North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Gets Into Game Week
8/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - When was the last time NC State opened a college football season against a top 10 opponent? Here's a clue: the last time it happened, the Wolfpack, then coached by Earle Edwards, featured a feisty junior linebacker named Chuck Amato. The year was 1966, and the Pack fell to 2nd ranked Michigan State. Obviously, Amato and NC State will be looking for better results when No. 8 Virginia Tech comes to Carter-Finley Stadium for Sunday night's (7:15) much anticipated ACC opener.
"To me, this is probably one of the greatest opportunities that you could ever think about," said cornerback Marcus Hudson. "I believe everybody that plays football has a dream of playing on Sunday nights, and what better chance could you have than to open up against the defending ACC champs on Sunday with national TV. It's a great opportunity and I'm glad to be a part of it."
Now that NC State has turned the corner away from training camp and into game week, the players, coaches and fans can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Something tangible is finally at hand with Sunday's game now within sight.
There's just one more week to do some fine tuning; one more week to completely focus on Virginia Tech; and one more week to touch up a game plan that was already under construction at the Murphy Center back in July.
Darrell Blackman will be NC State's starter at tailback, although a whole host of talented runners will get a chance to prove themselves against the Hokies. An offensive line that was still in flux just 10 days ago is now ready to move forward. After absorbing the brunt of the blame for the Wolfpack's 5-6 record last season, the offensive unit, now under the direction of new coordinator Marc Trestman, is eager to prove itself against what is expected to be one of the ACC's stingiest defenses.
"As a whole, the offense has improved tremendously," said Pack tight end T.J. Williams. "There are a lot of things in this offense that we need to know and a lot of things that we need to do. Everyone has been put in a position to be productive and it's a good thing. Since he came in back in the spring, coach Trestman has shown us things that we didn't know. Being that you've got a smart guy that knows this offense and knows opposing defenses, that's a great opportunity for us because he's teaching everybody in the meetings what they have to do."
Trestman's almost professorial approach, complete with classroom-like sessions, is very cerebral in nature. Now the time has come for the players to take what they've learned and produce on the field. Exam time comes Sunday night.
"He's a really good teacher," Amato said of Trestman. "He addresses the offense a minimum of 20 minutes a day as a group and goes over things with them on both the overhead and film."
Precision will certainly be at a premium against a Virginia Tech defense that finished 2004 with a series of strong performances. Led by All-American defensive end Darryl Tapp and first-team all-ACC corner Jimmy Williams, the Hokies should have a strong front seven. But like NC State, they will also have two new starters at the safety positions.
"Virginia Tech has a good defense," Williams said. "Obviously, they have a lot of guys up for awards like Tapp and Jimmy Williams. We've just got to come out there and compete at our highest level because they're going to come at us with their all. We've got to do the same."
If last year's meeting is any indication, then Sunday's contest will be defensive battle. In its 17-16 victory in Blacksburg, the Wolfpack could only muster 223 yards of total offense. But on the flip side, the Pack defense held the Hokies to just 192 yards, while sacking eventual ACC Player of the Year Bryan Randall 10 times.
This time around, the NC State defense will be trying to chase down quarterback Marcus Vick, the younger brother of former Tech star and current Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick. Like his older sibling, Marcus Vick is a blazer, having posted sub-4.3 times in the 40.
After sitting out last season for disciplinary reasons, Vick will be playing his first football since 2003 when he takes the field as Tech's starting quarterback on Sunday night.
"We've been looking at footage from 2003," Hudson said. "Back then, he was switching with Randall and moved around from quarterback to receiver. We're just trying to pick up every tendency that we possibly can. He's an athlete and you're not going to take that away from him. We're just going to have to look at 2003 film and get ready for the rest of the Virginia Tech offense."
Other NC State Football Notes: The Wolfpack Sports Network will take the air at 6:15 on Sunday night. Before that, however, the first installment of the Chuck Amato Radio Show can be heard on a statewide network Wednesday night from 8-9 p.m. Fans in the Raleigh area are invited to enjoy the show live from Bobby Murray Chevrolet on Capital Boulevard. Sunday's game will mark the eighth time the Wolfpack has met a top 10 opponent under Amato. NC State's lone win during that time was a victory over No. 10 Florida State in 2001. Three of the four starters and six of the top eight players on the Wolfpack's highly touted defensive line hail from North Carolina.
