North Carolina State University Athletics
Bye Week Gives Pack Flexibility
9/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 8, 2004
By Tony Haynes Raleigh, N.C. - NC State's football players got a pleasant surprise when they saw the updated practice schedule for Wednesday. The update? There would be no practice. During a normal week this time of year, there's a better chance Saddam Hussein would be invited to a state dinner at the White House before head coach Chuck Amato would give his Wolfpack a Wednesday off. But with an early season hole in the schedule this weekend, Amato has a little more flexibility at his disposal before his team next lines up against Ohio State on September 18th. "[Tuesday] we were fortunate with the rain," Amato said. "We actually had a good practice. It really didn't rain that much while we were practicing. We have to have one day a week off, so we're going to take today (Wednesday) off completely. With the way the forecast was, we thought it would be a good idea to take today off and then the rest of the week it's supposed to be pretty good." After drenching Florida, Georgia and South Carolina over the last few days, the remnants of what was once hurricane Francis has dumped sporadic rain showers on much of North Carolina over the last 24 hours. So rather than send his team out onto what could potentially be a slick, wet field on Wednesday, Amato chose to wait 24 hours to let things dry out a bit. Still under discussion at NC State is an indoor practice facility, which would, of course, provide even more flexibility during periods of inclement weather. It's a plan that Amato hopes will come to fruition sometime down the road. "Oh most definitely," he said. "Not just for rain, but for hot weather during the 2-1-2 portion of your two-a-days. If you're lucky enough to go to a bowl at that end of the year in December, it could be cold or there could be snow on the field. It's (the indoor facility) on the docket. Everything that's been scheduled to get done they have done it. We've got other things right now we have to finish up." Since Amato arrived at NC State in 2000, the football facilities have undergone major improvements. Along with three new practice fields that were built adjacent to Carter-Finley Stadium, there have been major additions and improvements to the stadium itself, including a new video scoreboard, bowled in seating behind the south end zone and the state of the art Murphy Football Center. A new press box called Wolfpack Towers is currently under construction and is due to open prior to the 2005 season. Of course, the upcoming off weekend should also benefit some key NC State starters who either sat out the opener versus Richmond completely or were injured during the game. Both tailback T.A. McLendon and rover Andre Maddox missed the contest against the Spiders because of hamstring pulls, while starting right tackle Derek Morris rolled his right ankle in the first quarter. This Saturday's open date could be just what the doctor ordered for McLendon and Maddox. "I hope so," Amato responded when asked if the two players would be ready for the Ohio State game. As a precautionary measure, Morris has been wearing a protective boot for a couple of days. All in all, Amato believes the open date in the schedule will be an asset for a number of reasons. "I think it's good that we have two weeks to prepare for a nationally acclaimed team like Ohio State at this point of our season," said Amato. "We had put all our efforts in the preseason on fundamentals and the Richmond game." The Wolfpack ripped the Spiders 42-0, getting strong performances from its defense and quarterback Jay Davis, who was making his first college start. Playing just the first half, Davis, a redshirt junior, completed 16-of-22 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. "We were very pleased with Jay Davis' performance," Amato said. "He seemed awfully confident and cool. He took control of not only the huddle, but the line of scrimmage. He had himself a nice 30 minutes of football. He's been in this program now for going on four years, so he's seen it all. He's seen how we went about a year ago, so whatever we give him he'll absorb and he'll be able to execute it." After opening with a 27-6 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday, Ohio State will entertain Marshall this weekend.
