NC State’s 2010 football camp opened yesterday and there are plenty of articles and items for fans to review!
WRAL paints a solid primer on what to watch for as the Wolfpack opens camp in this entry. If you were fortunate enough to here Jeff’s appearance on Taylor Zarzour on Tuesday morning, then you heard him mention the importance that special teams performance and turnovers have on the fragile Wolfpack defense. WRAL included an interesting statistic that N.C. State’s average starting field position in 2009 was the 30 yard line compared to our opponent’s 36 yard line. Multiply that by the number of unique possessions per game and you get a staggering descrepency of ‘hidden yardage’. A major component of this was generated by untimely turnovers that started in game one when Toney Baker fumbled inside the Wolfpack 10 yard line to allow South Carolina to score its only touchdown of the game.
This team will be much better if…it dramatically improves in turnover margin. N.C. State doesn’t have enough talent on either side of the ball to overcome a spate of unforced errors and a lack of takeaways. A year ago, the Wolfpack had just 14 combined interceptions and fumble recoveries in 12 games, while turning the ball over 25 times. Finishing last in the ACC and 114th nationally in turnover margin is a sure-fire recipe for another losing season in Raleigh.
In this link, ESPN also summarizes some key topics heading into camp and touches on the current injury situation. Perhaps most importantly is to see that RJ Mattes is expected back in early September.
Sidelined: Cornerback Rashard Smith is out for season with the “Toney Baker injury,†a.k.a. cartilage damage in his knee that required surgery. Cornerback Jarvis Byrd, who started as a true freshman last year, is out with a knee injury. Brandon Barnes, who was in the mix at running back, is out with an ankle injury but should return for the start of the season. Guard R.J. Mattes is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last year. He missed spring ball but is expected to be cleared by early September.
Some specific details from yesterday’s camp have already started to trickle; and there is no surprise that the defensive backfield is the top area of focus and attention. The following mentions some names that you may want to start following:
The opening practice usually is the only one N.C. State opens to the media, and the focus Tuesday was on the position of greatest need. That’s the defensive secondary following a disastrous 2009 season for that group.
Redshirt freshman Dean Haynes appears to have the first opportunity to help fix the secondary. Haynes worked with the starters at boundary cornerback. Junior Justin Byers has played cornerback and safety and has more experience, but has struggled for much of the time he has played.
Haynes’ willingness to get physical with the receivers was impressive, but he did get hollered at by defensive backs coach Mike Reed for missing an assignment in run support on one play.
Freshman David Amerson also got an extensive look as a second-team player. Amerson, who was one of the most highly recruited players in North Carolina, is the team’s most impressive physical specimen at cornerback at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds.
His inexperience showed on one pass breakup when he knocked down a receiver in a practice where the players are instructed not to take players to the ground. But coaches can tolerate aggressive errors ahead of passive or timid errors any day. And Amerson also demonstrated maturity by staying home to stop a misdirection running play, earning shouts of congratulations from the defensive sideline.
The first-team field cornerback, C.J. Wilson, also made an impression with an interception in the flat that he returned for a touchdown. And if nothing else, first-team safeties Brandan Bishop and Earl Wolff didn’t make any glaring errors.
As always…anytime that you have the interest and the time to discuss anything Wolfpack-related we would encourage you to spend time with us in our increasingly active message board community by clicking here.
