be. The area I'm most concerned about is our secondary. At times last year those guys couldn't tackle if their life depended on it.

5/18/2009 1:09:58 PM

towards the end of the season our tackling got noticeably better.

5/18/2009 1:11:00 PM

yeah I was just thinking about that. weren't we last in pass defense and total defense last year? so I guess really there is no where to go but up.

5/18/2009 1:11:10 PM

Quote :

"At times last year those guys couldn't tackle if their life depended on it."

TRUTH.

5/18/2009 1:11:19 PM

Andre is gone, but Baker and Eugene are both back. Eugene has shown that he can carry the load by himself. Baker is obviously a question mark with his history of injuries, but then again Andre had a similar history yet still had a solid senior season. Throw in Brandon Barnes and Curtis Underwood as backups, and State still has damn solid at RB in terms of both depth and talent.

State is in a very similar position to that of UNC in 2008 - the Pack looks ready to make a move in a bad division/conference. I mean who's clearly better than State in the Atlantic? Nobody in my view. And if you accept that as true, then that means State's heading to the Championship game, and no one in the Coastal looks to be that much better than us either. V-Tech obviously will be tough, but they still need to find a way to score points after a couple of very mediocre years offensively. G-Tech should be nasty with that Triple option, but State's offense looks capable of being just as tough, if not tougher to stop.

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 1:19 PM. Reason : s]

5/18/2009 1:18:12 PM

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=teamreports-2009-ncaaf-nnn&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report

North Carolina State Team Report

Inside Slant

A year ago, Russell Wilson was an afterthought among the players competing for the starting quarterback job in Raleigh. Now, he’s the main reason that Wolfpack fans are dreaming of big things in 2009.

Wilson had an incomplete spring practice session, but thankfully for State it wasn’t because of an injury. He missed the time, including the second half of the spring game, because he’s a member of the Wolfpack baseball team as well and was honoring his commitment to the diamond while obeying the NCAA rules limiting the amount of time athletes can spend on the field.

Unlike last season, when Wilson concentrated on football in April to set himself up in the competition for the starting job, Tom O’Brien allowed him to pull double-duty this offseason. That’s because the main concern for the coach isn’t the quarterback, but everyone else on that side of the ball.

The offensive line didn’t perform to expectations this April, in part because some of the key players were unavailable due to injuries. Considering Wilson missed time last season because of a series of injuries, protecting him is a top priority. The coaching staff would like to see him stay in the pocket more and look for second and third options rather than taking off if his primary target is covered, and to do that he needs to feel that he’s not going to get planted on the turf if he stays in the pocket.

He also needs to have targets he can count on, but the receivers looked better than expected this spring. A key to that corps is Owen Spencer, who has big-play capabilities if he can avoid the drops that plagued him a year ago.

The defense was also affected by injuries this April, but none serious. The defensive line and secondary should all see position battles continuing into the fall, but it performed well in the spring game with the aid of rules that limited contact with the quarterback.

O’Brien hopes that all of this work puts his team in better position at the start of the 2009 season. Bad Septembers have started the team off in a big hole for the past two seasons, and to contend for the ACC title it will need to begin this season with the same fire that it ended the last one.


Notes, Quotes

• North Carolina State’s spring game was dedicated to former women’s basketball coach Kay Yow, who recently lost her fight to breast cancer. The Kay Yow Spring Football Game raised more than $28,000 to fight the disease.

• The coaches wanted Mike Glennon to come to camp ready to compete for the starting quarterback job, regardless of Russell Wilson’s honors a year ago. The redshirt freshman didn’t move ahead of Wilson on the depth chart, but he did cap an excellent spring season by completing 15 of his 24 passes in leading his unit to victory in the spring game.


Spring Movers:

LB Audie Cole—The sophomore was one of the stars of the spring, capping off an impressive April with some big stops in the spring game. He’s earned himself a prominent place in the team’s defensive planning heading into the summer months.

WR Jarvis Williams—Williams had five catches for 93 yards in the spring game. Though he fell just short of Owen Spencer’s game-high 96 yards, the junior showed that he’s talented enough to contend for a starting spot this fall.

