North Carolina State University Athletics
Receivers Make Big Plays in Spring Football Scrimmage
3/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 29, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-It should come as no surprise that NC State's talented bevy of wide receivers broke loose for several big plays during a spring scrimmage on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. After all, with speedsters Richard Washington and Tramain Hall joining the likes of All-ACC pass catcher Jerricho Cotchery, Sterling Hicks and Andy Bertrand next season, the Wolfpack will have one of the deepest and most talented groups in the ACC. On Saturday, the quick-footed Washington regularly turned short passes into big plays, while Philip Rivers put up some big numbers to lead the quarterback corps.
Alternating first team reps with backup Jay Davis, Rivers was sharp, hitting 9-of-13 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He also led a 20-play drive that ended with tailback Josh Brown going in from the one. But the long drive was also aided by three offside penalties on the defense. With regular tailback T.A. McLendon recovering from wrist surgery, Brown got the bulk of the carries and ran for 63 yards on 13 rushing attempts.
Leading the receivers was Washington, who had five catches for 53 yards. Bertrand made four grabs for 96 yards including a 56-yarder that went for a touchdown.
"The receivers did a good job," said Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato. "There were some short passes that they turned into big ones. Philip had a good day. Jay Davis did some good things and Chris Moore had a pretty good day as well."
Davis, who is the favorite to back Rivers up next fall, was 8-of-18 for 89 yards, while Moore, working with the second team offense, finished 10-of-16 for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
While Hall didn't get the ball in his hands as much as some of the other skill players, Amato wasn't concerned, especially after watching the redshirt sophomore from Miami put on a dazzling performance in front of a large group of high school coaches attending NC State's coaching clinic on Friday.
"Tramain yesterday in front of about 400 high school coaches put on a display," Amato said. "He's rusty as all get out. I think he can be pretty special, and Richard Washington the same way. Other than being on the scout squad, this is the first time he's gone up against this much talent. Tramain adds an awful lot. We can put him at wide receiver or we can put him at running back. He really does some awfully good things."
Defensively, Amato said NC State still has a long way to go. The unit that led the ACC in total defense last season has some major holes to fill. To begin with six regulars that got the bulk of the minutes on the defensive line are now gone. One of the statistical leaders on Saturday was freshmen end Mario Williams, who had seven tackles, two of which were for losses.
"We've got a long way to go on pass rush," Amato said. "Right now, we're not covering them and we're not rushing them and that makes for a long day. That's a really big concern because we lost a lot of quality kids up there. These young kids are getting an opportunity to play and get a lot of reps. When they're this young, we've got to get them a lot of reps."
