Tuesday Tidbits

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AUGUST 9, 2011

NC STATE FOOTBALL

JP Giglio (N&O)
Pack shows fight

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien was vague with the details about Monday’s scrimmage at Carter-Finley Stadium, the first of training camp, but he was impressed with the team’s enthusiasm and his new quarterback.

“There’s good competition right now, especially between the offense and defense,” O’Brien said. “They have a pretty good thing going right now and that’s how you get better.”

GoPack.com
Pack Completes First Scrimmage

The Wolfpack football squad held its first preseason scrimmage of 2011 late Monday afternoon in Carter-Finley Stadium, working out for an hour and a half with the first team offense battling the first-team defense, and the second and third units squaring off as well.

The team ran around 85 plays in the workout, focusing mainly on fundamentals on the first-day of full tackle drills. “This was something to build on,” said head coach Tom O’Brien following the scrimmage. “We worked on our base offense, base defense, getting lined up and fundamentals. We didn’t try to outsmart anybody today. We just wanted everybody to have a chance to play.”

Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
Special Teams, Defense highlight first scrimmage

“The glass is half empty or half full,” O’Brien said. “It depends on whether you are coaching the offense or defense. You are going to find something good, bad and everything. The defense made it awful tough to run the football there for a while. I think that was the emphasis. We threw the ball a little bit and that loosened things up, and we got some runs. I think the defense is going to be fine.”

Akula Wolf (Backingthepack.com)
First Scrimmage In The Books; Here’s Some Vague Stuff

NC State 11-on-11 at practice (Video)

Tom O’Brien discusses NC State’s defense (Video)

Chip Patterson (CBSSports)
Seen/Heard at Camp: N.C. State

– Glennon’s comfort with the system will be impacted greatly by the development of his wide receivers. Team captain and preseason All-ACC selection George Bryan is the most consistent receiver at tight end, but the Wolfpack will be missing three of their top four ball catchers from 2010. Senior wide receivers TJ Graham and Jay Smith each saw action last year, and will be counted on to lead the new group. According to offensive coordinator Dana Bible, the veterans have entered camp ready to go.

“We’re a work in progress, but (the returnees) must have had a really good summer as far as training because they bring a lot of speed with them,” Bible observed. “And they’re anxious and ready to go. You’re going to see it as I’m going to see it, as it develops.”[Rapid Reports]

JOEDY McCREARY (AP Sports Writer)
Decision At QB Could Define Season For N.C. State

Tom O’Brien made his decision, and he’s sticking with it.

There’s no looking back for the former Marine. No second-guessing if he made the right choice in picking Mike Glennon as North Carolina State’s quarterback and showing Russell Wilson the door.

Outsiders may view this season as a referendum on which quarterback he ultimately should have chosen. But internally, O’Brien and the Wolfpack refuse to let their season be defined by the star player they let get away.

“I understand all the questions, but the decision was made in April,” O’Brien said. “We’re confident that we’re going to be fine moving forward with Mike Glennon. He had a great spring. It’s not about one guy. It’s a team game. There’s going to be more than one guy involved whether we win or lose, and I’m sure it’s going to be the same wherever Russell is. It’s about more than just one guy.”

GoPack.com
Gentry Named to Watch List for Hornung Award

NC State senior fullback Taylor Gentry has been named to the 2011 Paul Hornung Award Watch List as announced this morning by the Louisville Sports Commission.

GoPack.com
Opening STATEment: Episode 3

DAY 6

Over the weekend, the Wolfpack endured muggy conditions as camp shifted to full pads on Saturday and two-a-days on Sunday. With Monday’s scrimmage rapidly approaching, the weekend represented a final opportunity for coaches to install packages and players to leave an impression.

Andrew Jones (foxsportssouth)
ACC Quarterback rankings

4 – Mike Glennon, Jr., N.C. State – An All-Everything signal caller in high school, Glennon was given the nod over indecisive (regarding his commitments to football and baseball) former QB Russell Wilson, who threw 76 touchdown passes in three seasons under center. If Tom O’Brien is that confident in Glennon, that’s good enough.

Akula Wolf (Backingthepack.com)
ESPN Will Air NC State/Cincinnati Game In 3D

TheACC.com NC State Football Preview

Randy Peterson (Des Moines Register)
Beer a growing part of college football revenue streams

Northern Iowa athletics director Troy Dannen figures his search for new revenue someday will lead to what others nationally already have discovered: Tapping kegs at college football games for everyone of legal age can be financially rewarding.

