Pack players not getting much pre-season love

'13 Football39

As we turn the page into June, media attention will start to turn more more focused on football.

We’re already starting to get some pre-season prognostications, and the results are leading to conclusions that many Wolfpackers have been making for a while — this team/program is looking pretty thin in talent.

Take for example Phil Steele’s pre-season All-ACC selections linked here.

Of course, Steele is just one guy – and preseason projections are worth absolutely nothing – but, it is a bit disconcerting that the highest projected NC State players in his exercise was defensive tackle T.Y. McGill and tight end Asa Watson as third-team selections.

After McGill and Watson, senior left tackle Robert Crisp and junior defensive tackle Thomas Teal were projected as fourth team selections.

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39 Responses to Pack players not getting much pre-season love

  1. Wufpacker 05/31/2013 at 10:29 AM #

    We’ll definitely need some guys to rise up and play above expectations. I suspect this coaching staff will get the most out of a lot of unsung guys, but the question is what their ceilings are individually and as a whole.

    Still planning on being happy with the program culture change and anything more being gravy.

    That being said, I’d be happy to be wrong and see lots of gravy.

  2. Fastback68 05/31/2013 at 10:46 AM #

    I wonder how our players would have been ranked in the summer before Sheridan’s inaugural season. I don’t believe in preseason first, second, ninth team accolades or even recruit star rankings. It’s the system that matters the most. I hope DD has plays similar to Sheridan’s trap run. State running backs went through UNX’s defense like crap through a goose in 1986. Start sharpening those canine teeth, DD.

  3. rtpack24 05/31/2013 at 10:52 AM #

    I like Fastback68 reference to Sheridan. I had a friend on his staff and after their first spring practice Sheridan told the staff he hoped no one had sold their house in Greenville yet. He and the staff were shocked how thin the talent level was but they ended up doing pretty well that year.

  4. Pack Leader 05/31/2013 at 11:02 AM #

    Expect big things out of T. Palmer.

    Not because hes the next Walter Payton, but because SOMEONE has to get the ball on offense…

    Gunna be some ugly close games this year, hope we pull a few out.

  5. DC_wolf 05/31/2013 at 11:09 AM #

    Not sure why anyone would be surprised here: we just went through a major staff overhaul (regime-change, if you will), & our best players from last year are all in the NFL.

    Like fastback, I’m hoping the system & culture change do more to raise eyebrows than how many stars recruits have after their names (although some 5 stars would be nice for a change…).

  6. blpack 05/31/2013 at 11:42 AM #

    Low national expectations and a shallow talent pool is to be expected at this point. I hope we can take advantage of a softer schedule and 8 homes games, but who knows? I think we will like the direction of the program by the end of the regular season.

  7. wolffpride 05/31/2013 at 12:15 PM #

    Dontae Johnson could go in the first 3 rounds of the NFL if he delivers to his potential. McGill and Teal are forces in the middle. Cato-Bishop could be real good if he plays to potential. Don’t forget Bryan Underwood aka Captain Touchdown. Personally, I prefer no hype, then we shock the world.

  8. redisgood 05/31/2013 at 1:20 PM #

    “Expect big things out of T. Palmer”

    Well, he is certainly impressing everyone at the Jax Jaguars camp.

  9. BJD95 05/31/2013 at 2:10 PM #

    I would support DD for COY if we win 5 games.

  10. 13OT 05/31/2013 at 3:29 PM #

    This is all a setup for a surprise great season.

    Coaching DOES matter more than even the Phil Steeles of the world think.

  11. BJD95 05/31/2013 at 4:23 PM #

    We don’t have star-caliber individual players, and you know we won’t have any depth. Not a recipe for success, with the caveat that anything can happen, etc.

  12. ryebread 05/31/2013 at 4:50 PM #

    But I thought a strength of TOB was that he was going to leave us well stocked……………………………

    I think the schedule is pathetically weak. Even with the lack of talent, I expect we’ll win at least 6 games and go to a bowl.

  13. packalum44 05/31/2013 at 5:32 PM #

    Posted this on Forum before this blog was up….

    “This highlights the glaring talent discrepancy we accumulated under Tom O’Brien, who arguably left our program in worse shape than he inherited…which is very very sad.

    Steele ranks top the 96 from ACC plus top 16 from special teams.

    State – 4
    Duke – 6
    UNC – 9
    Miami – 11
    Clemson – 12
    Fl State – 17

    Fl State’s entire starting team is almost included – 16 out of 22 core players.”

    EDIT:
    When Steve Spurrier took over at USC he guided them to 7 wins and a crappy bowl. The fans were ecstatic and complimented him etc… during the off season caravans or on the street. This really annoyed him and he publicly commented that they needed to raise their expectations.

    As it stands, State’s program is at the same level as Duke’s. That is no exaggeration. They might be objectively better than us this year…they might be more talented, and at least have better high-end talent, per Steele and his staff…who are not omniscient but most likely know more about opposing team players than 99% of fans.

