The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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was forced to miss this season. Washington, a junior, stepped in and filled the void well. He ran 212 times for 852 yards and seven touchdowns, and he caught 39 passes for 300 yards. Washington, who ran for more than 100 yards in three separate games, finished with NC State's highest rushing total in one year since T.A. McLendon piled up 1,101 yards in 2002. 9. Safety Brandan Bishop If not for Amerson, Bishop would be known as the pickoff artist for NC State. He added five picks his junior season af- ter intercepting four last year. Bishop is six away from tying the NC State all-time record of 16 held by Rooney and Eric Wil- liams. Bishop had his best season to date in Raleigh in 2011. He finished the year with a career-high 87 tackles, including one for loss. He also forced a fumble and recovered three. Bishop had a strong two-game stretch to close the regular season. He posted 11 tack- les, including one for loss, and an intercep- tion against Clemson and 10 tackles and a pair of fumble recoveries versus Maryland. He was named honorable mention All- ACC. 10. Wide receiver T.J. Graham The senior turned in the best all-around season of his career in 2011. He tied Wash- ington for the most catches on the team with 39 and had a team-high 641 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He also re- turned a punt for a touchdown in the season opener versus Liberty Sept. 3. Graham closed his career as the all-time leader in ACC history for kickoff return yards with 3,090. He was third in the ACC in 2011 with 146 all-purpose yards per game and was twice named the conference specialist of the week. He was also named first-team All-ACC as a specialist. 11. Offensive tackle R.J. Mattes Mattes, a redshirt junior, was charged with the task of ensuring that Glennon stayed healthy through the season by pro- tecting quarterback's blind side. Although Mattes gave up four sacks on the year, Glennon made it through 2011 healthy. 12. Offensive guard Zach Allen It seemed that a lot of NC State's success came off the right side of the line behind Allen, who trailed Wentz by just two plays for the most snaps from the line of scrim- mage during the season. Allen, a redshirt junior, gave up two sacks in the loss at 24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Redshirt freshman defensive end Art Norman finished the regular season with 25 tackles, including nine for loss and a team-high six sacks, and totaled 30 quarterback hurries. PHOTO BY ERIC LUSK ■ Preseason Top 25 1. QB Mike Glennon 2. LB Audie Cole 3. LB Terrell Manning 4. DT J.R. Sweezy 5. TE George Bryan 6. RB Mustafa Greene 7. S Earl Wolff 8. OT R.J. Mattes 9. CB David Amerson 10. C Camden Wentz 11. WR T.J. Graham 12. DE Jeff Rieskamp 13. S Brandan Bishop 14. OG Zach Allen 15. LB D.J. Green 16. DE McKay Frandsen 17. FB Taylor Gentry 18. DE Darryl Cato-Bishop 19. OG Duran Christophe 20. CB C.J. Wilson 21. CB Jarvis Byrd 22. WR Tobais Palmer 23. K Niklas Sade 24. WR Jay Smith 25. P Wil Baumann Cincinnati, but otherwise had an unblem- ished record. 13. Defensive end Art Norman Norman was one of the most pleasant surprises for NC State this fall. The un- dersized redshirt freshman gave the Pack a much-needed pass-rushing lift at its defen- sive end position. Norman finished the year with 25 tack- les, including nine for loss and a team-high six sacks, and he totaled an astounding 30 quarterback hurries in just 474 plays. He also broke up a pass and forced a crucial early fumble in the upset win over Clem- son. Norman posted three sacks in that victory. The 6-1, 242-pounder is one off the school freshman record for sacks in a sea- son, set by Tyler Lawrence in 1990. 14. Tight end George Bryan The 2011 season was a trying campaign for the fifth-year senior, who turned down early entry into the NFL. Bryan, a two-time first-team All-ACC selection, caught just 10 passes in the team's first seven games. He turned it around though after that, though. He caught 20 passes for 189 yards and two scores over the final five games, including an eight-catch, 79-yard effort against Maryland that was capped by a seven-yard touchdown grab. Bryan's late-season surge earned him second-team All-ACC honors, making him the Pack's first three-time all-conference honoree since Darrell Blackman in 2005- 07. Bryan, a Mackey Award semifinalist for the best tight end in the country, became NC State's all-time leader in catches by a tight end with 123, and he stands tied for fourth-most career touchdown catches with 17. 15. Defensive tackle J.R. Sweezy The fifth-year senior's season did not go as he anticipated. He missed the first four games of the year with a fractured foot and did not reach full speed until the eighth game of the year, at Florida State Oct. 29. Sweezy's impact was felt when he was on the field, though. He had 17 tackles, three stops for loss, a sack, 10 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble over the final five games. He finished the season with 21 stops, four tackles for loss, two sacks, 13 quar- terback pressures and one forced fumble. 16. Wide receiver Tobais Palmer It took Palmer more than three years since he was the first commitment in the 2008 recruiting class to reach the field for NCSU, but the wait was worth it. Palmer, a redshirt junior, hauled in 35 catches for 448 yards and four touchdowns, and proved to be one of the Pack's most dynamic offen- sive weapons. Palmer's 43-yard catch and run for a touchdown against Clemson Nov. 19, dur- ing which he broke several tackles and used his speed and quickness to make other