The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/49933
Boston College senior corner Donnie Fletcher was there for the interception with 9:05 left in the game. Biggest Defensive Setback: Early in the season, the defense was supposed to carry NC State while the offense devel- oped. Against Wake Forest, Glennon threw for 315 yards and three scores, and State NC State won five of its last seven games to finish 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC. The Wolfpack squared off against several future first-team all-conference per- formers and even a sprinkling of All-America candidates. Not surprisingly, several players on The Wolfpacker's all-opponent team faced NC State early in the year, when the Pack lost three out of its first five games. Quarterback: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati — The senior signal-caller led the Bearcats to a 44-14 victory Sept. 22 in Cincinnati. He completed 25 of 34 passes for 263 yards with two touchdowns and one intercep- tion, and rushed for 52 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Collaros rushed for 13-yard touchdown and a 10-yard score in the first half, and then added a 25-yard scoring toss and four-yard passing touchdown. Running back: Isaiah Pead, Cincinnati — The tal- ented, fast senior tailback rushed for 167 yards on 27 carries and had a two-yard touchdown run. He also caught three passes for 24 yards, including a 25-yard score (his two other grabs resulted in minus-one yard), during the Bearcats' victory. Running back: Orwin Smith, Georgia Tech — The Yellow Jackets' option was humming along and resulted in Smith, a junior A-back, running for 74 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries in the 45-35 victory Oct. 1 in Raleigh. Smith rushed for a pair of first- quarter scores — 13 and nine yards — and added a two-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. He also caught one pass for 30 yards. Wide receiver: Michael Campanaro, Wake Forest — The sophomore wide receiver caught a touchdown pass and threw a 40-yard score to wide receiver Danny Dembry in the Demon Deacons' 34-27 victory Sept. 10. Campanaro finished with five catches for 93 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown reception. Wide receiver: Chris Givens, Wake Forest — The junior wideout didn't get into the end zone, but he helped set the tone early for the Demon Deacons. He caught six passes for 111 yards in the 34-27 home win, and snagged a 41-yarder that advanced WFU to the NCSU 11-yard line, which set up a score and a 34-13 lead with 27 seconds left in the third quarter. He also picked up 12 yards on a reverse. Tight end: Brandon Ford, Clemson — The former prep wide receiver snagged five passes for 77 yards against NC State. The junior was one of the few bright spots in Clemson's 37-13 loss Nov. 19 in Raleigh. Offensive line: Cincinnati — The Bearcats' offensive line paved the way for 240 rushing yards on 46 carries for a 5.2-yard average, and enabled the Bearcats to throw for 263 yards in the 44-14 victory. The group al- lowed only one sack on 34 passing attempts. Defensive lineman: Max Holloway, Boston College — The junior defensive end seemed like he was every- where during the Eagles' 14-10 upset victory Nov. 12 in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Holloway was credited with six tackles, half a tackle for loss and one pass broken up. Defensive linemen: Matt Conrath, Virginia — The 36 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Wake Forest safety Cyhl Quarles (shown closing in on Wolfpack wide receiver Tobais Palmer) had 12 tackles and a pass breakup in the Demon Deacons' win over NC State. PHOTO BY ERIC LUSK physical senior defensive tackle was second on the team with 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the Cavaliers' 28-14 home loss Oct. 22. Defensive lineman: Timmy Jernigan, Florida State — The Seminoles' defense was completely dominant in their 34-0 victory over NC State Oct. 29 in Tallahas- see, Fla. Jernigan, a freshman defensive tackle, had five tackles, two tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and one sack in the win. Defensive lineman: Joe Vellano, Maryland — The junior defensive tackle was disruptive on the interior and had eight tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and one forced fumble. Linebacker: Luke Kuechly, Boston College — The eventual ACC Defensive Player of the Year showed why he won the award during Boston College's 14-10 victory. He finished with a game-high 18 tackles and added 1.5 tackles for loss in leading the Eagles' zone- based scheme. Linebacker: Demetrius Hartsfield, Maryland — The junior middle linebacker from Raleigh racked up a game-high 18 tackles in the Terrapins' 56-41 loss Nov. 26. Linebacker: JK Schaffer, Cincinnati — The senior middle linebacker lead the Bearcats with a team-high nine tackles, half a tackle for loss and an interception during the big home victory. Cornerback: Donnie Fletcher, Boston College — The senior multi-year starter came up with a big interception to preserve the Eagles' 14-10 home vic- tory. Fletcher also added four tackles, and the Wolfpack struggled against BC's zone defense. Cornerback: Chase Minnifield, Virginia — The se- nior All-America candidate had modest statistics with four tackles, half a tackle for loss and one pass broken up, but more than lived up to his reputation with his coverage abilities. Safety: Cyhl Quarles, Wake Forest — The physical senior strong safety posted a team-high 12 tackles and one pass breakup during the Demon Deacons' victory. Safety: Jahleel Addae, Central Michigan — The ju- nior strong safety made his presence felt over the middle, recording seven tackles and three passes bro- ken up in the Chippewas' 38-24 loss Oct. 8 in Raleigh. Punter: Pat O'Donnell, Cincinnati — NC State faced some good punters this season, but O'Donnell averaged 59.7 yards with a long of 76 on three punt attempts. He landed two punts inside the 20-yard line, and he also was good on kickoffs. He averaged 65.1 yards on nine kickoffs with one touchback. Placekicker: Tony Miliano, Cincinnati — The red- shirt freshman kicker made field goals from 26, 48 and 22 yards in the Bearcats' 44-14 victory, and added all five extra points. Return specialists: Liberty's one-two punch of junior Kevin Fogg, who is from Apex, N.C., and redshirt junior Korrey Davis combined for seven kickoff returns with an average of 27.7 yards, including a long of 39 by Fogg. NC State ended up winning 43-21 in its season opener Sept. 3, allowing the Flames to have plenty of kickoff return opportunities. — Jacey Zembal put up 27 points. That should have been enough except the Pack allowed Wake to pile up 438 yards of total offense. State struggled to cover the wide receivers that day, with the Deacons threesome of senior Danny Dembry, junior Chris Givens and sophomore Michael Campanaro catching 17 passes for 300 yards and two scores. The 2011 All-Opponent Team Biggest Special Teams Setback: State defeated Virginia despite a tough game on special teams. Sade had a 41-yard field goal blocked, Baumann averaged just 34.3 yards per punt and the Cavs averaged 30.8 yards per kickoff return. State had a punt interference penalty as well, although that was a questionable flag. ■