    We are incredibly fortunate that DD took this job, who did so more on a leap of faith than anything else. He has a lot of work cut out for him, more than he initially assumed no doubt. Kudos to Yow for selling snow to a snowman.

  14. tjfoose1 05/31/2013 at 6:05 PM #

    “Expect big things out of T. Palmer… because SOMEONE has to get the ball on offense…”

    Yeah, I hear ya. But I’d prefer it be someone actually on the roster with some eligibility left.

    But if that’s the route we have to go, Torry Holt is back in town, and somebody give a ring to Jamie Barnette.

  15. tjfoose1 05/31/2013 at 6:09 PM #

    “Kudos to Yow for selling snow to a snowman.”

    I think it’s more like selling sand to an Eskimo, or dry land to a fish. Think along the lines of “WTF am I supposed to do with this?”

    A snowman needs snow.

  16. tjfoose1 05/31/2013 at 6:26 PM #

    “We don’t have star-caliber individual players, and you know we won’t have any depth. Not a recipe for success, with the caveat that anything can happen, etc.”

    I think you’re being too optimistic there, BJD. 🙂 Yes, anything can happen… with a good QB. If Mitchell doesn’t pan out, we have no chance. Think Amato’s last season.

    Hell, we had Russell Wilson (IMO, one of the most special QB’s in college football during his time, and arguably, in the history of NC State football) for 3 years surrounded w/ more “talent” than this current bunch, and we only won 4, 2, and 5 conference games.

    U-G-L-Y.

    Here, this should help: http://tinyurl.com/kdggce5

  17. BJD95 05/31/2013 at 6:26 PM #

    Dunno who said TOB would leave us “well stocked” – he had multiple disaster recruiting classes near the end. That’s why he need a truly special season last year or the year before. 2011 and 2012 were always set up to be “peak” years, and had we reached a high enough peak, we would have reaped rewards in recruiting and been able to weather a rebuilding year. 2013 was ALWAYS going to be that.

    That’s why I said (as soon as it was clear 2012 would not be special, at the latest when the Holes beat us) that it made no sense to bring TOB back regardless. It would delay the inevitable another year, and the leftover player pool would evaporate to sub-Duke levels.

    I would say Duke equivalence is a fair assessment. Hopefully not for very long. We have a new staff that’s recruiting with energy and freshness. That’s a huge boost.

  18. tjfoose1 05/31/2013 at 6:30 PM #

    “I would say Duke equivalence is a fair assessment.”

    Right now, Duke is better, team and program.

  19. tjfoose1 05/31/2013 at 6:36 PM #

    The Sheridan reference?

    Sheridan inherited some real talent, character guys, and leadership out the wazzoo. But most importantly, Sheridan had Erik Kramer.

    DD’s cupboard, by contrast, is looking mighty bare.

    State was bad pre-Sheridan because of poor coaching and horrible player/coach relationships. Completely different dynamic today.

  20. john of sparta 05/31/2013 at 8:37 PM #

    i got this….
    1. TWO open? that just looks bad, man.
    2. THREE wins, and that’s a fan posting.
    3. WaitUntilNextYear, our fight song.

  21. cameronoverrated 05/31/2013 at 10:32 PM #

    I think we’re all ready for no expectations.

  22. BJD95 05/31/2013 at 11:14 PM #

    Sheridan’s a legend, at least in my mind. Still, his first team without EK was terrible. Aside from a completely random road win at #6 Clemson. A game that can never be rationally explained. One of the directional Tennessee’s beat us the next week.

    EK ain’t walking through that door. Yeah, he needed scab football to get his foot in the door, but he had a very nice NFL career. It’s amazing how many good pro QB’s we’ve produced in the last 25-30 years, given the mediocre nature of the program overall.

    And that doesn’t even count several really good college QBs like Barnette, Montgomery, and the Terrys.

  23. WolfTrack 05/31/2013 at 11:15 PM #

    As someone said on one of the threads around here after the spring game this year is “the year before Jacoby” .

    The good news: the staff seems to be working their collective asses off on the recruiting trail.

    Hopefully this season doesn’t scare kids away. That weak schedule might help the record, but it won’t hide the ass whoopins that the noles, tiggers and heels will be looking to hand out.

  24. tractor57 06/01/2013 at 3:25 AM #

    If the Sheridan model fits today and if there is talent that has been hidden there could be a big surprise. My opinion the model does fit but not sure the talent level is there as of yet. At the least a year of transition.

  25. mak4dpak 06/01/2013 at 7:33 AM #

    Gloom, despair, agony on me. We are still playing baseball, and already downing the FB team. No matter what talent we think we do or don’t have, it will be up to DD to bring the best out of the guys, and I trust him to do that far more than I would TOB. I will remain optimistic for the upcoming season, until I am proven wrong. It ain’t what is on paper, or what prognosticators predict, it is who shows up on the field the day of the game. Go Pack!

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