North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Preparing To Deal With Douglas
10/31/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 31, 2001
By Tony Haynes
As it prepares for Saturday's football game at Duke, NC State is trying its best to tune out all the talk about the Blue Devils' 0-8 record. And when the Wolfpack's defensive players sit down and watch film, it becomes much easier for them to forget about Duke's well-chronicled miseries.
While it's true that the Blue Devils have dropped 20 consecutive games over the last two seasons, it's also true that they feature perhaps one of the best kept secrets in the ACC: running back Chris Douglas.
A speedy 5-10 sophomore from Sherrills Ford, N.C., Douglas is evolving into one of the most versatile and dangerous backs in the conference. Entering this Saturday afternoon's game at Wallace Wade Stadium, he leads the ACC and ranks fourth in the nation in all-purpose yards (184.6 ypg.).
"He's certainly provides a lot of offense for us," said Duke coach Carl Franks. "After last season, we knew that he really had a chance to help us. We try to find as many ways as we can to get the ball in his hands. He's got a lot of speed, which is one of his best assets. He's learned to run low, to get his shoulders down and fall forward. He's an exciting guy to watch play."
Exciting for everyone except for the defensive players that have to try to stop him on Saturday afternoons. In Duke's 42-28 loss to Vanderbilt last weekend, Douglas rushed for a career-high 169 yards on 29 carries. With 1,477 all-purpose yards this season, he's just 89 yards away from the school record.
"He breaks so many tackles," said Wolfpack linebacker Levar Fisher. "He's strong, he's fast and he's just a quality running back. We know that he's going to be hard to stop that's why we're preparing for him."
To go along with 680 yards rushing this season, Douglas is Duke's second leading receiver with 19 catches for 185 yards. He's also among the league's top kick off returners with an average of 21 yards per attempt.
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While still a little bit banged up, the NC State defense will welcome back a number of key players to the line-up this week. Defensive end Terrance Chapman (ankle), who has seen limited action the last few weeks, will likely be in for more snaps this weekend. Likewise for tackle Terrance Martin who is on the mend from an appendectomy. Martin made a cameo appearance in last Saturday's 24-0 win over Virginia.
NC State middle linebacker Dantonio Burnette is being listed as probable after sitting out last week's game with a knee sprain. Burnette is second in the ACC and No. 8 in the nation in tackles with an average of 13.5 per game.
The league's top tackler is Fisher (14.6), who hasn't missed a beat since spraining a knee in the third quarter of the Pack's game against Clemson on Oct. 11. In two games since the injury, Fisher has continued to make plays while wearing a custom-fitted knee brace for protection.
"In think I'm going to wear it for one more week just for safety," Fisher said. "I'm kind of getting used to it. I still feel a step slower. When I'm taking off I want to feel 100 percent."
With 10 or more tackles on Saturday, Fisher will become the school's all-time tackles leader. With 447 career stops, Fisher is just nine behind Damien Covington.
