North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Survives Physical First Game
8/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 25, 2002
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh-The 47,018 fans that attended NC State's season opener against New Mexico witnessed a physical football game that left more than just a few bodies bruised and battered. But with the exception of perhaps freshman tight end T.J. Williams, the Wolfpack may have emerged from the contest with no major injuries. That's not to suggest, however, that the physical nature of the game didn't take its toll.
Williams, who suffered a shoulder injury while blocking on a kick off return, is still being evaluated. More will be known on his status once the results of an MRI taken on the shoulder are made available on Monday morning.
Two of NC State's top three running backs were hurting when they tried to get out of bed on Sunday. Freshman T.A. McLendon, who made a smashing debut by running for 79 yards on 20 carries, tweaked the same shoulder that bothered him off and on during preseason camp. Sophomore Josh Brown saw very little action after twisting a knee. Pack head coach Chuck Amato hopes both tailbacks will be available for practice this week.
"We played a very physical football game," Amato said on Sunday. "I'll guarantee Josh will be full speed tomorrow. T.A. has had a little bit of a shoulder problem ever since he broke Andre Maddux's nose. He sure didn't run last night like he had a shoulder problem. We had to go all the way back to 1988 since a freshman (Anthony Barbour) rushed for as many yards as T.A. did in his first game. T.A. had 79 yards and Barbour had 81. He probably would have broken it if he didn't have those negative plays late in the game. It's not like T.A. has a separated shoulder and Josh is hanging on with three ligament tears and no cartilage in his knee. At this point, that's not the case."
McLendon and Brown will continue to rotate with Golden at the tailback position when NC State hosts East Tennessee State next Saturday night at 7:00. Amato said Golden would again be his starter in game two.
"Greg Golden had a pretty good game himself when you include the yards he got catching the ball and things of that sort," Amato said of Golden, who had 93 all-purpose yards. "They all need reps. We just wish Josh would have gotten more of them last night. One thing about that young man is that he's tougher than nails. We feel like we have three guys that bring different things to the table and we'll just keep spreading it out."
Along with his production at tailback and on kick returns, Golden was on the field for 12 snaps at cornerback, the position he played last season.