TE Mario Carter—Carter, a redshirt freshman, had a game-high six catches in the spring game for the Wolfpack. He and George Bryan will both see significant time at the tight end slot this season.

Quote To Note: “We’ve got a lot of work to do in the offensive line. Hopefully, that situation will improve in preseason camp when some guys come back from injuries. But it’s still an area of concern. That’s the toughest thing we’ve got to do.”—North Carolina coach Tom O’Brien told the Raleigh News & Observer.


Strategy And Personnel

2009 Outlook: North Carolina State will be a trendy pick to contend in the ACC in 2009. A four-game winning streak that ended the 2008 regular season and got the Wolfpack to its first bowl game under Tom O’Brien, as well as the return of All-ACC quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Nate Irving, give plenty of reasons to have faith.

But there are still a lot of questions to answer heading into the summer, in particular on the offensive line and in the secondary. And after two years of terrible starts under O’Brien, the Wolfpack fans are hoping for kinder results this September.

Scouting The Offense: Wilson gives the Wolfpack arguably the best quarterback in the ACC, and Mike Glennon may be the best backup. That has the offense in good shape heading into the 2009 season, but questions remain on both the offensive line and in the receiving corps. Both are critical, especially the offensive line considering Wilson’s injury issues a year ago.

Scouting The Defense: Willie Young and Alan-Michael Cash are strong on the defensive line, and Nate Irving leads a group of playmaking linebackers. The question mark is the secondary, as well as the depth on the line. State wore down late in games at times a year ago, and the deeper the team is the less likely that will happen in 2009.

Scouting The Special Teams: T.J. Graham made an instant impact as a freshman, setting the school record for kick return yardage. He’s the prime talent on what should be a solid unit again in 2009. Josh Czajkowski has the kicking job again this season entering the summer, and Jeff Ruiz and Carl Ojala will compete to be the starting punter.


Roster Report:

• Running back Toney Baker is back on the field after losing the 2007 and 2008 seasons to injuries. The former Parade All-American hasn’t seen the field since being injured on Sept. 1, 2007—coach Tom O’Brien’s debut with the Wolfpack. The senior plans to petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility, which could keep him around until the 2010 season.

• True freshman Donald Coleman enrolled in school early in the hopes of competing for time immediately in a depleted secondary. However, a bout with mononucleosis hurt those chances, and he’ll have to try again in August.

• De’Andre Morgan missed the end of spring practice after suffering a hamstring injury, but it shouldn’t affect him going forward.

5/18/2009 1:30:45 PM

titans78 yes i know what you mean... but there's really no reason we shouldn't be good. Ive known for a longgg time now about all the bad stuff that could happen, and usually always does, so i keep that there, but..

[user]herschulez[/user] as others have mentioned, this is why i am not worried about the skill positions on offense or the line on defense. We have some great RB's who are proven and if our WR's get better than even what they were , our PPG should go up.

I am concerned i guess a little about who's gonna be the other safety. Clem Johnson proved to be really good

After Morgan was benched he played with fire the rest of the year and stopped everything, especially in run support. What i want to see us kill this year is that one stupid play that FSU ran every other down that just killed us, that little WR flare out.

Im stoked about the DL and the LB's of course. Again, to me, the only ?'s are the one safety spot and the other CB spot. But on recall, i remember Domonique Ellis playing really well at the CB spot.

5/18/2009 3:07:13 PM

If our safeties and CB's can effectively shut down our opponents aerial attack and we make our opponents one dimensional, our outlook could be very good.

So who are the incoming CB and Safeties, as well as returners and what are we looking like in those two positions with who we have and the incoming newbies?

5/18/2009 3:13:57 PM

SWWWEEEETTTTTT

I just hopefully locked up season tickets for the year

5/18/2009 3:17:13 PM

It sucks that I'll be in Philadelphia for perhaps our best season since 2002.

5/18/2009 3:20:36 PM

Quote :

"So who are the incoming CB and Safeties, as well as returners and what are we looking like in those two positions with who we have and the incoming newbies?"

