North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Wolfpack Counting the Days
10/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 12, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-As far as Chuck Amato is concerned, Sunday was Monday at the Murphy Football Center. Say what? Facing a Thursday night home game against Clemson, the NC State football team was already shifting game preparations into high gear just one day after its 31-24 win over Connecticut. To get an idea of just how accelerated the itinerary is this week, Amato held his Monday press conference on Sunday. Before your head starts spinning, remember: Sunday is Monday. What does that make Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday? Answering that question would require too much effort. But the bottom line is that Thursday is gameday, meaning it will be treated like Saturday.
Now would be a great time for an ibuprofen break, wouldn't you say?
"Today is Monday," Amato said on Sunday. "Tomorrow will be Tuesday. Tuesday will be Wednesday and Wednesday will be Thursday."
Make that two ibuprofen tablets please.
And by the way, there will be no Friday this week. Under normal circumstances, the Wolfpack doesn't practice the day before a game, but there will be a light practice held on Wednesday (which, if you remember, is Thursday).
Could you up that dosage one more time?
"We'll actually do a little bit on Wednesday," Amato said. "We've been on a Thursday night on two different occasions and that's basically what we've been doing. We've got to be careful with what we do because we had a very physical game against Connecticut. We're banged up and bruised up, but we've got to go on."
Some players were banged and bruised worse than others. Defensive end Renaldo Moses (knee) and cornerback Lamont Reid (shoulder) were scheduled to undergo MRIs on Sunday morning. Amato said those results won't be known until Monday. Starting offensive guard Ricky Fowler twisted a knee in the first half against the Huskies, but was able to return later.
"It's kind of difficult because I'm still sore right now," said NC State offensive tackle Sean Locklear. "You don't have that full day to get in the training room and ice down. It's just something you have to deal with."
Perhaps no one was feeling more exhausted on Sunday, I mean Monday, than Wolfpack running back T.A. McLendon, who returned from the field on Saturday after missing two straight games with a pulled hamstring. The sophomore rushed for 32 yards on 12 carries against UConn over the weekend.
"T.A. came out a little sore, but not his hamstring," Amato said. "His body is a little sore, which is why he needed to play. He hadn't been hit for 2 ? games. He's got to get used to it. He probably played as hard the other day as he's played in a long time. It sure didn't look like to me that the hamstring was even tweaked a little bit. His body is a little sore, but he'll be fine."
Perhaps that's great news for NC State and not so good news for Clemson. In a Thursday night ESPN special last year (when Sunday was Monday, Monday was Tuesday, Tuesday was Wednesday...etc), McLendon may have nailed down his ACC Rookie of the Year campaign by shredding the Tigers to the tune of 178 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a surprisingly one-sided 38-6 Wolfpack victory.
Not only did that game provide a big stage for McLendon's national coming out party, the win also gave NC State a 9-0 record for the first time in school history.
But what a difference a year makes. While McLendon and the Pack (4-3, 1-2) have struggled to put it all together this fall, Clemson is an improving team that has recorded some pretty impressive performances in recent weeks. At 4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play, the Tigers are coming off a confidence-boosting 30-27 overtime triumph over Virginia on Saturday. There was also that eye-popping 39-3 romp at Georgia Tech back on September 20th.
"They've got only one loss in the ACC," Amato said. "If they win this game, they're saying 'we've got just one more big hurdle, and that's the one in Tallahassee.' They're right there."
They're right there thanks to a talented offense headed up by quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, who is throwing for an average of 272.2 yards per game. His big-play stall of wide receivers includes Kevin Youngblood (38 receptions), Derrick Hamilton (31 receptions) and speedy Airese Currie (28 receptions).
Needless to say, Clemson will be eager to go after an NC State defense that has experienced more than its share of problems against big play passing attacks. It will be interesting to see how the Pack responds to this enormous challenge.
It all happens this Thursday, which this week will be like.....aah, forget it.
Note: Because of the short week, the Chuck Amato Radio Show, normally heard on Wednesdays, will air from 8-9 p.m. on Monday, October 13th.
