The Idiot’s Guide to the 2011 Wolfpack Football Team

'11 Football ACC & Other NC State NCS Football26

I am often impressed with the knowledge that a lot of Wolfpack fans have concerning the personnel on the football team.  Unfortunately, I don’t have nearly as good of an understanding of the football program as some of our other writers, so it only made sense to break the manning down a little bit.  Here are some highlights to your 2011 Wolfpack football team.

(You may want to check out our previous articles, by StateFans, on the release of the 2011 Organizational Chart and the team captains.)

–CAPTAINS–
All home-grown captains this year.

George Bryan (TE) – RS Senior – 6’5″ 265lb
From Castle Hayne, NC, Bryan was elected second-team All-American by Lundy’s and first-team All-conference for the 2011 season.  He finished last season with 3 touchdowns, 35 receptions, and an impressive 369 yards.  Over his career at NC State, he has had a total of 93 receptions, tacted on 992 yards, and scored 13 touchdowns.  Bryan has been a game-changer since suiting up, scoring 4 touchdowns in his 2008 season.  Regardless of who is feeding you your passes, you don’t post those kinds of numbers without having ‘horses under the hood’.

JR Sweezy (DT) - RS Senior – 6’5″ 293lb
Sweezy is listed as a Lundy’s pre-season All-Choice player and hails from Moorseville, NC.  He has earned 63 tackles at NC State, 18 for a loss of 77 yards.  Sweezy quickly became a personal favorite of mine last season after he surprised everyone by posting huge tackles for loss against Clemson (4 for 21), UNC (2 for 12), and Maryland (4 for 11).  He began suiting up in 2008 and played for one snap against South Carolina (I don’t want to talk about it) and briefly against William & Mary.

–STARTERS–
Some players from last season really stood out to earn their starting positions (JR Sweezy comes to mind).  Below is a list of our starters.  Return players from last year’s Org Chart are in bold.

DEFENSE OFFENSE SPECIAL TEAMS
– David Amerson (CB) – Camden Wentz (C) – Wil Baumann (P)
– Jarvis Byrd (CB)** – Taylor Gentry (FB) – Niklas Sade (PK)
– McKay Frandsen (DE) – James Washington (HB) – Scott Thompson (LS)
– Jeff Rieskamp (DE) – Zach Allen (OG) – TJ Graham (KOR & PR)
– Markus Kuhn (DT) – Duran Christophe (OG)  
– JR Sweezy (DT) – RJ Mattes (OG/OT)  
– Audie Cole (LB) – Mikel Overgaard (OT)  
– DJ Green (LB) – Mike Glennon (QB)  
– Terrell Manning (LB) – Georgie Bryan (TE)  
– Brandan Bishop (S) – TJ Graham (WR)  
– Earl Wolff (S) – Jay Smith (WR)  
*Players Returning from Last Year’s Org Chart are in BOLD

 

On Defense. The defense sees about a 50/50 return in the starting positions from last year’s starters and second-stringers, most notably Audie Cole (LB) and Terrell Manning (LB).  What to watch for?  ‘Who becomes the emotional leader on the field’, of course.  With Nate Irving leaving the Pack for Denver (Congrats, big guy… never seen another player who deserved a good future so much), there is a hole there.  They are big shoes to fill, but between Manning’s 11 tackles for loss totalling 50 yards and Cole’s 10 tackles for a loss totaling 31 yards, and their combined total of 200 tackles last season, Tenuta should have plenty to work with.

Of those who are starting, but not returners, CB might be of some concern.  Jarvis Byrd is a bit of an unknown due to a torn ACL last season.  David Amerson is regarded as a real diamond in the rough, starting in challenging games like FSU and WVU last season, but is still young. (**UPDATE: Also note that Byrd was reported as having torn his ACL, again, on July 25th, removing him from the roster for the 2011 season.)

Simply because it’s of interest, I wanted to say something about the secondary.  Last season, the secondary began locking down the backfield with, IMHO, unmistakable assistance from Tenuta’s aggressive use of line backers.  None-the-less, Bishop tacked on 4 interceptions.  What’s even more positive than actually getting some interceptions is gaining the big return off the turnover.  Bishop is pretty consistently returning interceptions for at least 15 yards.  Not only is he forcing the turn-over, but he’s also moving the ball down the field.  Earl Wolff has also shown promise.  As a safety, he had 91 tackles, 1 interception, and 2 QB pressures.  Of the non-starters, Dean Haynes, a former defensive back, started eight games last season and scored 3 touchdowns before getting injured last season.  There is a “wild card” factor about him due to injuries and playing a new position, but for those who aren’t familiar with manning, WR to S isn’t that unusual of a switch.  Dontae Johnson, also a second-stringer at safety, played in almost every game last season, earning 27 tackles.

On Offense. Most of our starters in 2011 will be veteran starters or second-stringers from last season.   I know that’s sort of what you would expect from year-to-year, the fact that 9 of 11 starters on offense are returning from last year’s org chart is a comforting sight to see, especially after the loss of offensive staple Russell Wilson.  Even those not listed as returning from last year’s Org Chart proved their worth last season. 

RJ Mattes actually was originally a starter last season, but due to a training-camp injury was taken out for the first game.  He started the last 10 games in 2010 and is beginning the 2011 season as a Lundy’s pre-season All-ACC choice second-teamer.  Jay Smith also missed the season opener with an injury, but bounced back to start against Clemson.  He averaged a little over 10 yards per carry in 2010.  (UPDATE: While we are talking about injuries, I’ll add that Mustafa Greene is suppose to return to the line-up October 1.  We’ll see.)

 

–PLAYER ORIGINS–
It’s always interesting to see where our talent comes from.  If nothing else, it tells us where we are tapping talent from (and it gives those fans who feast on the recruiting season something to talk about).

All-in-all, about 40% of NC State’s starters and second-stringers are coming from North Carolina (a little more than 40% on Offense and little less than 40% on Defense).  Just incase anyone wondered if any influences of Amato were still swinging around Raleigh, only about 5% of the team hails from Florida. Other than NC, the only other significant trend that can be seen is a little less than 15% of the starters and second-stringers coming from Georgia and another 15% coming from the Northeast (PA, NJ, NY, and Mass). 

Obviously with “that other school” imploding, Tom O’Brien will pretty much have free reign over the state of North Carolina for at least a few years, barring some sort of rise in the East Carolina program or some more NCState_Shit happening, resulting in the rise of one of our other in-state rivals.  Should he branch out of state boards?  If he is able to take a mostly home-grown team and start competing for ACC titles, then you almost have to say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

–MY TAKE ON THE BUILDING OF A TEAM–
It kind of seems like you have the makings of a solid, all-around team.  What you don’t want to happen is build a team up every few years, have one good season, then spend the next several years building back up.  That will get you some notariety, but not true “success” as a football program.  Similar to how it is explained on this blog over and over again… it’s all about branding.  I’ve been pretty rough on TOB (and I still want to see the results keep trickling in), but it appears that what we have is some consistency from year-to-year.  Last season it seemed damning to lose a player as talented as Russell Wilson or an emotional leader as pivotal as Nate Irving.  However, with a strong across-the-board, veteran squad, the effects of those losses can be minimized on the field.

This season, we will have underclassmen in almost 40% of our starting and second-stringers.  Moving from the point that we already have a somewhat experienced team moving in from last season, and we still have a lot of time with 40% of the team, what this tells us is that there is longevity to Tom O’Brien’s plans for NC State.  That’s something that I’m not sure could be said for NC State in the past two decades, or at least since Sheridan was here.

Keep an eye on our comments section, below. Our readers usually have some outstanding input and insite into what’s going on in and outside of practice.

About NCStatePride

***ABOUT THE AUTHOR: NCStatePride has been writing for StateFansNation.com since 2010 and is a 2009 graduate of the College of Engineering.

'11 Football ACC & Other NC State NCS Football

26 Responses to The Idiot’s Guide to the 2011 Wolfpack Football Team

  1. BlackHole91 08/09/2011 at 10:58 AM #

    It’s spelled “Sweezy”.

    And talking about people who returned interceptions, don’t forget CJ Wilson, who returned both of his interceptions last year for TDs.

    Jarvis Byrd is done for the year with *another* torn ACL, so he will need to be replaced on that org chart you have. Maybe CJ Wilson or Rashard Smith.

  2. Gowolves 08/09/2011 at 10:58 AM #

    Isn’t Byrd out with another ACL tear?

