The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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Football 2013 "We didn't name a starter coming out of the spring. Competition is a great thing at any spot. We are excited about the guys coming in, and the best players will play. Ultimately, all we are trying to do is win games. That is the bottom line." ■ Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Canada "We all coach a little bit differently. We aren't sure how a guy is coached or what he is supposed to do. We got in here and watched him, and drew a conclusion on him once we got going." Mitchell played quarterback and wide receiver during his four years at Arkansas. The 6-4, 239-pounder will bring a mobile dimension to the position. Mitchell played in 21 games at Arkansas, was 25-of-43 passing for 332 yards with two touchdowns, and rushed for 75 yards and two scores on 23 carries. Mitchell completed 12 of 17 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and an intercep- tion in front of 51,000 fans in the Razorbacks' spring game April 20. Stocker is also expected to be a quality runner, and he played five games in mop-up duty last year for the Wolfpack. Doeren's offenses at Northern Illinois produced prolific rushing statistics from the quarterbacks the last two years. "[Mobile quarterbacks] create issues for the defense," Canada said. "It adds another player they have to defend and equals the numbers out a little bit. When the quarterback doesn't ever run, the running game is basically 10 on 11. When he can run, it's 11 on 11." ■ Preseason Analysis Year-By-Year Passing Stats **** Among country's best; *** Among ACC's best; ** Solid or has potential; * Too Unproven Starters ** Colorado State transfer Pete Thomas will likely be the favorite going into fall camp. Thomas has had since December to absorb the playbook, and he was credited with continuing to improve during the spring. Thomas isn't going to be the runner that the Northern Illinois quarterbacks were the last two years, but the Wolfpack could turn to some alternatives with the Wildcat formation or possibly using Arkansas transfer Brandon Mitchell to create a different look for the defense. Experience ** Thomas started 21 games at Colorado State. He suffered a knee injury that ended his sophomore season prematurely, but he's the age equivalent of a senior this season. He also graduated early out of high school to enroll at CSU, allowing him to attend spring practices three out of the last four years. Mitchell is also a fifthyear senior and knows the feeling of playing in big games and crowds from his time at Arkansas as a quarterback and wide receiver. Depth ** NC State will have three players backing up the quarterback out of the group of Thomas, Mitchell, sophomore Manny Stocker and freshman Bryant Shirreffs. Stocker competed with Thomas during the spring and will continue to do so during fall camp. He was the backup quarterback to Mike Glennon last year, and has a redshirt year available if needed. Shirreffs will join the fray in August and could also be a redshirt candidate. Waiting in the wings, but unable to play this season due to NCAA rules, is junior Jacoby Brissett, a transfer from Florida. Overall grade ** NC State is used to having quality quarterback play after five years of Russell Wilson or Mike Glennon under center. Some combination of Thomas and Mitchell should do well, but they will need some help from the players around them. It remains to be seen if any of the quarterbacks can carry an offense, but there is no reason why they shouldn't make plays within it. Year YardsTDINT 2012 4,03131 17 2011 3,12032 12 2010 3,65528 14 2009 3,27532 13 2008 2,67820 14 2007 2,94814 23 2006 2,18810 16 2005 2,28214 14 2004 2,22210 16 2003 4,58035 7 Freshman Bryant Shirreffs will also be getting his feet wet for the first time during fall camp, and Florida transfer Jacoby Brissett is looming in the background to compete for the job in 2014. Brissett will be redshirting during his junior year per NCAA rules and will have two years of eligibility remaining. ■ Sophomore Manny Stocker, who is a dualthreat quarterback, saw action in five games last season, and he threw two passes and rushed six times for 20 yards Photo by Ken Martin Getting To Know: Brandon Mitchell Former Arkansas quarterback Brandon Mitchell needed only one official visit to know where he'd like to spend his last year of college football. The 6-4, 235-pound Mitchell officially visited NC State the weekend of May 11, and eventually canceled all upcoming plans and verbally committed to the Wolfpack May 20. Mitchell is a graduate transfer and won't have to sit out a season. Mitchell graduated from Arkansas June 28 and is excited about competing for the NC State starting quarterback job. He pointed out that NC State first-year head coach Dave Doeren had a pair of secret weapons on his staff — assistant strength and conditioning coach Brad Stewart and offensive coordinator Matt Canada — in landing him. "The familiarity with the strength coaches was a key component," said Mitchell, 22, who worked with new NC State strength and conditioning coach Jason Veltkamp while at Arkansas. "Coach Stewart was my quarterbacks strength coach since I got to college. We have a really good relationship working out together. "I fell in love with Coach Doeren and some of the players I met while I was there. I also liked Coach Canada and the offense they'll be running there. I had some other schools to go visit, but I just decided to cancel everything." The addition of Mitchell will help create more competition when fall camp starts in August. Mitchell completed 25 of 43 passes for 332 yards with three touchdowns and one interception during his career at Arkansas. However, Mitchell moved to wide receiver last season and caught 17 passes for 272 yards. "They [the Wolfpack] were missing a mobile quarterback who can also throw the ball," Mitchell said. "At Northern Illinois, he [Doeren] had a quarterback that could run and throw. I feel like I can be real comfortable there." Mitchell went through spring practices under new Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema, but couldn't secure the first-string status at its conclusion. Bielema coached with Doeren, Canada, fullbacks/tight ends/special teams coordinator Eddie Faulkner and defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable at Wisconsin. "In the process, I didn't really talk to Coach Bielema about which schools I was considering until the end when I narrowed it down to five schools," Mitchell said. "By that time, I had talked to NC State and they had showed interest. I told him that, and he informed me that he had some guys there on staff. He thought it would be a pretty good fit." — Jacey Zembal 58 ■ the wolfpacker 56-58.QBs.indd 58 7/1/13 9:31 AM