The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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sophomores Tony Creecy and Mustafa Greene — are proven com- modities in the passing game, with the position combining for 72 receptions last year. The expectations are high for fifth-year senior Tobais Palmer, who caught 37 passes for 496 yards and five touchdowns as the third wide receiver last year. Palmer going from the third receiver to the top one will take some adjustment, and defenses will likely key their coverage around him. Getting Palmer some help will be a season-long theme. Redshirt sophomore Bryan Underwood could end up being one of the players helping Palmer, but he'll need some time himself. Underwood missed fall camp after undergoing surgery on his knee and was listed as "out indefinitely" by O'Brien in August. The speedy Underwood could need some time to shake off the rust. He caught 16 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, including his breakout game against Virginia when he had three catches for 125 yards and his two scores. He followed the UVa game with eight catches for 25 yards over the last six games of the season. Redshirt juniors Quintin Payton and Rashard Smith (a converted cornerback) will also have to be counted upon. Redshirt freshmen Maurice Morgan, Hakeem Flowers and Tyrrell Burriss (also a for- mer cornerback), and true freshman Charlie Hegedus, will need to hit the ground running. 3. At Least One Linebacker Becomes A Disruptive Force The correlation between having a playmaker at linebacker and going on to a bowl game has been strong for O'Brien in his first five years at NC State. Past linebackers Nate Irving, Audie Cole and Terrell Manning made big hits, came up with crucial turnovers, got sacks and pressure on quarterbacks, and helped put the defense in the right positions. Cole and Manning combined for 184 tackles, 28 stops behind the line of scrimmage, 11 sacks and three interceptions (all by Manning) in 2011. Irving was a standout in both 2009 and 2010 for the Wolfpack. All three players went in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft. Manning turned pro a year early, and then junior outside line- backer D.J. Green was suspended for the season due to testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Green battled injuries last year, but started the seven games he played in, and finished with 33 tackles, five tackles for loss, a sack and one interception. His numbers might have been modest, but would have easily topped the returning players at the position. Fifth-year senior Sterling Lucas will be counted on at middle linebacker, and his teammates voted him a co-captain. Redshirt junior Rickey Dowdy, sophomore converted safety Rodman Noel, sophomore Brandon Pittman, redshirt junior Ryan Cheek and junior college transfer Robert Caldwell will be fighting to get on the field next to Lucas. At least one of the three starting linebackers will need to flash the ability of being a force, both in the run game and the pass rush if called upon to blitz. 4. The Young Defensive Tackles Grow Up Fast Helping the linebackers out will be a quartet of defensive tackles that are in the neighborhood of 300 pounds. Injuries caused redshirt sophomore Thomas Teal and sophomore T.Y. McGill to get exten- sive playing time last year. McGill, who is listed at 6-1, 298 pounds, had 19 tackles in 13 Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Thomas Teal, who measures 6-2, 315 pounds, posted 11 tackles and one sack in six games last season, and he could be a big factor on the defensive line this year. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN games played, including a start at Virginia. Teal missed seven games after breaking his foot in the season opener against Liberty, but returned for the final five games and started against Clemson. The 6-2, 315-pounder had 11 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble in six games. The two massive defensive tackles could one day remind defen- sive line coach Keith Willis Sr. of former Boston College standouts B.J. Raji and Ron Brace, who went on to the NFL after being tutored by Willis. Teal and McGill's potential backups are even bigger. Junior college transfer Deylan Buntyn checks in at 6-4, 330 pounds, and redshirt freshman Carlos Gray is 6-4, 321. The defensive tackles' ability to tie up blockers on the offensive line and allow the linebackers to flow to the ball will go a long way toward establishing a good run defense. O'Brien often said dur- ing the 2011 season that the early season injuries up front created problems for the rest of the defense. The blessing from the injuries is that Teal and McGill will already have experience going into this year. Takes Advantage Of New Rules 5. The Special Teams Unit College football programs will be adjusting to new kickoff rules this season. Kickers, such as NC State sophomore Niklas Sade, will have pressure to get touchbacks now that kickoffs have been moved up five yards to the 35 (same as the NFL this past year). Sade had five touchbacks on 70 kickoffs last year, and opponents had eight on 62 attempts under the old rules. One of the early season trends will be to see if those numbers start to explode. The touchbacks will also cause teams to start drives on the 25-yard line, rather than the 20. Could some teams try to pop the kickoff high and short to see if their coverage units can make the tackle behind the 25-yard line? It's a theory, but NFL teams tended to try and blast the kickoffs. NC State's kickoff returns will also have to figure out when they want to take a touchback. The great ones in the NFL still took the ball out seven to eight yards deep into the end zone, often times producing spectacular returns. NCSU kick returners will need to develop the trust of making things happen deep out of the end zone. The philosophies developed by NCSU special teams coach Jerry Petercuskie will help win the battle of field position. ■ SEPTEMBER 2012 ■ 39