NC STATE FOOTBALL:
Matt Carter of TheWolfpacker.com Wed. practice report: Frosh kickers mature
A popular topic of conversation surrounding NC State football this preseason will be the kicking game because of the three true freshmen that are expected to handle the punting, kicking and special teams duties.
Wil Baumann will boot the punts, Niklas Sade will handle field goals and kickoffs, and Scott Thompson will be doing the snapping. It’s a unique position that both special teams coordinator Jerry Petercuskie and head coach Tom O’Brien have never been in during their respective coaching careers.
Fortunately for them and NC State however, the trio seem to have the mental makeup to handle the load.
“We still have to wait until they get into a game, but I think that they are interviewed by you people all the time so they have a lot more wherewithal than the kids have 20 years ago, so these guys have been exposed to a lot more,” Petercuskie noted. “Consequently I think it shows up in their demeanor. We’ll see what happens when the bullet starts flying.
Ryan Tice of TheWolfpacker.com after first practice on Tuesday Mike Glennon is not changing much despite new role
Although redshirt junior quarterback Mike Glennon may look a little bit different at the start of summer camp with his newly unveiled facial hair and a different role — he is finally the starter under center — than previous autumns, he is not changing much else. This is the moment that the former four-star recruit from Centreville, Va., has been preparing for since committing to NC State in Jan. 2008 and he feels that he is ready for the spotlight.
“When I was warming up, I saw a bunch of cameras following me but I do the same things I always do,†he said following the Pack’s first practice on Tuesday. “I don’t try to treat anything different with my teammates, I think it’s the same situation all the time.
Jacey Zembal of TheWolfpacker.com spotlights Curtis Underwood
Curtis Underwood getting big opportunity
Curtis Underwood Jr. was finishing up a recruiting trip to North Alabama when he received the phone call he was expecting last spring.
NC State coach Tom O’Brien called Underwood to ask him to return to the Wolfpack, which didn’t surprise him too much. Underwood’s friends on the team gave him advanced warning that sophomore running back Mustafa Greene injured his foot, and might miss some games for the 2011 season.
Underwood had left the Wolfpack following the 2010 season after it became clear he wasn’t likely going to be in the top two spots on the depth chart. The 5-foot-11, 220-pounder alternated between third and fourth string last year, rushing for 62 yards on 15 carries, plus a 12-yard touchdown reception. He appeared in four games at running back, and played extensively on special teams.
Austin Johnson of PackPride post audio and quotes from TOB after day 2
“They have to condition themselves [before they arrive at camp]. They have to get out, they have to run they have to do multiple things to get them ready to play. You can’t just think you are going to get it done in 20 minutes.”
“If we had an air-conditioned indoor facility we could go in there and we wouldn’t have that problem.”
“I’ve never had anything like [having three true freshman on special teams]. But we are forced into this. But I think we are very fortunate cause I think the kids are really mature kids. Watching them kick, both kids have strong legs. Our snapper gets a lot of revolutions flying back on the ball – its on a line and its going to be in a place where everybody can catch it. So its just a matter of them playing and getting some good experience under their belts. They are going to be fine.”
JP Giglio at the N&O talks about the extreme heat and indoor practice facilities. No way around the heat for Wolfpack
It only took two practices in the August heat for N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien to renew his campaign for an indoor practice facility.
“We were lucky today with the cloud cover,” O’Brien said. “If we had an air-conditioned indoor facility, we could go in there and practice and we wouldn’t have that problem.”
O’Brien has basically been lobbying for an indoor facility since he took over the program after the 2006 season.
My favorite part of hiring TOB was the culture he’s brought in and teaching these young men that there are more important things than football.
Joining the Wolfpack: Wounded warriors get visit from Coach O’Brien, NC State’s football team
July 27 started like any other day for the Marines in the wounded warrior barracks. Another hot, sweltering Wednesday in the middle of the dog days of summer. Wounded Marines passed the time in the lounge area at the wounded warrior barracks aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, playing air hockey and cracking jokes while watching Comedy Central.
But then, a large bus pulled into the roundabout behind the barracks. Out of it stepped Tom O’Brien, the head coach of North Carolina State University’s football team, and more than a dozen of his players.
The team was making its biannual visit to the Wounded Warrior Battalion – East at Camp Lejeune since O’Brien took over at NC State in 2007. He sees it as a chance for the players to grow and put everything in perspective, and an opportunity for O’Brien, a former Marine of nine years and a major in the Marine Corps Reserve, to give back to the Corps.
NC STATE BASKETBALL
Chip Alexander at the N&O discusses the recruitment of Thomas de Thaey. NCSU recruits brawny Belgian
Thomas de Thaey isn’t your typical N.C. State basketball recruit.
A member of coach Mark Gottfried’s first recruiting class, the incoming freshman from Belgium is 20 and is fluent in Dutch, French and English.
At a certain point, the 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward had Washington, Colorado State, Wake Forest, St. Bonaventure, Duquesne and several smaller schools showing interest. About a month after N.C. State introduced Gottfried as the Wolfpack’s new coach in April, newly named assistant coach Bobby Lutz swooped in and signed de Thaey.
“I remember they just hired the new coaching staff, and two days later, coach Lutz was already on a plane to come take a look at me,” de Thaey said last week.
Update on Wolfpack Basketball in the Legends Classic
C.J. Leslie, NC State: Leslie was a significant get for Sidney Lowe a year ago. Now Lowe is out and Mark Gottfried is in at NCSU. But Leslie’s importance is even greater. He needs to produce for the Wolfpack to get off to a decent start prior to the ACC.
UNC BASKETBALL
Brett Friedlander of the Wilmington Star discusses a key injury. Leslie McDonald has knee surgery.
UNC FOOTBALL FALLOUT
N&O reports on the Student Honor Court breakin. UNC police charge student in Honor Court break in
UNC-Chapel Hill police charged a student in a recent break in at the building that houses the university’s Honor Court.
Garrett Lee Haywood, 22, of Chapel Hill, was arrested today on charges of breaking-and-entering, larceny and possession of stolen goods. Haywood was brought before the Orange County Magistrate and a secured bond was set at $2,500.
At 8 a.m. Monday, UNC-CH officials discovered that the student judicial system office in Student and Academic Services Building North had been broken into and 31 students’ confidential records stolen, according to a news release.
Ken Tysiac of the N&O Running back Hunter Furr to leave UNC
With the start of practice just two days away, junior running back Hunter Furr has decided to transfer from the North Carolina, the school announced Wednesday.
Furr asked interim head coach Everett Withers this week to release him from his scholarship. Withers said Furr is looking for more playing time.
Messy Marvin is back in the news, this time The NY Times Jorge Castillo catches up with him. Exiled at North Carolina, Marvin Austin jumps into NFL career
The NCAA Notice of Allegations accuses North Carolina players of receiving $27,097.38 in impermissible benefits. Austin is believed to have accepted benefits totaling $13,507.47, including more than $5,000 in benefits from the late sports agent Gary Wichard.
“I was allegedly breaking NCAA rules, but that doesn’t make me a bad person,” said Austin, who would not comment on the recent developments at North Carolina.
“If you check out my record, I’ve never been in trouble or hurt anybody or did anything like that. So when they talked about character issues, that was just something for the draft. Somebody had to have an issue. That’s not something I worry about. I know what type of person I am.”
