North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Wolfpack to Stay on the Offensive
8/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 3, 2004
By Tony Haynes Ask NC State offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone what he'll do for an encore after fielding the most productive unit in school history in his first year, and his answer comes without hesitation. "Hopefully the NCAA will give us that fifth year of eligibility and we can get Philip back," Mazzone said, giggling. Echoing similar comments made by Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato, Mazzone seems quite at ease with the underdog role NC State has inherited in the post-Philip Rivers era. Certainly, ACC media members have shown little faith in the Pack's ability to survive a gruesome schedule without the ACC's all-time leading passer there to show the way. At last week's ACC Football Kick-off, NC State was picked to finish no better than 7th in the league's preseason football poll. That's ok with Mazzone, who is firmly convinced that the Wolfpack offense still has enough weapons in place to move the football on just about any defense it will confront in 2004. "I'm excited," Mazzone said. "Sure you're going to lose some experience with Philip and everything he brought to the table. But I also think what he did kind of laid the foundation for future offenses at NC State. Jay [Davis] and Marcus [Stone] had a chance to watch Philip do it. We bring a lot of kids back who now have another year of experience that were young last year and kind of rode our quarterback's coattails. Now maybe they can step up and our quarterbacks can lean on those guys a little bit." The quarterback arms race Davis and Stone, a battle that started in the spring, will resume this Friday afternoon when the Wolfpack opens preseason practice. It's a competition that will likely be prolonged for two or three weeks, a strategy that will allow both players an equal opportunity to compete for the job that Rivers dominated for four consecutive years. And in fact, the offensive staff may need two weeks worth of workouts to get a clear idea of who will likely be the most dependable player to send into the huddle when Richmond comes to town on September 4th. The offensive system will remain the same, although it would be unreasonable to assume that either quarterback will be in a position to shoulder the same mental load that Rivers could handle by the end of his career. "I don't think there's any doubt we'll simplify a little bit," Mazzone said. "When you've had a four-year starter, you can put a few more entrees on his plate than you can with young quarterbacks. We'll bring it down a little bit, but we're not going to change anything. Maybe we'll add a few things that play to either Marcus's or Jay's strengths; maybe as a runner or something like that. But I also think we can ask our receivers, tight ends, running backs and offensive line who have grown up a little bit to handle a little bit more of a load. I'll be honest with you, I'm excited about it." Who wouldn't be excited about the prospects of getting the ball into the hands of all-star caliber players like running back T.A. McLendon, multi-purpose receiver Tramain Hall and big-play tight end T.J. Williams? The weapons at most of the skill positions will be plentiful, and the offensive line could be NC State's best in years, particularly if sixth-year senior Chris Colmer can come back from the rare nerve condition that forced him to miss all of last season. "If you looked at some of the services, he was one of the top rated offensive linemen coming out of college last year," said Mazzone. "Not having him last year, it may work to our advantage because it forced us to use some young guys. That will give us more depth on the offensive line. To me after quarterback, the key spot on an offense is left tackle. When that guy is a stud, you can do a lot more and you don't worry as much about your offense. What's happened with him this summer has been positive and we're just going to try to work him back in there." Colmer wasn't the only member of the offense to spend an inordinate amount of time in the Murphy Center training room in 2003. Others, including McLendon, receiver Sterling Hicks, running back Josh Brown and guard Ricky Fowler, all missed a significant amount of playing time because of injuries. That, however, didn't stop the Wolfpack from rolling up new school records for total offense (453.15), total points (489), touchdowns (65) and average points per game (37.6). All of that was done, of course, with perhaps the greatest quarterback in ACC history often making a mockery of the many strategies opposing defenses tried to employ against him. This season, the Wolfpack will rely less on the quarterback and more on the talented, versatile parts that will surround him.
