North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Must Deal with Long Injury List
11/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 10, 2002
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-When he arrived at his office on Sunday, NC State head football coach Chuck Amato expected to see a long injury list. And that's exactly what he got. Not only did Saturday's heartbreaking 24-21 defeat at Maryland add another 'L' to the won-loss record, it also took a chunk out of the Wolfpack's starting line-up, especially on offense. In other words, the NC State team that will travel to Virginia for a 12 noon kickoff next Saturday may not resemble the club that opened the season with nine consecutive victories.
After being diagnosed with a 2nd degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament in one of his knees, starting left guard Shane Riggs is definitely out this week. His availability for the season finale against Florida State on Nov. 23 probably won't be known for a week or so.
There's also a chance the Pack will be without its top receiver and number one running back in Charlottesville. Junior wide-out Jerricho Cotchery, who had a career-high 12- catches for 144 yards against the Terps, is very questionable with a high ankle sprain. Leading rusher T.A. McLendon is also on the questionable list with a shoulder bruise.
"If anybody can come back, it's them," Amato said on Sunday. "They are two very tough people. But we're not going to do anything that would jeopardize the rest of the season."
With McLendon sitting out the entire second half, Josh Brown did a respectable job, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown. And although the Pack has plenty of talented players at the receiver position, no one has been more reliable than Cotchery, who has made 18 catches for 273 yards the last two weeks.
"Fortunately that's a position where we have a lot of people, but you don't replace somebody like him," Amato said. "We can stick [Andy] Bertrand in there and maybe [Chris] Murray can do something. He's been practicing well the last few weeks."
If Cotchery can't go, Amato said receiver Bryan Peterson or Greg Golden would be considered for the punt-return duties.
Former walk-on Ashley Wingate played the rest of the way at left guard after Riggs went out early in the game on Saturday. Amato said he and his offensive staff would discuss the make-up of the offensive line for a day or two before making any final decisions. Any changes could involve Brandon Sanders, who played four games at center when starter Jed Paulsen was nursing a knee injury.
On defense, Amato said linebacker Avery Gibson would likely miss the last two regular season games because of an ankle problem. More tests will be taken to determine whether or not Gibson needs surgery.
In just the last two weeks, NC State has seen its hopes for an unbeaten season and a conference championship completely dashed-but not by much. The difference between 11-0 and 9-2 right now are just a couple of plays that went the other way in the fourth quarters of both losses.
"There aren't a lot of 9-2 teams left in the country," Amato noted. "There's still a lot out there for us. We lost two very close games. We've been outscored 25-7 in the fourth quarter the last two weeks. These kids are resilient. I'm more concerned about the medical report."
