North Carolina State University Athletics
Baker, Brown Pace Pack Scrimmage
8/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. The two guys that put up the gaudiest numbers during NC State’s two-hour scrimmage on Saturday afternoon also happen to be the same two players that head coach Chuck Amato calls the toughest on his football team. Picking up where they left off last year, sophomore running backs Toney
Working mostly with the first-string offense against the No. 2 defense,
That NC State’s dynamic duo put up big numbers wasn’t a big surprise. Still, Amato would have preferred to see a little more resistance put up by his defense.
“It was an ok first scrimmage,” Amato said. “We aren’t tough enough yet. We’re not nasty enough and mean enough. We have to do a better job of tackling on defense. I hope our backs are as good against everybody else as they were against the defense. They rambled for a lot of yards. I’m concerned about tackling. A lot of yards the backs made were because they’re tough. A couple of years ago the toughest players we had on the team were Philip Rivers and Olin Hannum, and they were quarterbacks. Our toughest players now might be the running backs.”
The running of
“I felt like I did pretty good, not great,” Stone said. “I had too many what we call missed layups. When I’ve got an open receiver, I’ve got to put the ball on him. Then again I did make some good throws out there as well. I felt like the passing game looked more promising.”
Working with the second team offense against the No. 1 defense, backup Daniel Evans was 4-of-9 for 46 yards. True freshman Justin Burke, working with the third team offense against the No. 3 defense, had a big day, going 13-of-19 for 192 yards.
“The quarterbacks are coming along,” said Amato.
Hill led all receivers with five grabs for 52 yards and a score.
Not only was the scrimmage beneficial for the players, it also helped to prepare the coaches for new rules that have been put in place to speed up college football games this season. With the clock starting in situations where it had not been previously, everyone coaches included will have to stay on there toes a little more.
“We as coaches learned a lot today,” Amato said. “There are a lot of different scenarios on the start of a possession. I think what I’m going to try to do next week is to get two referees and have one standing next to our offensive coaches to let them know when the game clock is starting and the play clock is starting. That might be able to help us in the next two scrimmages because that’s something that we’ve got to be cognizant of. It was good that it came out today. It’s different.”
What wasn’t different on Saturday, however, was the running of Brown and
Day of Champions: Keep in mind that Wolfpack players and coaches will sign autographs on the floor of the
New QB Practices: Quarterback Harrison Beck, who just joined NC State after transferring from Nebraska, practiced with the Pack for the first time on Saturday morning. After sitting out this season, Beck will have three years of eligibility remaining.