  3. NCStatePride 08/09/2011 at 11:06 AM #

    Gowolves, BlacHole91. Right on both accounts. I had a period for a few weeks that I was out of the loop and missed the Byrd announcement. I also forgot to mention Mustafa Greene returning on October 1. I’ve never been fond of RBs returning from injuries and doing well, but… if Nate Irving can survive a coma and do what he did…

  4. baxter 08/09/2011 at 11:11 AM #

    This year’s guys to keep an eye on:
    Kuhn, Cole, Wolff, Smith, Palmer

    A lot of word trickling out of practice is that Kuhn is really impressing. Cole is obvious, but if you consider that Irving had trouble shedding blocks and Cole’s natural tenacity, I expect him to put up obscene tackling numbers this year. Wolff will be the leader of the secondary and I think this year we see a harder hitting, sure of itself back four. Smith is definitely a big target with a chance to step up and Palmer is an unknown outside of State board junkies, but this kid has wheels, and if he gets the ball in his hands, watch out. Should be doing some return duty as well.

  5. baxter 08/09/2011 at 11:13 AM #

    I also have a feeling that Moose may be back by Cincy, but that’s just a gut feeling. However, I have a good feeling about the core of Washington, Underwood and Creecy to carry us till then.

  6. Greywolf 08/09/2011 at 11:14 AM #

    I’m very happy with the special team newbies. What’s missing is who will be the holder?

    Check out our new punter, kicker and long-snapper…

    Scott Thompson: Rated as the second-best long snapper in the country by special teams guru Chris Rubio …3.8 GPA.

    Wil Baumann: Rated as the third-best punter in the country by Scout.com … 3.5 GPA.

    Niklas Sade: Tagged as the third-best kicker in the country by Scout.com … … 3.9 GPA.

    They won’t be turning in plagiarized Swahili papers.

  7. McPete 08/09/2011 at 11:46 AM #

    I think the organizational chart you are using to determine returning players is problematic. Amerson, Mattes, and Sweezy weren’t on the beginning chart for different reasons (true freshman, injury, suspension, respectively) but they all started by the end of the year.

    NCStatePride: Maybe I needed to be a bit more forthcoming in my article, but I tried to mention the players who were not in last year’s org chart but still started (actually, I specifically mention Sweezy, Mates, and Amerson). The point that I think can be made from the org chart in 2010 is that it shows who TOB was putting his faith in, initially, in 2010 and if those people are still around.

    None-the-less, you’re right, there are some players who were not on the org chart last year, but started by season’s end. Most of those I tried to note, like the players you mentioned, but let me know if I missed someone.

  8. Vegaswolf 08/09/2011 at 1:14 PM #

    Relative to the running game, I understand that O’Brien is going to alter his long-time strategy of not having fullbacks run the ball. Gentry may also be catching more passes this season as not just an outlet but as the first option. If all that comes to pass, it’s a nice extra “umph” in the running game.

    I’m pretty fired up to see our D in action this year. That game against GA Tech last season was one of the most disciplined, well-executed defensive schemes I’ve seen from State since Herring. Good stuff is in store this season.

  9. StateFans 08/09/2011 at 1:50 PM #

    Byrd is out all season with another knee injury

  10. Classof89 08/09/2011 at 2:11 PM #

    “Obviously with “that other school” imploding, Tom O’Brien will pretty much have free reign over the state of North Carolina for at least a few years”

    I completely disagree…We haven’t taken advantage of UNC’s woes yet on the recruiting trail…what makes you think that’s going to change?

  11. NCStatePride 08/09/2011 at 2:15 PM #

    At some point in time you don’t have to do anything to UNC’s recruits because they will look for greener pastures on their own. Whether we “take advantage of UNC” or not, there are players in NC looking for a D1 gig and we need talent.

    Plus, you would say we haven’t taken advantage of UNC yet… I’d argue they haven’t been crippled yet.

  12. tjfoose1 08/09/2011 at 2:18 PM #

    I don’t think TOB is changing his strategy, per FB rushes. He did, however, make it public that he promised Gentry at least one carry.

    It’s a specific promise/reward, not a change of philosophy.

  13. Virginia Wolf 08/09/2011 at 3:31 PM #

    I’m excited about the defense this year as well. They will need to keep the opponents to low scores this year so our offense can out score those opponents. The defense will win at least one game and that may just be the Fla. State game in Tally.

