With basketball season over after a valiant effort by the Pack, fans can already start looking forward to football season with spring practice gathering full steam.
After an 8-5 season which was plagued with numerous injuries early on and had huge doubts regarding important positions like quarterback and running back, the Wolfpack will look for more stability in the upcoming year following the return of a huge number of starters on both sides of the ball.
Head coach Tom O’Brien expressed his pride at the way the team performed last season.
“I think last year the turnaround was big for the program,” O’Brien said. “They got within one win of the season before when the team was ranked 25th in the country, to come from where they have.”
O’Brien, however, emphasized the need for the Pack to remain injury free if they were to build on their performances over the last two years that have seen them win 17 games.
“The whole key, again, is staying healthy. There are going to be some positions where we don’t have a lot of depth and where we can’t afford injuries next year,” O’Brien said. “As long as we stay healthy then I think we’re going to have a pretty good football team.”
The Pack’s season opener at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Tennessee at the Georgia Dome has the team buzzing, according to O’Brien.
“Certainly the Tennessee game has had an impact on this team,” O’Brien said. “When you look at a game like that with the profile that it is, it puts a little more emphasis and a little more determination in everything they do knowing they have to play that game.”
Redshirt junior cornerback Jarvis Byrd, senior offensive tackle R.J . Mattes and redshirt sophomore running back Mustafa Greene are the three players that have been listed as injured for spring. Greene missed last season after a pair of foot surgeries sidelined him following a freshman year that showed a lot of promise.
“The key with him is make sure he can wake up and go the next day,” O’Brien said of Greene.
One of the biggest questions going into the spring game will be at the linebacker position following the loss of Audie Cole and Terrell Manning, as well as the suspension of junior D.J . Greene. Fifth year senior Sterling Lucas has been named as the middle linebacker after missing out on last season with a knee injury. Junior Rickey Dowdy and sophomore Brandon Pittman have been named as the other two linebackers at the top of the depth chart. O’Brien felt that was one position where the personnel were scarce.
“We only have six, seven scholarship guys. It is what it is,” O’Brien said. “Coach [Jon] Tenuta said he’s got to find guys that can play. That’s what he’s working on.”
State has also lost as many as three wide receivers, including T.J . Graham, Jay Smith and Steven Howard. O’Brien didn’t seem too concerned and felt the current corps, along with the freshmen, had it in them to make it a successful season.
“We’re in a similar situation to where we were a year ago when we lost three guys,” O’Brien said. “We didn’t know about Tobais [Palmer] and Bryan Underwood coming into the season. They showed flashes. They can be really good wide receivers.
“I think the key is going to be the freshmen, Maurice Morgan and Hakeem Flowers, to see if they can step up. They are very talented. It’s just a question of them being experienced, getting confidence and making the plays.”
The Pack made some changes in the coaching staff during the off-season with running back coach Des Kitchings being the most noteworthy. O’Brien expressed his satisfaction at the influence Kitchings has had so far.
“I think [ Kitchings’ ] doing a real nice job,” O’Brien said. “I think he’s got a lot of experience. I think that he’s got the respect of his players.
“He’s fresh, they’re fresh to him… they’ve got to impress him if they want to play.”
The Pack will return to Carter-Finley Stadium for the first time this season when they play in the Kay Yow Spring game on April 21 at 3:30 p.m .
