There’s been lots of NCSU-centric stuff in the news the past few days. Let’s start off with football:
Wolfpack Football
N.C. State rebuilding linebacker corps – Sammy Batten (fayobserver.com)
RALEIGH – The N.C. State Wolfpack knew it would need a replacement for middle linebacker Audi Cole when the 2011 season ended last December with a Belk Bowl win against Louisville. But the Wolfpack didn’t expect to have to revamp the entire linebacker corps.
Cole’s graduation, plus Terrell Manning’s early departure for the NFL and the suspension of D.J. Green for the 2012 season put N.C. State in that exact situation when spring practice began in late March.
The departures left the Wolfpack with only one linebacker who saw significant playing time from the line of scrimmage last season. That player, junior Dontae Johnson, was in on 407 snaps, but all of those came at free safety before he shifted to outside linebacker this spring. So it’s fair to say the linebacker positions are in transition.
Pack football players tested by intense team-building exercises – JP Giglio (charlotteobserver.com)
RALEIGH Carter-Finley Stadium was eerily empty late Monday night, except for an unseasonal spring chill and about 90 N.C. State football players.
The players gathered on the field and stayed until close to midnight for The Program, a team-building training exercise that is a mix between a World’s Strongest Man competition and an outtake of the movie “Full Metal Jacket.â€
NFL Draft
Seattle drafts former N.C. State QB Russell Wilson in 3rd round – JP Giglio (charlotteobserver.com)
From N.C. State to Wisconsin to Seattle, Russell Wilson’s path to the NFL is complete.
The Seattle Seahawks took Wilson with their third-round pick, 75th overall, in the NFL draft on Friday night.
Wilson, an All-ACC quarterback for N.C. State and an All-Big Ten quarterback for Wisconsin, was the biggest story of the second day of the draft.
Buffalo Bills trade up 2 spots to select NC State WR Graham with the 69th pick in NFL draft – AP/WashingtonPost.com
Initially set to pick 71st, the Bills swung a deal with Washington to secure the 69th pick and select Graham on Friday. Listed at 6-feet and 180 pounds, Graham led Wolfpack receivers with 46 catches and seven touchdowns in 13 games, including 12 starts last season.
He also doubled as a kickoff return specialist, finishing with 3,153 return yards to set an ACC record.
Wolfpack Basketball
N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried: Pack must hunt for depth – JP Giglio (charlotteobserver.com)
RALEIGH While happy with the return of star forward C.J. Leslie, N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried was more concerned Tuesday at the Wolfpack Caravan about the players leaving his program.
Gottfried used a seven-man rotation in his first season, and three of the players who helped the Wolfpack win 24 games and reach the Sweet 16 are gone. Senior guard C.J. Williams, the only starter the Wolfpack will lose for the 2012-13 season, and graduated guard Alex Johnson will have to be replaced, as expected, as will forward DeShawn Painter.
Painter, who averaged 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20 minutes a game as a junior, transferred to Old Dominion to be closer to his family and his ailing grandmother.
“We’re not near the team we were without them,†Gottfried said. “So, those are some big holes to fill.â€
Bobby Lutz
Pack Pride – REPORT: Virginia Tech Interested In Lutz
Bret Strelow (fayobserver.com) – N.C. State’s Bobby Lutz meets with Virginia Tech
Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com) – N.C. State assistant Lutz, Virginia Tech have ‘mutual interest’
N.C. State basketball fans thought they could finally relax and enjoy a peaceful offseason of anticipation once star forward C.J. Leslie announced his intention to return to school instead of entering te NBA draft.
But now it appears as though they might have something else to worry about.
According to the Washington Post, Wolfpack assistant Bobby Lutz is among the top candidates to replace Seth Greenberg as Virginia Tech’s next head coach.
Citing multiple unnamed sources, the Post reported that Lutz met with Hokies’ officials in Greensboro on Thursday, and that there is “mutual interest between the two sides.â€
Adidas All Sports Deal
Jason DeBruyn (Triangle Business Journal) – NCSU gets $7M to adorn Adidas brand
Jeff Gravely (wralsportsfan.com) – What is included in NC State’s all-sport apparel deal?
JP Giglio (charlotteobserver.com) – N.C. State’s new adidas deal to outfit every Wolfpack team
The German sports apparel company had a previous deal with the football and men’s basketball teams, but the new deal will cover all 23 N.C. State teams, which is projected to save the school between $900,000 and $1 million a year from its previous deals with a variety of shoe and apparel companies.
Included in the adidas deal is an annual cash payment of $425,000, which, in part, is used as supplemental income for football coach Tom O’Brien and men’s basketball coach Mark Gottfried. O’Brien receives $360,000 in supplemental compensation, according to his contract, and Gottfried receives $450,000.
And what kind of a web run would it be (what kind of Saturday, for that matter) without a little UNC hilarity? Looks like Larry Fedora is off to a fast start at continuing a long standing Carolina tradition….head coach buffoonery….
Fedora instantly showed he was aware of the importance of the first game he’ll coach against the Wolfpack.
“It’s 184 days from today,†he said.
And, about the significance of the rivalry, Fedora said, “There’s going to be an emphasis.â€
And then it became interesting. After talking about the Wolfpack for a brief moment, Fedora stopped himself.
“I don’t want to talk about [the rivalry] too much because I don’t want to legitimize their program,†he said.
In case you missed that, the hat does not want to legitimize the program that has recently had it’s way with the one he just inherited…the one that he has memorized the number of days until kickoff…the one he’s putting particular emphasis upon. Yeah, that one. Not sure what Larry’s definition of legitimate is exactly, but if it includes the NCAA having you on speed dial, I’ll pass.
Thanks to choppack1 for bringing this to my attention….looks like “The Carolina Way” is still speeding along as they continue to snub their noses at authority. I have to say that I really appreciate Luke DeCock keeping this in the public eye, at least to the extent that it has been…..
DeCock: Loose ends in UNC’s football mess – Luke DeCock (newsoberver.com)
There are still two very loose and parallel threads dangling from the mess that brought down Butch Davis and brought shame to the university: former player Chris Hawkins, whose presence in the weight room and impermissible benefits for players occasioned the disapproval of the NCAA, still faces unrelated drug charges in Georgia. On another legal front, the lawsuit brought by a media coalition including The News & Observer against the university is delayed, but remains ongoing.
Almost two years after NCAA investigators arrived on campus, those two legal issues remain unresolved.
Like most, I’ve given up and resolved myself to the fact that those issues and its associated evidence will never again see the light of day. But it is nice to see someone in the media remembers.
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