North Carolina State University Athletics
Young D-Line Showing Improvement
9/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 21, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-As they were grading the tape from Saturday's 49-21 victory over Texas Tech, NC State's defensive coaches looked beyond the statistics and even the final score. To be sure, they saw some errors and missed assignments, which if avoided, could have limited a few of the big plays that helped the Red Raiders roll up 681 yards of total offense. Yet, amid all the inflated numbers, there was a sign that certain individuals are also making progress, the type of improvement that could help the Wolfpack become a better defensive team as the year moves along.
Evaluating the NC State defense on Saturday's performance is tricky given the fact that the Wolfpack will not see another offensive team quite like Texas Tech for the remainder of the year. For most teams, throwing 64 passes in a game would be unthinkable. For the Red Raiders, it's just another day at the office. With its multiple receiver spread formations, Texas Tech will force every defense it faces to employ something a little bit different. Such was the case on Saturday as NC State used as many as seven defensive backs in certain down and distance situations. At no time during the game did the Wolfpack use its standard base defense with four defensive linemen, three linebackers and just four defensive backs.
Rushing the passer on virtually every down for four quarters is physically impossible for even the most well-conditioned athletes, which is why NC State head coach Chuck Amato and his defensive staff made a conscious effort to rotate defensive linemen in and out for most of the day.
Against a team that pass protects as well as anyone, the Wolfpack was able to come up with four sacks, even though it rushed only three on most plays.
Perhaps it's no surprise that freshman defensive end Mario Williams continues to show flashes of the enormous talent that made him one of the nation's most highly sought after high school players a year ago. Using his unique blend of strength and quickness on Saturday, Williams was often a handful for the big offensive tackles who were trying to keep him away from quarterback B.J. Symons.
"Mario just improves every game," Amato said. "He still has a long way to go, but his presence was felt there on Saturday. He rushed the passer very hard. We kept him very fresh. About every four plays we sent new linemen into the game."
Another young defensive lineman who continues to catch Amato's eye is redshirt freshman tackle John McCargo, who was able to get a decent push up inside, even against the many Texas Tech double teams he encountered throughout the game.
At the end of last year, Amato figured he would never see a middle linebacker quite like Dantonio Burnette. Despite his rather small physique, Burnette became one of the best linebackers in NC State history and may very well have been the top defensive player in the ACC last year.
But there may actually be a Burnette clone on the NC State roster. Over the last few weeks, the coaching staff hasn't hesitated to insert 5-10, 215 pound rookie Stephen Tulloch into the lineup for some crucial snaps.
"Stephen Tulloch is the next Dan Burnette," Amato said on Sunday. "You hate to compare people, but Stephen plays hard and he's strong. He's without question faster than Dan and he plays with a lot of energy."
The Phenomenal Philip Rivers:In a statistic that could almost be described as ridiculous, Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers has completed 77.1 ( 118-of-153) percent of his passes through four games. Against Tech on Saturday, the Athens, Alabama senior was a tidy 18-of-22 for 257 yards and one touchdown. Through Saturday's games, Rivers is now ranked third in the nation in passing (331.2 yards per game). He's also 5th in passing efficiency (168.4 rating), 7th in total offense, and tied for 2nd in touchdown passes with 11.
Wolfpack and Heels on TV: Don't forget that NC State and Time Warner digital cable are making next Saturday's tilt between the Wolfpack and North Carolina Tar Heels available on a pay-per-view basis. For ordering information, click Here.
