The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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52 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State's 2016 football schedule could rate among the toughest in the country. The Wolfpack will play six teams that are ranked among the various "way-too-early top 25" listings in January that were released in the af- termath of Alabama defeating Clemson in the national title game. NCSU will play at Clemson Oct. 15. Early projections from ESPN, FOX Sports and USA Today had the Tigers No. 1 next year, and their offense re- turns nine starters from a unit that aver- aged 38.0 points per game. Notre Dame visits Raleigh (Oct. 8) for the first time ever, and the Fight- ing Irish were ranked in the top 10 by USA Today (No. 7) and ESPN (No. 9). Florida State comes to Carter-Finley Stadium Nov. 5. The Noles were a con- sensus top-10 pick and ranked as high as No. 2 by FOX Sports. Miami, with first-year head coach Mark Richt (formerly of Georgia), will be at NCSU Nov. 19. Both FOX Sports (No. 25) and USA Today (No. 21) had them in the top 25. NC State travels to Louisville Oct. 22. The Cardinals, who defeated Texas A&M in last year's Music City Bowl, are rated No. 23 by FOX Sports and No. 24 by ESPN. The season will start and end in atypical fashion. The Pack opens with a Thursday night contest versus Football Champion- ship Subdivision foe William & Mary Sept. 1. The Tribe was ranked as high as No. 7 in the FCS poll last year. It's the first time since 2012 the Pack will open on a weeknight. State closes the year at archrival UNC, the third straight season the two teams will face at the end of the regular season. This year's contest will be played on a Friday, Nov. 25. The Pack will begin preparations for next season with the start of spring prac- tices March 1. "Thunder Dan" Promoted To Strength And Conditioning Coordinator Dantonio Burnette was a fan favorite when he played as an undersized 5-10 line- backer on some of the best football teams in NCSU history, including as a senior when he captained the 11-win Wolfpack squad in 2002 that defeated Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. He has another chance to leave his mark on NC State football: He was promoted in December after NCSU head coach Dave Doeren announced that Burnette, whose college nickname was "Thunder Dan" for his hard-hitting ways, was taking over the strength and conditioning program. Burnette replaces Jason Veltkamp, who had been the strength and conditioning coordinator during Doeren's first three sea- sons. "I can't tell you what this means," Burnette said. "I feel like I am indebted to this university. I come from a single- parent home, and NC State gave me the opportunity to be a leader for my fam- ily. Not only did I get a chance to come to NC State and have a really success- ful football career, I was blessed to get two degrees from this university and am now the head strength and condi- tioning coach. "We all know that strength and conditioning is the foundation of the program. That's where it starts, in the weight room in the offseason. That's what sets you up and prepares you for what you will face in the season." NC State Players See Careers End With Injuries Two Wolfpack players' tough-luck careers have come to an end, and they have received medical hardships, which allows them to continue their education on scholarship but not count towards the football team's scholarship allotment. Linebacker M.J. Salahuddin from Fay- etteville, N.C., had a second ACL tear that ended his playing days. Salahuddin played in eight games as a redshirt junior this past season, including one start, and was cred- ited with 14 tackles (four solo). He started five games as a sophomore and played in 11 contests overall in 2013, totaling 25 tackles, two stops for loss and one pass broken up. He was expected to be a starter in 2014, but missed the season with an ACL tear in preseason camp. After returning this past year, he injured his knee in bowl practices. Defensive tackle Kenton Gibbs from De- troit was hit hard by injuries during his ten- ure at NCSU. He was expected to play as a true freshman in 2013, but tore his Achilles tendon in preseason camp. In 2014, he played in 10 games as a re- serve and contributed 13 stops, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery that came in NCSU's win at Syracuse. Gibbs missed last spring practices with an injury and was unable to get on the field much this past season. He missed the first four games before returning to play special teams only against Louisville and at Vir- ginia Tech. He then sat out the remainder of the campaign with an injury. ■ WOLFPACK FOOTBALL Wolfpack Has Difficult Football Schedule 2016 NC State Football Schedule Date Opponent (Time TBA) Sept. 1 William & Mary Sept. 10 at East Carolina Sept. 17 Old Dominion Oct. 1 Wake Forest Oct. 8 Notre Dame (50th anniversary of Carter-Finley) Oct. 15 at Clemson Oct. 22 at Louisville Oct. 29 Boston College (Homecoming) Nov. 5 Florida State Nov. 12 at Syracuse Nov. 19 Miami Nov. 25 at North Carolina Linebacker M.J. Salahuddin's NC State career was cut short by a pair of knee injuries, the second of which occurred dur- ing bowl practices in December this past season. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN