North Carolina State University Athletics
Young Tailbacks Make Mark in Pack Scrimmage
8/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 21, 2004
By Tony Haynes Raleigh, N.C. - Two of the new kids on the block often looked like season veterans during NC State's second scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday morning at Carter-Finley Stadium. Taking advantage of junior T.A. McLendon's absence, rookie tailbacks Darrell Blackman and Bobby Washington received quite a bit of praise for their performances during the 2 ½ hour workout. Heavily decorated during their respective high school careers, the former prep All-Americans are starting to show why they were such attractive recruiting targets. "The two young running backs each had about 90 yards rushing," said NC State head coach Chuck Amato. "They had a touchdown or two, not including goal line. I thought the running back position was open, but I don't know if it is anymore. Those two freshmen running backs might be the starters. They're awfully good. You can't make the team in the `tub.'" McLendon, the incumbent starter at the tailback spot, has been spending more time in the whirlpool than on the field lately after tweaking a hamstring in practice about a week ago. As it turns out, however, his lack of practice time has turned into a blessing in disguise for Blackman and Washington, who have gotten better and better with each passing day. "They're something special," said Jay Davis, who continues to battle Marcus Stone for the starting quarterback spot. "They both see the hole and when they see it, they run full speed. When you do that, you're going to get four yards. Then it's four yards, four yards, four yards and then boom! Sixty yards. They're real competitive guys, too. They can stop on a dime and then they can go when ever they want to. It's kind of fun to watch them play." Once again on Saturday, the first team went up against the second team resulting in a fairly predictable outcome. "It went the way it was supposed to go," Amato said. "The ones dominated on offense and the ones dominated on defense. That's because we're going one versus two right now in the scrimmage format. In practice during the week, we go one versus one for more competition." No statistics were released following the scrimmage and there was very little said about the performances of Davis and Stone, who are vying to succeed Philip Rivers. When asked by a reporter if he was any closer to naming a starting quarterback, Amato answered with a resounding "no." "When I get there I'll tell you," he said. "The more you guys ask me, when I do get there I'm not going to tell you. Every time you ask me, I'm going to push it back one more day. I might tell you the day after the game if I have to. When I'm ready to make that decision I'll tell you. You don't have to ask me. I'm not going to keep it a secret." Meaning with two weeks to go before the open against Richmond, Amato wants to keep the competition open for a little longer. "I don't know which way they're going to go," said Davis, a redshirt junior. "Either way, we're going to support the decision and support one another. In practice right now we're still splitting the reps and we're still competing for the job." The number one offensive line was missing two starters on Saturday. Left guard Leroy Harris did not participate after sustaining a cramp and a slight ankle sprain during Friday's practice. Left tackle Chris Colmer, trying to return from the nerve disorder in his shoulder that kept him off the field last season, also stayed on the sidelines Saturday. "He had a good week of practice," Amato said of Colmer, a sixth-year senior. "I just kept him out because he's 62 years old and he's getting ready for social security." There was some encouraging news on the offensive line as veteran guard Rickey Fowler was on the field for about 24 snaps. Fowler has practiced on a part time basis this fall after undergoing offseason knee surgery. Amato added that the kickers were 14 of 17 during the kicking portions of the scrimmage. Other Quotes from Saturday's Scrimmage: Chuck Amato: "The biggest thing is the first half of the scrimmage we had 20 penalties, 11 on offense and nine on defense. That's discipline. We can't win a game with 20 penalties in a half. That's correctable; it's something that we as coaches must continue to stress. It's the first time we've had a full ACC officiating crew here. It was good. I wish we could get one for every practice to help these youngsters." Defensive tackle John McCargo: "I think the biggest difference is that we have a little bit of depth now. We've got DeMario (Pressley), [John] Bedics and some youngsters who are playing pretty well. I just think we're playing better as a team. Everybody is going out there and playing hard everyday. I just think that we're clicking right now." Quarterback Jay Davis: "The offense in general is starting to click. This was the best scrimmage we've had this year, and that includes the spring. There's a lot less thinking now and just playing football."
