North Carolina State University Athletics
Drenching Rain Derails Practice Plans
9/29/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
NC State football coach Mike O'Cain feels fortunate that he has access to an indoor practice facility-he just wishes he didn't have to use it so much. Very little can be accomplished inside the cramped confines of the Weisiger-Brown building. The rain that has been falling non-stop for the last three days in Raleigh has really thrown a monkey wrench in the Wolfpack's practice plans.
"We wanted to spend a lot of time with some of the guys who weren't playing very much," O'Cain said. "There are some offensive linemen who need work desperately. Jatavis Sanders (back-up quarterback) needs a lot of work. We wanted to get out and do some scrimmage work, but we just weren't able to get that done."
The inclement weather also limits what can be done in the passing game. There's simply not enough room in the Weisiger-Brown building to work on the plethora of routes that are built into the NC State offense.
Speaking of the offense, the Pack continues to occupy the basement in just about every offensive category that the ACC churns out in its weekly statistics. Poor pass protection, turnovers, errant throws and numerous drops by the wide receivers have plagued NC State in four of its five games.
In last Saturday's loss at Wake Forest, senior wide receiver Chris Coleman had four drops and a fumble. All this from a player who many thought would be one of the top pass catchers in the conference this season.
"I think he's in a little slump," said O'Cain. "He's just like a batter or a pitcher or anybody that's struggling in whatever their line of expertise is. As an offense, we have some of our players who are, at times, trying too hard. I know one of the balls he dropped on Saturday, he was trying to catch the ball and turn up field and make something happen before he even caught it. That's something you have a tendency to do when you're trying to make something happen. You begin to try too hard and you don't do what you're capable of doing."
Conceivably, O'Cain could be describing just about every player on the offense. While the effort has been there, the confidence level of the offensive unit has been fragile since week one.
Injury update: O'Cain said on Wednesday that Keegan Weir probably won't return until the Virginia game on October 16. The sophomore center, who broke his fibula in the opener at Texas, has been cleared to start running next Monday. When asked about the condition of tailback Ray Robinson, O'Cain said: "He's not going to do a thing this week other than ride a bike. He's going to stay off his ankle totally just to get it well."
Robinson's playing time has been limited all season by two different ankle sprains.