NC STATE BASKETBALL

Jeff Gravley (WRALsportsfan)
Why Torian Graham decommited from NC State

Torian Graham was an early target of NC State basketball coach Mark Gottfried who landed the 6-4 guard in May. But Sunday, Graham told Wolfpack coaches that he was decommitting from NC State. “It’s nothing personal,” Graham told WRAL on Monday. “It was something I had to do.”

JP Giglio (N&O)
Prized recruit decommits from N.C. State

“Nothing bad happened at State,” said Graham, who’s ranked the No. 24 prospect in the country by ESPN. “I felt like I made my decision too fast and didn’t give other colleges a chance to recruit me.”

Graham called Kentucky his “favorite” but said he has not received an offer from the Wildcats, who went to the Final Four last season and will be one of the national title favorites – with North Carolina – this upcoming season.

Luke Winn (Sports Illustrated)
The Commitment Project: A study of top-100 recruit behavior

The AAU summer has come and gone, and as the calendar creeps toward the advent of games that actually mean something, many of the top Class of 2012 and ’13 recruits will commit to colleges. Inevitably, a bunch of those recruits will cause heartbreak by either decommitting, asking out of National Letters of Intent, or enrolling and then transferring — and jilted coaches will bemoan this as part of an epidemic that’s hurting the sport. I’ve heard coaches use that exact word, epidemic, as a descriptor for what they consider a rising trend: Players no longer feel obligated to hold true to their word, or stay loyal to one team.

The issue with the fickleness problem isn’t that coaches are wrong. There’s no way to argue that the rising number of decommitments is helping the sport; it’s that it tends to only get discussed anecdotally, i.e. when a recruit such as Michael Beasley switches high schools six times and college commitments once, or Terrence Jones reneges on Washington within less than an hour of putting on a Washington hat in a press conference broadcast live on the web, or LaMont “Momo” Jones sets what just might be a record by moving from Arizona to Iona this offseason: for being the only known top-100 prospect to jump between three high schools, commit to four colleges, and transfer once he was in college.

Brett Friedlander (WilmingtonStarNews)
Wolfpack shouldn’t panic over Graham’s decommitment

Mark Gottfried hit the ground running after being hired as N.C. State’s new basketball coach in April.

He convinced star forward C.J. Leslie into sticking around for at least another season. He offset the loss of point guard Ryan Harrow by producing graduate student Alex Johnson almost out of nowhere.

Then he made his biggest splash by landing one of the top players in the recruiting Class of 2012 in five-star shooting guard Torian Graham.

JP Giglio (N&O)
Gottfried linked to Donnan case

N.C. State men’s basketball coach Mark Gottfried was among several high-profile college coaches who invested in GLC Ltd., a retail company involved in an alleged Ponzi scheme linked to former Georgia football coach Jim Donnan, according to bankruptcy court documents filed in Athens, Ga.

Gottfried invested $250,000 in the retail liquidation company, according to court filings. Donnan is accused of using the company to run an illegal investment plan that netted the former coach an alleged $14.5 million.

Citing ongoing legal issues involving GLC and Donnan, Gottfried declined to comment Monday.

UNC FALLOUT

AP Wire
UNC Begins Another Season Of Turmoil

For the second straight year, North Carolina is starting the season in bumpy fashion.

The school fired Butch Davis as coach a week before the start of preseason practice, putting defensive coordinator Everett Withers in charge of a program operating under the weight of an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct. The Tar Heels also face the distraction of the school’s appearance before the NCAA infractions committee in October as well as possible sanctions.

All the players can do now is focus on what happens on the field.

ROBBI PICKERAL (N&O)
Caudill to chair committee to find UNC AD

A group made up of former North Carolina student-athletes, representatives of the Education Foundation, university trustees, faculty and administrators will recommend candidates to replace Dick Baddour as athletics director.

Chancellor Holden Thorp released the names of the 12-person search committee Monday, 11 days after Baddour announced his decision to step down to allow a new AD to hire a permanent football coach in the wake of an NCAA investigation that revealed academic misconduct and impermissible benefits in the program.

“This search committee represents the full range and balance of perspectives and backgrounds we need to identify the best candidates for the job,” Thorp said in a prepared statement. “The committee’s charge is to find an experienced leader committed to academic success and competitive excellence in men’s and women’s athletics.”

Robbi Pickeral (N&O)
‘Blue Zone’ fans seeing red at UNC

The issue, according to Brown: Why was Davis terminated just nine days before fall practice, after repeated statements over the past year supporting him as coach? He said the group might explore legal action depending on the information it receives.

