The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/73006
2012 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ||||||| BEST OPPOSING PLAYERS • WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson — He gener- ranked by Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN as the No. 2 junior quarterback in the country. He threw for 1,983 yards and 17 touchdowns last year while missing five games with a fractured thumb, and he started the final five games in 2010, going 4-1 as a true freshman and throw- ing for 1,849 yards and 18 scores. • DE Brandon Jenkins, Florida State — The se- ated a lot of attention as a true freshman and could be even better this season. Watkins tallied 82 catches for 1,219 yards and 12 scores in 2011 — all ACC rookie records — while he also rushed for 231 yards. In addi- tion, he averaged 25.0 yards on 33 kickoff returns and was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press. • QB Tyler Bray, Tennessee — Bray enters 2012 Passing: Mike Glennon (3,054 yards, 31 TD) Rushing: James Washington (897 yards, 7 TD) Receiving: Tobais Palmer (496 yards, 5 TD) Tackles: Earl Wolff (113) Sacks: Art Norman (7) Interceptions: David Amerson (13) Returning Leaders ||||| By The nard set a UNC freshman record with 1,253 yards last fall, becoming the first Tar Heel back to eclipse the milestone since 1997. He led all league rookie runners with an average of 96.4 yards per game, which ranked third overall in the ACC and 28th in the nation. He tied for the conference lead with 14 touchdowns and averaged 124.2 all-purpose yards per game. • RB Lyle McCombs, Connecticut — The 5-8, 166-pounder was just the 10th Big East freshman to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season (1,151 last year), while he and Bernard were the only two rookies to surpass the mark last year — the fewest first-year players to do so since 2000. Don't be fooled by his size, though, he rushed for at least 100 yards in six games and added 172 yards and another score as a receiver. nior is the lead man on what will be one of the scariest defensive lines in the nation. Last year, the Seminoles tied for eighth in the nation with an average of 3.08 sacks per game while the two-time first-team All-ACC honoree has accounted for 21.5 sacks in the past two seasons. He also has 36.5 career tackles for loss. • RB Giovani Bernard, North Carolina — Ber- recorded 21.5 sacks the past two years. PHOTO COURTESY FLORIDA STATE ||||||| THREE KEY GAMES • Vs. Tennessee, Aug. 31, in Atlanta — The Wolfpack's first neutral-site season opener since 1992 is a big one, especially since the first two contests will be played away from home, a program first since 1997. Road games have been a struggle for the team under head coach Tom O'Brien — the Pack is 10-18 away from the friendly confines of Carter Finley Stadium under O'Brien. The Volunteers finished with a misleading 5-7 record last year, but they are a dangerous SEC squad with an explosive offense that could be on the verge of a breakthrough campaign in year three under head coach Derek Dooley. The squad returns 10 starters on offense and eight starters on defense, as well as both specialists. The good news for State is that Tennessee has struggled in games away from home under Dooley, where the Numbers 57.5 the Pack's best mark since 2007, which was also the last year opponents completed less than 60 percent of their passes. Florida State senior defensive end Brandon Jen- kins, a two-time first-team All-ACC performer, 7 tionally ranked teams in his five years at the helm, against five losses, for a winning percentage of .583. Wins under Tom O'Brien for State against na- 8 for the 2013 NFL Draft on Mel Kiper Jr.'s Draft Big Board on May 9 at ESPN.com. He was listed as the top junior cornerback in the country. David Amerson was ranked as the No. 8 prospect 13 Seniors listed atop the spring organizational chart with starting experience, including eight on offense. 27 the Wolfpack. It was an exciting contest in 2010, when the Pack topped the Seminoles 28-24 at home, but these two teams are much different than those versions. What could be similar, though, is that the 2010 contest had huge implications on the Atlantic Division's representative in the ACC championship game, and the same could hold true for 2012. Florida State might be the most talented team, on paper, in the ACC. The Seminoles have 18 starters returning, including eight on offense and nine on defense. Quarterback E.J. Manuel would've threatened 3,000 yards passing in 2011 if he had been healthy the whole year, and the team is 12-4 with him as the starter under center. He'll have a loaded wide receiving corps and talented running backs, plus the defense could be even more dangerous. All three of the team's returning defensive backs are All-ACC candidates, and FSU probably has the best defen- team has gone just 2-8, and has struggled in games played in Atlanta — going 13-19 in the city dating back to 1902, but having dropped each of the past six games in Georgia's capital. • Florida State, Oct. 6 — The preseason favorite for the ACC will travel to Raleigh for this year's game with is a big one, but this tilt between the in-state rivals takes the cake because of the importance that the fans and players put on the contest. There has also been a little gasoline added to the fire by the coaches — nobody will forget O'Brien's "triple play" comments in response to UNC proclaiming themselves, "the flagship school," and, after just four months on the job, Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora said, "I don't want to talk about [the rivalry] too much because I don't want to legitimize their program." Whether Fedora wants to acknowledge it or not, the Wolfpack has beaten the Tar Heels in five straight seasons, sive line in the league, led by bookends Brandon Jenkins and Bjoern Werner, who combined for 16 sacks and 23 tackles for loss in 2011. • At North Carolina, Oct. 27 — The Pack's showdown with division rival Clemson in Death Valley on Nov. 17 and the Red and White is motivated to keep the streak going. Meanwhile, North Carolina is itching to finally get one back on its rivals and, without postseason eligibility this season, this game will be treated like the Tar Heels' biggest one, whether the coaching staff admits it publicly or not. the country and tied for the second-best total in ACC history. The players that accounted for 23 of those 27 picks return this season. Interceptions by the Wolfpack in 2011, which led 41.8 O'Brien, an improvement of more than 20 yards from the five years previous (64.6) to the coach's hire. State has decreased its total yards penalized each season in the past five campaigns. 108 among all current FBS head coaches. Only two mentors have amassed more wins in less years than O'Brien's 15 seasons. 112 NC State, which ranks as the second-most in the FBS in 2012. Career starts return along the offensive line for JULY 2012 ■ 99 Career wins for O'Brien, which is tied for 19th Yards penalized per game for the Pack under Was opponents' completion percentage in 2011,