Tim Stevens: Pack doing well with in-state prospects

General NCS Football Tom O'Brien115

N&O Preps reporter Tim Stevens notes the progress NC State is making in-state.

State has eight commitments, including six from in the state.

But the key to in-state recruiting isn’t just signing players. It’s signing the right players.

So far, State is hitting that mark, too. Five of its six in-state recruits are ranked among the top 30 North Carolina prospects by rivals.com.

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General NCS Football Tom O'Brien

115 Responses to Tim Stevens: Pack doing well with in-state prospects

  1. BoKnowsNCS71 07/02/2007 at 3:06 PM #

    Which one of all our QBs has NFL draft potential? That would be my definition of a GREAT QB. Right now we have some talented kids at QB. Not great. We’ve had only 3 QBs go pro (successfully) – Gabriel, Kramer and Rivers. Now there were some GREAT QBs.

    The question is will they be adequate QBs when trained properly and the O-line protects them? And will the D-line makes the stops so that we get more W’s out of 500-600 yard offensive battles trading TDs every posession? I just don’t know the anser to these critical questions.

  2. noah 07/02/2007 at 3:15 PM #

    We’ve only three NFL QBs totally…never mind successful or unsuccessful.

    If NFL success defines a great QB, then right behind them, I’d probably rank Terry Jordan, Jamie Barnette and Shane Montgomery.

    Beyond that, you get into the Geoff Bender, Terry Harvey category. It’s hard to mention QBs from too far back just because we didn’t throw the ball much (hell, we didn’t throw the ball much when Gabriel was here…no one really did).

  3. doatesIII 07/02/2007 at 3:25 PM #

    “I’ll take boring 9-3’s, and 8-4’s, and bowl game for 9 years straight and be happy.”

    Based on history, a lot of NCSU fans would want more after several years of that.

    Name one time NCSU have demanded more than a 9-3 record?

    Or are you referring to your hero getting heat for his average performance?

    Dance my pretty monkey dance

  4. Joeboot 07/02/2007 at 3:39 PM #

    “Where’s Pat Meyer? Seems like he’s a volunteer coach out at Cardinal-Gibbons High School.”

    Actually, Meyer went with Stroud to FSU.

    http://tinyurl.com/35u3o9

  5. Rick 07/02/2007 at 3:41 PM #

    ^^ I am the organ grinder. Don’t be taking my monkey.

  6. BoKnowsNCS71 07/02/2007 at 3:46 PM #

    What’s the scoop on the Va kid who’s coming as a QB next year?

  7. JimValvano 07/02/2007 at 3:50 PM #

    First of all…it was time for Amato to go. Second…O’Brien and his record at BC mean very little to me. Except that I would think that where he left them should be just about the minimum of where he takes us. I think that he will be able to get us to 8 and 9 wins most every season. I think he will have us competing for an ACC title once every three to four years…AND I think that he can get us to National Title contender…at least Top 10 in the nation during those ACC contender years.

    MOST IMPORTANTLY…there is nothing wrong, absolutely nothing wrong, with wanting and expecting to get better. I wish people would stop being fcuknig complacent and saying, “oh history says…” or “8 or 9 wins is okay”

    Most of us here are Americans and we should expect improvement and achievement that takes us toward being the best.

    I think we’re on our way…at least scout does: http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=14&yr=2008

  8. JimValvano 07/02/2007 at 3:54 PM #

    Oh…and to make all that even better…as of right now…look at the Tarholes, Dookies, and Dinkies

    http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=14&yr=2008

  9. CaptainCraptacular 07/02/2007 at 4:39 PM #

    We (as collective fans) probably shouldn’t get too carried away with recruiting rankings. Especially as it relates to the other big 4 schools. Its a long way to signing day, and plenty of things change, and we may end up eating some crow on that.

    That said, even if we don’t and wind up #1 amongst the big 4, according to TOB the rankings are of little to no importance to him. He’s looking for talent, attitude, and the ability to be a successful student, not whether or not a recruiting service attaches 3 or even 5 stars to a prospect.

  10. noah 07/02/2007 at 5:13 PM #

    “AND I think that he can get us to National Title contender…at least Top 10 in the nation during those ACC contender years.”

    It’s worth noting….in the history of NC State football, no one has been able to do that. Lou Holtz never did that.

    Just saying…

  11. JimValvano 07/02/2007 at 5:22 PM #

    Dang you Noah…fcuk the history of nc state football

    If that was the way things were to be then it would be pointless to play the game.

    Just because never in the history of modern medicine there hasn’t been a cure for alzheimers, aids, or even a common cold doesn’t mean that they aren’t aiming for the cure. Just because in the history of mankind we’ve never landed a human on Mars…that doesn’t mean that its not possible. People set goals…and some achieve them. If Northwestern can become a title contender, if Boise State can become a top 10 team, if the Tarholes can be ranked #2 in football…then by-friggin-GOD so can we!!! Stop being such a pessimist…who do you think you are…Lee Fowler?

  12. JimValvano 07/02/2007 at 5:23 PM #

    ^

    Just saying…

  13. bTHEredterror 07/02/2007 at 5:36 PM #

    I don’t know how untalented or OL has been, as a fair amount of our guys have been drafted. The issue was certainly QB play or playcalling, depending on your preference. Another issue was the coaching staff never had a plan on offense after PR, the true coordinator during his years, graduated. They should have recognized their strength was going to be D, and prepared accordingly.
    I think staff turnover was a serious issue, and indicates the assistants were either not cutout for the program and departed, or more likely, there was no program and they wanted out, ASAP. Chuck was a decent defensive game planner and a solid recruiter, but there was never any apparent offensive system, other than a plethora of bubble screens and counters, and these were never built off of other plays. It’s not always the talent of the coach that matters, but that coaches style and specialty, and the overall system and gameplan. If he doesn’t mesh with the head coach or the personell, the results can be disappointing. Our system seemed to be a bully stylt like what FSU had for so many years, and only works when your talent is superior to your opponents. Wake got it done with less in IMO, and I bet TOB & co. have a plan they have already communicated clearly, and will get it done quickly with the talent on hand.

  14. Mr O 07/02/2007 at 6:30 PM #

    Sure Evans has some limitations, but IMO we can win with Evans. I am hoping Trestman and the rest of the offensive coaching was as bad as it looked on gameday and that our new coaches will make us an effective offensive team(note I am not saying dominating by any means).

    We have good WRs, a potential NFL tight end, and two very good running backs. I think Evans will do fine at QB and our overall offensive success will be solely determined by our offensive line play.

  15. beowolf 07/02/2007 at 7:36 PM #

    noah, in fairness, Amato’s 2002 team was three plays away from an undefeated regular season. (Of course, it was also two plays away from 7-5.) But that’s what makes Amato’s decline so maddening — that 2002 team was outstanding in all facets of the game, and it was disciplined, too. At the time we certainly saw it as the logical progression of Amato’s coaching to date (“ahead of schedule,” actually), but subsequent personnel changes and already sewn seeds of destruction made it an aberration.

    But it showed that it’s not impossible to do at NC State. We’re a large public university with a strong alumni and resource base, and now we have great facilities and an improved, football conference.

  16. choppack1 07/02/2007 at 8:58 PM #

    Amato’s teams were on the “cusp” so many times, it was absurd. Eventually good luck and bad luck even out…there are lots of unemployed coaches w/bad luck, lots of national championship winners w/ good luck. At the end of the day, luck has little to do w/it. TOB’s teams were very strong when it came to TO margin, once Philip left, Amato’s teams were one of the worst.

    As for putting together a consistent winner at NC State – things have changed in Raleigh -for the better. However, when you look at the “natural order” of things, and assume all teams playing up or down to their potential, right now, we come in behind FSU, Miami, Clemson and VaTech. While GaTech has better tradition than we do – I think from a talent perspective we can keep up, and from a fan perspective, we’re better. I would say the same thing about UVa, UMd, UNC – and BC. We should be better than Wake and Duke.

    Does this mean you write off a championship? Hell no. It just means that we shouldn’t necessarily expect TOB to consistently beat FSU, Miami, Clemson and VaTech. We can compete with them – we could very easily get a title under TOB. As others have pointed out, we only have to be a little bit better than we were under Amato.

  17. highstick 07/02/2007 at 10:00 PM #

    All said, let’s just win an ACC title first for a change, then we can get excited about a national title.

  18. BoKnowsNCS71 07/02/2007 at 10:22 PM #

    I agree High stick. One step at at time. The closest I can ever recall us getting close was in 1967 but we lost the last two games to Penn State and Clemson in the closing moments. Had we won those and gone undefeated, who knows? Now its harder. Think of Boise State last year. Even if undefeated, no chance at the respect that would have given them a shot. Heck we could go 13-0 and still not get our due.

  19. bTHEredterror 07/02/2007 at 10:39 PM #

    You can’t expect to win on the road any year at those four schools, nor can they expect to win every game at home. But we have beaten Clemson and FSU, and for that matter Va. Tech in recent years on the road. And Va. Tech and Miami on the road will come 1 out of 3 years anyway.

    The point is to become a place where those teams can’t expect to win either. The thing that stuck in my craw with Amato was all the meltdown’s at home. We are a solid crowd, and can be great at times, but they always seemed to find a way to sit us down and shut us up. The Akron game for instance. And UNC ’05. And OSU. And Maryland every other year.

    You can’t routinely, that is annually, disappoint the home crowd and expect a long tenure. Or to compete for league titles.

  20. noah 07/02/2007 at 11:41 PM #

    “that doesn’t mean that its not possible.”

    No one is saying that.

    “noah, in fairness, Amato’s 2002 team was three plays away from an undefeated regular season.”