“I can tell you, everybody that we represent is furious about the timing of Butch Davis’ firing,” Brown said. “They feel like their investment was based on Butch Davis being the head coach … and the public reassurances over the past year that he would remain the coach. … They want answers.”

Steve Wieberg (USA TODAY)
NCAA retreat set to tackle several critical reform issues

“I have little interest — in fact no interest — in simply having conversations for their own sake,” says Emmert, who moved from the president’s office at the University of Washington to the NCAA last October. “If we can’t convert these conversations into some serious action, then the retreat won’t have been a success.”

Says Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford, “I don’t look forward and see status quo.

“I think it’s too early to define where it’s going, whether it’s in the area of compliance, (expanding scholarships to cover) full cost of attendance or the possibility of multiyear scholarships,” he says. “It’s more college presidents and athletics directors and coaches, as well as commissioners, stepping back and saying, ‘This isn’t playing out the way it should be playing out in the best interest of higher education and college athletics, and it’s time to make some adjustments.’ You couple that with new and fresh leadership at the top in the NCAA. That, to me, seems like a recipe for change and change in a good direction.”

About 1.21 Jigawatts

Class of '98, Mechanical Engineer, State fan since arriving on campus and it's been a painful ride ever since. I live by the Law of NC State Fandom, "For every Elation there is an equal and opposite Frustration."

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28 Responses to Tuesday Tidbits

  1. UnclePen 08/09/2011 at 7:44 AM #

    Wondering if Ryan Harrow talked to Torian Graham and got him to decommitt. He says KY is his favorite now.

  2. PackerInRussia 08/09/2011 at 8:20 AM #

    I think the Glennon decision must be looked at not just in terms of how well he does this season, but also the potential impact of Wilson being here for only one more season and Glennon possibly leaving and then facing next year with no Wilson & no Glennon. That would be bad and keeping Glennon around to ensure he’s here next year will be worth it even if he’s not quite as good as Wilson. If he stinks it up, that’s another matter of course.

  3. tuckerdorm1983 08/09/2011 at 8:21 AM #

    my prediction this year 8-4

    Liberty W
    Wake W
    S Ala W
    Cinn L
    GT W
    C Mich W
    UVA W
    FSU L
    UNC W
    BC L
    CLEM L
    MD W

  4. LRM 08/09/2011 at 8:24 AM #

    Just think, last summer Ryan Harrow was the one that would return us to glory and prove all us idiot Sid-haters wrong. Now, without Graham, poor ol’ Gottfried doesn’t have a chance.

    tucker, my predictions line up similar to yours, except I’ll never again pick a W in Winston, where we have won once since ’95 — and that was a decade ago!

  5. JasonP 08/09/2011 at 9:05 AM #

    I predict a very disappointing 7-5, similar to tucker’s list but switch the BC and Wake games and throw in another surprise loss somewhere. Won’t be surprised if we can’t repeat over GT this season.

    Hard to believe Donnan was running a ponzi scheme. Thought his name would be thrown out as a potential UNC HC, since he was named every time ours was open.

  6. nav 08/09/2011 at 9:21 AM #

    8-4 would be a failure of a year with this rediculously easy schedule.

  7. Gowolves 08/09/2011 at 9:35 AM #

    LRM,

    We hadn’t won in Atlanta for years until last year. WF is down and we should beat them in WS. Beside some of those loses in WF(under Amato) were caused by some undisciplined play. You typically dont see that under TOB

  8. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 08/09/2011 at 10:02 AM #

    ‘This isn’t playing out the way it should be playing out in the best interest of higher education and college athletics, and it’s time to make some adjustments.’

    Wow…I’m surprised…no mention of Student-Athletes, and doing things that are in their best interest. I get the feeling that at some point, someone will realize there’s a lot of money to be made if the student-athletes unionize. Then they could collectively bargain with the NCAA (or individual conferences) for higher (or rather, SOME) pay, benefits, retirement (for those who don’t go on to the bigger and better), etc. Then we, the fans, could enjoy the excitement that comes every 7-10 years with a pending “College-Football” Lockout! Hooray!

  9. LRM 08/09/2011 at 10:03 AM #

    We actually won at GT the past two visits (’05, ’10). I see the point you’re trying to make, but going to on the road in Week 2 to W-S isn’t the gimmie everyone thinks it is.

    And going on the road to Cincy 10 days after that isn’t easy, either. We haven’t won in Charlottesville since ’94, we’ve never won in Chestnut Hill, and Tallahassee won’t be an easy trip.

