The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/157974
If one of them proves to have the ability to carry the offense on multiple drives, the Wolfpack will be in business this season. Mitchell's ability to give NC State a running dimension is what makes him the oddson favorite to eventually emerge. He has a strong right arm and has earned praise from the coaches and players for his leadership ability. The big thing will be to avoid costly turnovers and manage the game well. 2. Develop An All-ACC Player Last season, NC State didn't have one player voted first-team All-ACC. That will have to change if the Wolfpack wants to have a successful season. Florida State won the ACC last year and featured four defensive players and a kicker on the final allleague squad. Having a handful of "nice" players will only get a team so far. NC State will need multiple players to bust out and have career seasons and become stars. Senior cornerback Dontae Johnson sometimes gets overlooked because he played safety and then was a glorified outside linebacker in the nickel package down the stretch of his sophomore year, before switching to cornerback last year. He was overshadowed in the attention area due to being across from preseason All-America candidate David Amerson. Johnson quietly went about his business and had a solid junior year. He'll get judged this season on being a full-fledged cornerback with NFL potential. Johnson will also need to get his first career interception and then build momentum in his thievery. Junior defensive tackles Thomas Teal and T.Y. McGill both flashed high-level potential last year. Teal was great against Florida State and Maryland in back-to-back games, and will need to play at that level consistently. McGill also was a star in the trenches against Maryland. Someone from special teams could also make the All-ACC team, with return man Rashard Smith, kicker Niklas Sade and punter Wil Baumann all capable. 3. Show A Commitment To The Ground Game A quarterback's best friend can be the running game. Getting into manageable second downs or some easy third-and-short situations is the perfect formula for a new quarterback. Doeren has repeatedly said the Wolfpack will be committed to running the football. Redshirt junior running back Tony Creecy will get first crack at seizing the position and making it his own. The Durham native rushed for 476 yards and five touchdowns on 127 carries, while also catching 34 passes Despite not playing in the first three games last season, sophomore Shadrach Thornton led the Wolfpack in rushing in 2012 with 694 yards. photo by ken martin for 182 yards and a score. The numbers are skewed due to Creecy battling multiple turf toe injuries last year, which slowed him down. Creecy said he is fully healthy and looks to build off his first two years. He'll need to play well because odds are good that whatever running back has the hot hand will continue to get the ball. Creecy's ability to make plays in the passing game and knowledge in blitz pickup makes him a natural to be in the game on third-and-long. Sophomore Shadrach Thornton is going to miss the season opener against Louisiana Tech due to suspension after being charged with grabbing and pushing a woman. Thornton, who also was battling fumbling issues, has opened the door for freshmen Matt Dayes and Josh Mercer to get opportunities. It is easy to write off Thornton because of his self-created adversity, but he is also the most natural and talented runner. Thornton missed the first three games last year when it appeared he was slotted to redshirt, and still amassed a team-best 694 yards and three touchdowns on 154 carries. 4. Find A Go-To Wide Receiver NC State returns three veteran receivers in fifth-year seniors Quintin Payton and Rashard Smith, and redshirt junior Bryan Underwood. The latter has proven to be the big-play threat and knows how to get into the end zone. NC State will need someone to emerge this season who can make crucial thirddown catches to help out the new quarterback. Underwood could end up being that guy, but so could Smith or Payton just as easily. The new coaches seemed to be concerned with how to get Underwood going during the spring, but those concerns appeared to have been alleviated during fall camp. Underwood can get deep with the best of them, but he also has the ability go over the middle and make plays in traffic. The main thing for Underwood is to eliminate dropped passes. Underwood caught touchdowns in the first eight games last year en route to finishing with 44 receptions for 620 yards and 10 scores, despite starting only four games. Smith could be the one that challenges Underwood, even though he has just 20 career catches. His ability to take short passes in space and take off in an elusive manner has meshed well with the new offense. Smith will also get touches in the return game and perhaps on jet sweeps or in the Wildcat, so he doesn't always have to catch passes to make plays. The 6-4 Payton is the returning leader in receptions for the Wolfpack, with 51 catches for 798 yards and two touchdowns. 5. Take Advantage Of A Favorable Schedule NC State's schedule is quite favorable this season with four home games in September, and eight total. Plus, the Wolfpack will leave the state only twice this season — at Florida State Oct. 26 and at Boston College Nov. 16. Clemson and Florida State loom as the ultimate tests to judge where NC State stands in the pecking order of the ACC. The Wolfpack upset the Seminoles last year, and went toe-to-toe with Clemson, scoring 24 straight points against the Tigers in Death Valley last year. The Clemson home game is Sept. 19. One could argue that the won-loss record will be defined by how NCSU does in the non-conference slate. The season opener against Louisiana Tech Aug. 31 and hosting East Carolina Nov. 23 are both winnable games against traditionally explosive offenses. NC State needs to sweep both, and then take care of business against Richmond (Sept. 7) and Central Michigan (Sept. 28). The ACC slate isn't difficult outside of Clemson and FSU. North Carolina Nov. 2 should be a payback game after what happened with Giovani Bernard's punt return touchdown to win it last year in Chapel Hill. The maturity level of the program will be on the line with home games against Syracuse (Oct. 12) and Maryland (Nov. 30), and at Duke and BC in back-to-back road games Nov. 9 and Nov. 16. Going 3-1 against those four programs would bode well for the Pack. The health of NC State and development at the quarterback spot will be the main themes of the season. The Wolfpack will be relying on newcomers and freshmen in key backup roles. A few crucial injuries could spell trouble for the Wolfpack. ■ 40 ■ the wolfpacker 38,40.FB Five Questions.indd 40 8/23/13 2:59 PM