    Texas A&M was an INCH away from playing for a national title. They had a running back sprinting down the sideline for what would have been the winning touchdown against Tulsa (of all people) and they ruled he stepped out of bounds. They ended up losing the game….won the rest of the games that year and ended up in the Cotton Bowl instead of the Orange Bowl.

    The fact is…we’ve never been a top-10 program in football. Ever.

    Look at Tom O’Brien’s accomplishments at Boston College. Go look at them right now.

    Now, you can SAY, “Well, that’s a nice starting point…but I want more.” You can say it. But there’s never ever been a coach at NC State who did what TOB did at BC.

    Ever.

    If he simply repeats what he did at BC here in Raleigh….we ought to name the f-ing stadium after him.

    Don’t even post stuff about national titles. OF COURSE you want a national title. It doesn’t even warrant typing it in. UNC-Charlotte WANTS a national title. Troy State wants a national title.

    What TOB did at BC since 1999 is simply phenomenal. How many other schools achieved or surpassed that kind of sustained success during the same time period?

    Oklahoma…Ohio State…Texas…Michigan. Maybe a few other schools.

    Florida, FSU, Miami…none of them…Nebraska didn’t. LSU didn’t. Alabama didn’t. Auburn didn’t. USC didn’t.

    Winning seven to 10 games every year and winning a league title every once in awhile and consistently going to bowl games and consistently competing against the best teams in the country….that’s an incredibly tall order.

    Ask Dick Sheridan and Lou Holtz how hard it is to do at NC State. Those are two of the finest football minds ever. Ever…anywhere. And they didn’t do it.

    Yes, I want a cure for cancer and to land on mars. Blah blah blah. But there are so many other enjoyable things on the way there….

  21. noah 07/02/2007 at 11:42 PM #

    “All said, let’s just win an ACC title first for a change, then we can get excited about a national title.”

    If I’m not mistaken, every team in the league (excluding the recent additions) has won a conference title since the last time we won ours in 1979…

  22. beowolf 07/03/2007 at 12:02 AM #

    noah, are you mistaking me or what? I’m trying to reconcile your tone with what I’ve said, and I’m just not seeing what warrants it.

  23. JimValvano 07/03/2007 at 7:46 AM #

    Noah is just trying to be Devil’s, no Dink’s, no Tarhole’s Advocate here. He’s just trying to temper our expectations. Or maybe Noah is actually a member of Lee Fowler’s family. Or maybe he is Lee Fowler??? Nope he can’t be Lee Fowler…he is on the internets…Lee wouldn’t know how to do that.

    Oooh oooh…maybe Noah is Chuck Amato. No…maybe he’s Herb Sendek. Well…no matter who Noah is…considering the people I’ve named who might be possibilities…I’m not sure his opinion should even warrant a response.

  24. BoKnowsNCS71 07/03/2007 at 8:48 AM #

    Nope — Ceder Grove is either Sendek or Lee.

  25. noah 07/03/2007 at 9:13 AM #

    “noah, are you mistaking me or what?”

    I was responding more to someone else than you. I pretty much agreed with what you said.

    “He’s just trying to temper our expectations.”

    No, you’re just talking out of your ass. You speak as though you expect lightning from a blue sky. And expecting ANYTHING less somehow taints one’s allegiances.

    I really shouldn’t have to explain this to you, but since you are five years old…I’ll try and simplify it.

    Yes, people set goals. Our goal in football is to win every single game. 12 or 13-0 every single year. But I hope you realize…that’s always been our goal. And we’ve never gotten there. We’ve never come close.

    And I’m sure this is the part that really chaps your ass…but the fact is — you don’t have a damn thing to do with it. And neither do I. We sit on the sidelines and clap. That’s it. That’s the alpha-to-omega of our role in NC State football. It is OUT of our control. We can wear our lucky shirts, we can make sure we only mention positive things, we can sit a certain way in a certain place during road games…doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.

    Reality: The single greatest NC State team ever had a franchise QB, the ACC ROY at running back, future NFL players at WR, TE, and three future NFL OL (Colmer, Kooistra and Locklear, right?), and a slew of future NFL defensive players….and that team had to play two Div. I-AA teams to get to 10 wins. It also finished FOURTH in the ACC and was not ranked in the top-10 at the end of the year.

    When was the last time we finished higher than fourth in the ACC? 1994? And we were third that year? We finished in second in 1986 and 1992, I think. And our last conference title was in 1979. And we finished

    You know why people consistently talk about NC State football as though it was a mediocre program? Because it is. You know when they’ll stop? When we aren’t.

    Stephen King said that prior to the 2004 season, he was going to have inscribed on his tombstone his name, his date of birth and date of death, and below that…the Red Sox logo of the two red stockings and then below that, “Not in my lifetime….and not in yours either.”

    That’s about where I am with NC State football. I enjoy the process of chasing a national title. But I’ll believe it when it happens.

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