    Our very best teams of the past 15 years all lost at least three games, so I think it’s a stretch to expect amazing results with a new QB and a tough road schedule.

  10. CaptainCraptacular 08/09/2011 at 10:04 AM #

    Playing unc the week after a trip to Tallahassee scares me a bit. Win or lose in Tally the team will likely be beat up and tired due to a long trip against a very strong opponent. With a short turnaround due to the travel, we may be ripe for the upset that week.

  11. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 08/09/2011 at 10:06 AM #

    Also, after watching the 11 on 11 video, I’m reminded that Glennon CAN run, though obviously not as well as Russel. I think Glennon’s ability to scramble, without Russel’s proclivity towards it, could end up being a really good thing for this team.

  12. TruthBKnown Returns 08/09/2011 at 10:19 AM #

    LRM, I get what you’re saying about Wake. But I also know that some of those losses were due to our inept OC (Noel Mazzone) back during the Rivers years. Then we had about a five year period of either bad teams or bad coaching. Or we were rebuilding in TOB’s early years. Wake also had Riley Skinner for what seemed like a decade!

    Some might say I’m making excuses, and yes, we DID lose those games. But I don’t think it’s enough to warrant us thinking like Chicken Little and that Wake just owns us in W-S now. A lot of the factors that resulted in State losses in W-S are no longer factors.

    We have a solid team now. Wake is in a down period. Unless Glennon is a big bust, I just can’t imagine us losing THIS year in W-S. I’m putting this Wake game down as a sure win on my personal list. Obviously, if Glennon is a bust, all bets are off. Not many opponents are sure wins if we don’t have a QB.

  13. TeufelWolf 08/09/2011 at 10:41 AM #

    Ah, 8-4 would be a huge letdown for me. I don’t care what the record against WFU in Winston on an even date in Sept with a redshirt freshman third string fullback communications major — or whatever ridiculous stat anyone uses to doubt that we’ll beat Wake this year — is. THIS YEAR, I’m not going to pick Wake to beat us, or Cinci, or BC for that matter. C’mon. I mean, that’s not to say that anything can’t happen in sports. I mean, that IS why they play the game. But I’m certainly not going to pick those losses. I don’t know what thats all about. Maybe I lack some sort of elusive inside knowledge but that’s setting your goals way low. Again, I could prove to be the jerk here after these games are played but, Wake, Cinci, BC? I mean, had you said MD at the end of the season, I could see that maybe, but BC?

    7-5? I just saw that. What? Wow! I mean, it’s a good thing we aren’t playing Miami or VT or South Carolina. Again, maybe I stand alone on this one but I just don’t see that. I expect more because I think this IS a good team. And I also think this is a fairly managable schedule.

    After a few moments of calming down –> However, to be more open-minded, I would love to hear as many predictions as possible.

  14. HPWolf 08/09/2011 at 1:11 PM #

    I think this may be our year. I’ll predict a 7 and 0 start and then a loss to the only team that is better than us right now. Florida State has the coaching and talent to win it all. We are better coached than most of our opponents and will have momentum after an easy start. I think we may stumble again before the end of the season, maybe Maryland. We finish 10 and 2.

  15. beer03 08/09/2011 at 1:26 PM #

    We have an untested QB who has never started a down and seems at least slightly injury prone and people are predicting 8-4 as a cellar….just amazing. I wish I had that kind of confidence.

  16. Hungwolf 08/09/2011 at 1:27 PM #

    Seven wins or more and I am happy. We need to start winning consistently year in and year out. Keep building in hopes of having a break out year and winning an ACC championship within 5 years. Every year you need talent (either recruited or developed) with good coaching but in our case we are also dependent on injuries, a few lucky bounces, refs that don’t cost us games, and team chemistry.

  17. TruthBKnown Returns 08/09/2011 at 1:34 PM #

    I’m not willing to crown FSU with anything just yet. They, too, have a new, unproven quarterback. People seem to focus on our new quarterback, but just assume FSU’s guy will be all that and a bag of chips. They have unknowns, too. What matters is who will pan out in the end, and no one knows that for sure.

    I’ve always thought it was kind of silly to try to predict anything preseason anyway. Why do we do that? If we estimate high, we set ourselves up for disappointment. If we estimate low, well, what’s the point in that? And we have a lot of unknowns. What if Glennon stinks? We could win 6-7 games, maybe even less.

    I’m just going to take it game by game and hope for the best.

  18. Virginia Wolf 08/09/2011 at 3:23 PM #

    We’re going to have a good season but not great! Here is the way I see it! 8-4 season!