  14. Alpha Wolf 08/09/2011 at 3:49 PM #

    The real worry I have is the loss of Nate Irving and as always, the ability of the O-Line to get a good push off the ball and of course in pass protection. The latter will determine how good a year Mike Glennon has — if the line can give him to do his progressions, he may well light it up. If he has one second or less to find a receiver — the average time in the post-Rivers Amato era — then Mike Glennon will be on the sidelines from either poor performances or worse, an injury.

    Before I go, I got this little gem in e-mail today and it gave me a slight chuckle:

    A Duke, a Carolina and State fan all went on a camping trip to the Linville Gorge. Sure enough, an argument broke out about who loved their team the most. Naturally, the Dookie was not going to be outdone. “This is for Duke!” he yells and jumps off the side of the gorge and down into the river. Not to be outdone, the State fan is next to profess his love for his team. He yells “This is for the Wolfpack!” and pushes the Carolina fan off the mountain.

    (from my 11 year old nephew, BTW.)

  15. Greywolf 08/09/2011 at 4:01 PM #

    I hope that TOB and Jerry Petercuskie aren’t “hot after” the players CBMFD was after. We don’t need those kind of athletes at State. There are players who we are missing that I would like to have but not the Austins, McAdoos and Littles. Yes they were/are great athletes but don’t fit the TOB mold. We don’t need any more Chris Washburns or whatever his name was in our BB program either.

  16. Pack78 08/09/2011 at 5:02 PM #

    Looking forward to seeing what a completely healthy James Washington does at RB this year, and I have always thought that Underwood would really break out for the Pack before he is done (and this is his last year). Moose coming back will give us a great stable of RB’s IMHO. Think Palmer will really give us some freakishly good plays this year and the TE’s behind Bryan all bring some really impressive tools to the squad; MG will be fine and the D could be overpowering. Since so many ACC teams are breaking in new QBs as well, think that we win at least 8, and could be double digits in the win column with a bowl win.

  17. TruthBKnown Returns 08/09/2011 at 6:15 PM #

    ^^ Loved the joke, Alpha!

    And Pack78, you got that right. Washington was playing pretty well early on when he got injured. Could he possibly be an “ace in the hole” for us?

  18. Dogbreath 08/09/2011 at 7:22 PM #

    I guess Brandon Barnes is giving it a push for the biggest bust of all time award.

  19. TheCOWDOG 08/09/2011 at 8:50 PM #

    Based on this header, there is no doubt in my mind that this team is heading for the MNC.

  20. Dogbreath 08/09/2011 at 9:53 PM #

    The only question that matters is whether this squad can run the ball up inside the tackles when necessary. We haven t been able to do that since 2002.

  21. El Scrotcho 08/09/2011 at 10:30 PM #

    That was a damn good offensive line. Running the same run play like 8 times in a row at UNC was one of my favorite football moments ever. Lined up two TEs and just ran over that end until they put it in the endzone.

  22. Dogbreath 08/09/2011 at 10:49 PM #

    Colmer
    Riggs
    Paulsen
    Locklear
    Kooistra

  23. logarithm 08/09/2011 at 11:09 PM #

    I’m excited. It’ll be an emotional rollercoaster of a season like they all are with State but I’m excited. I’m excited for a potentially huge year for George Bryan. I’m excited TJ Graham just might have learned to hold on to passes. I’m excited for new receivers to play with a pass-first QB and make a name for themselves. I’m excited Taylor Gentry is getting the recognition he’s worked hard for. I’m excited Mustafa Greene is a known factor and isn’t that-freshman-who-isn’t-Jamelle-Eugene-or-Toney-Baker. I’m excited the O-line is more experienced and able to protect a less mobile QB. I’m excited to see what Mike Archer does with a more experienced defense and I think Tenuta will make the linebackers just as nasty as last year.

  24. 8pack 08/09/2011 at 11:24 PM #

    I actually expect Brandon Barnes to contribute this season. It takes a while for a player to get into the depth chart after a string of bad luck like his. Hard to say he is a ‘bust’ after one redshirt season and losing a season and a half to devastating injuries. Brandon is a redshirt Junior with exactly THREE games of college experience.
    Now that he is finally healthy,he has two years (possibly three with a medical redshirt if applied) to make the impact that everyone hoped for.
    To early to call him a bust.

  25. GAWolf 08/10/2011 at 6:43 AM #

    The growth of the younguns in key special team roles could win us (or cost us) several close games this year. Not losing 75+ yards per game in punts alone will be a huge gain if there is marked improvement.

1 2

Leave a Reply