We've already got S Clem Johnson and CB DeAndre Morgan back there -- two VASTLY underrated players. Both are darn near elite-level. We really need them to stay healthy.

At CB, Ellis has some experience. He looked pretty good in limited time last year-- even picked off a pass or two (I know he got one in the UNC game). He's supposedly great in man coverage, really physical, but might be a step slow. The new guys are RS Freshman Gary Grant (4.2 burner; played great in the spring game) and RS Freshman CJ Wilson (great athlete; also played great in the spring game).

Safety is a little more concering unless Javon Walker is 100%, which isn't likely. Justin Byers is back, but he needs to improve a bunch to be a factor. He was a freshman last year though, so I'd expect a big improvement. Keep an eye on RS Freshman Earl Wolff. He ran really well this spring -- 4.3 speed -- plus he's got the name thing going for him. Freshman Donald Coleman went through spring practice and could play a factor here. We'll see. An injury to Clem Johnson, and we could be screwed in the secondary.


[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 3:55 PM. Reason : ]

5/18/2009 3:49:17 PM

Yeah, of the safeties that are coming in, Donald Coleman would be the only true freshman that I think would be ready to contribute early. He went to a post graduate school to get more attention and had the extra year to put on muscle. Plus he has the spring practice experience, even though he was sidelined somewhat with mononucleosis. Hans Rice will have to redshirt to put on some weight, and the same thing goes for Brandan Bishop.

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 4:16 PM. Reason : ]

5/18/2009 4:05:16 PM

^Yep. With those two guys and the guys mentioned above, safety is going to be a strong point for us soon. Just not next year.

5/18/2009 4:08:38 PM

I agree, DeAndre is a little underrated, but he's gotten burned several times pretty badly so I don't know if he's that close to "elite." If he can eliminate those big mistakes, he'll be pretty solid. I'm sure he's improved and the coaching consistency has probably helped bigtime. I'm not trying to talk bad about the kid, after all he was the one who broke up the 4th qtr 4th down end zone pass to Nicks 2 years ago, right?

hoh man, that gives me chills remembering Carter Finley roaring, then going absolutely silent for a second or two, then erupting.... incredible.

5/18/2009 4:32:06 PM

Yeah he did get burnt a few times, but he really stepped it up the second half of the season. Every CB -- from Asomugha to Champ -- gets burned from time to time. It's inevitable. But DeAndre is the best we've had since Marcus Hudson. And honestly, I think he's much better than him.

Speaking of which, playing CB has to be one of the most frustrating positions in all of sports. You can lock down a guy the entire game and completely shut down your side, and 95% of the crowd won't notice. But the second you slip up, all the good work you've done to that point is forgotten. You immediately suck. That's gotta be tough.


[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 5:44 PM. Reason : ]

5/18/2009 5:34:13 PM

^^ actually it was senior Jimmie Sutton III. the coaches put him in for DeAndre b/c they felt that they needed a senior in for the rest of the game after DeAndre was burned on the trick play HB pass where Bobby Rome hit Brandon Tate for a 50-yard TD. DeAndre didn't play anymore after that play, and Sutton who had lost his starting job to DeAndre played every snap afterwards.

5/18/2009 7:51:31 PM

^^even worse is the offensive line. they hardly get acknowledged unless they get beat by a defender or get called a penalty (holding or false starts).

5/18/2009 9:48:33 PM

Quote :

"North Carolina coach Tom O’Brien"

They only wish.

5/18/2009 11:13:14 PM

JUST PURCHASED MY 2009 SEASON TICKETS!!!! AND I PURCHASED 2 TICKETS FOR @ VT. WOOOOO LET'S DO THIS!!!!!!!!

5/19/2009 10:34:48 AM

I advise everyone that can go to the VT game to do so. It is a must go stop if you plan on seeing all of the ACC stadiums. You will also have a lot of fun as the atmosphere is great. The 2004 game was the best away game experience I've had, and the fact that we won in such dramatic fashion makes it one of the top games I've ever attended.

Pictures from my gallery from the 2004 game





[Edited on May 19, 2009 at 11:08 AM. Reason : ]

5/19/2009 11:05:13 AM