    Liberty W
    Wake L Pack overlook an improved Wake team!
    S Ala W
    Cinn L
    GT L Pack gets careless and blows this one!
    C Mich W
    UVA L Close but just can’t pull it out!
    FSU W Big upset win for the Pack! Defense shines!
    UNC W
    BC W
    CLEM W
    MD W

    If Glennon is better than I think, we could win two of these games and finish 10-2, but just can’t see that with unproven QB!

  19. Greywolf 08/09/2011 at 3:38 PM #

    Our QB has been tested by one of the better defences in the country — ours — for 2 years. Mike Glennon might not be Philip Rivers but he’s a very good Quarterback who has been preparing for his time at QB for 3 years. He got beaten out of a starting job by an All ACC QB — one R. Wilson — for 3 years. That doesn’t make him chopped liver. Our record isn’t going to depend SOLELY on MG. I doubt he will lose any games for us. The question is will he win games we ordinarily wouldn’t win. Daniel flippin Evans won games for us and he couldn’t carry Mike Glennon’s clipboard.

    Oh Woe is me. Our QB hasn’t started a game for us. Well neither have a bunch of other QBs in this conference. By the middle of September that won’t be the case. I’m not concerned about Glennon’s ability to run this offence. However, I am concerned about the ability of Tyler Brosius to run this offence or, God forbid, the need for Daniel Imhoff to do it if something happens to Glennon.

  20. Greywolf 08/09/2011 at 3:47 PM #

    Hey Virginia, you got us losing 4 out of our first 7 games then winning our last 5 — FSU, UNC, BC, CLEM & MD. I gotta admit that if we lose 4 out of our first 7, I’d be happy if we finished 5 and 7 praying one of those 2 wins is against UNX.

  21. Hungwolf 08/09/2011 at 4:32 PM #

    Marvin Watch will soon be going on in Charlotte. Giants and Mr. Austin will be in town soon for preseason game with the Panthers. Local media already itching to interview him when he gets here. Will he “spill the beans” while back in NC?

  22. Virginia Wolf 08/09/2011 at 5:30 PM #

    Graywolf, yeah, QB inexperience early and then we settled down and win some big ones. My opinion! I hope win the early games but just don’t know. Thanks for the comments!

  23. tuckerdorm1983 08/09/2011 at 6:07 PM #

    in my picks I tried to be realistic. Then offense has a lot of question marks. WR? RB? QB? We do have a good offensive line and that helps forgive weaknesses in the other areas. I do this every year

    We beat the teams we are suppose to. Liberty, South Ala, Cent Mich
    3 WINS

    Lose to the teams were are likely to FSU and CLEM
    2 Losses

    Win against somewhat weaker teams Wake, GT, UVA
    3 WINS

    Split the rest Cinn, UNC, BC and MD Beat UNC and MD but lose the other two
    2 WINS
    2 LOSSES

    and as always I always predict we beat the heels.

    I could be wrong and we could go 10-2. Lots of unproven things and the biggest is a QB. My neck goes only out to 8-4 and that is as optimistic as I am going to get until the first 4 games are behind us.

  24. wolfacct 08/09/2011 at 8:49 PM #

    Here’s my predictions:

    Liberty – Win

    Wake – Win. You can bet TOB is preparing for Wake during fall camp. While always tough in Winston, I think this year we come home with a victory.

    S. Ala. – Win

    Cincy – Win. Cincy is picked to finish 5th in the Big East, with WVU projected to win the conference.

    G.T. – Win. Our disciplined defense rules the day. Extra prep time after the Thur. night game.

    Central Michigan – Win

    Virginia – Loss. Hope I’m wrong, but I think VA is a program on the rise. Second year under current coach, system is in place. Tough game.

    FSU – Toss up. I think our disciplined offense will wear down the Seminoles, but Talahassee is a tough venue. Probably a loss.

    Clemson – Win. Time to break the streak of losses to the Tigers. By this time of the season, Dabo is on the hot seat, if not already fired. Can you say Mike Leach?

    UNC – Win. The ‘Holes are demoralized after the self-imposed sanctions.

    BC – Loss. After the big win against the ‘Holes, we come out flat. This season’s WTF game.

    MD – Win. Last season’s loss still has a bitter taste.

    Realistically, 9 – 3, best scenario, 10 – 2. We’ll need some help to make the ACC Champ. game behind FSU.

  25. timberwolf 08/09/2011 at 9:37 PM #

    I was going say I’ll take 8-4 today. Then hiked up the skirt and looking forward to some football and flyovers!

    God bless our soldiers for all off the above threads! Thank you.

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