North Carolina State University Athletics
Coach Amato's Post-Scrimmage Comments
8/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 10, 2002
Following NC State's first preseason scrimmage on Saturday evening, head coach Chuck Amato reacted to what he had seen during the two-hour workout. The Wolfpack is preparing for its August 24th opener against New Mexico.
What was your assessment of the scrimmage?
Coach Amato:"There were a couple of disappointing things out there. Overall, I was pleased for the first scrimmage. There were too many penalties and missed assignments. We go one against two and the first team offense took the ball right down the field in the beginning. After that, they didn't do much. There's a little concern about the offensive line and why they didn't dominate like they did in that opening drive. We did some third down situations, third and long and third and short. They weren't as good as you would have liked when you're going ones against twos. On the goal line, the defense right now is doing what they should do. I want them to become more physical; we've got to become a much more physical football team."
On late word that three players will be ineligible: "We did find out that we've got three guys that are ineligible. One of them is Cotra (Jackson). The others are J.J. Jones and Terrance Chapman. And with [Carlos] Doggett, we've felt all along that we wanted him to get his degree. He's going to help us do some coaching this year. He's been so good to us and I want him to get his education; he's so close to it. That's where we stand on that right now."
More on the scrimmage: "I was pleased with [Greg] Golden. It's a shame that T.A. McLendon (sprained foot) is banged up and he didn't go through it. We really didn't get anybody hurt badly. I wished T.A. could have scrimmaged; he's missed the last two days. But he showed an awful lot prior to getting banged up. It's nothing serious. Golden was pretty impressive today. Obviously, Philip Rivers had a really good day. The first touchdown he threw was right on the money. It was a big play."
On the play of defensive end Shawn Price: "Price had quite a few sacks (four tackles for loss). I tell you what, he was just starting to come on last year when he got a high ankle injury. He's got what you need because he's fast and he's strong. He's getting better and better at what he's doing."
Touches on Saturday morning's kicking scrimmage: "We had a kicking scrimmage this morning which I though went pretty well. Austin Herbert really looked good. He's punting the ball kind of like the way he ended up last year. If you take the last four or five games from a year ago, his average was pretty good. Adam Kiker still has a back problem. Adam hasn't been able to do much at all. We've had him see different doctors. He hopes he'll be ready to come back by Monday or Tuesday."
Did freshman A.J. Davis touch the ball as a return man on kick off or punts? "On kicks he did. I can see why he was recruited by as many people as he was. He's got a little bit of wiggle. He can probably hip hop with the best of 'em. He's good. Golden and Reid looked pretty good on kick off returns. But if [Davis] can get involved in doing that, that's one less play those other people have to be involved in. We're going to put the best ones out there. We've got win the kicking game."
