Tony Haynes: Holding It Together

BY TONY HAYNES

Raleigh, N.C. Other than losing football games on Saturdays, NC State coach Tom O’Brien’s least favorite time of the weekend probably comes at 4:00 p.m. each Sunday afternoon. It is, after all, at that time when head football trainer Jamey Coll provides O’Brien with the weekly injury report.

Lately, it hasn’t been a pretty sight.

“We’re getting awfully short, but that’s the way it is,” O’Brien said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “We can’t do anything about it except get out there and work as hard as we can with the guys that are healthy.”

Perhaps it was a bad omen for O’Brien when he lost one of his best players before the season even started. Anthony Hill, a first-team all-conference candidate at tight end, underwent knee surgery prior to training camp. It got worse in the season-opener against Central Florida when starting tailback Toney Baker sustained a season-ending knee injury.

Since that time, O’Brien and his staff have been dealing with an injury list that expands each and every week.

At the top of this week’s list is starting quarterback Harrison Beck, who will be unavailable for Saturday’s game at Florida State because of an AC separation in his non-throwing shoulder. Beck, who missed most of last week’s game against Clemson after injuring his knee on the second series, went down again this past Saturday after taking a shot from a blitzing Louisville defense in the third quarter.

O’Brien calls Beck’s status “week to week.”

“Anything that’s week to week is indefinite to me because you never know when it’s going to be,” he said. “Whenever he’s able to get back and throw and get comfortable doing it, he’ll be able to get back and play.”

Beck’s final play in Saturday’s 29-10 loss to Louisville was actually a 53-yard pass completion to receiver Donald Bowens. He was injured on the play before when he was called for intentionally grounding the ball in the face of a fierce Cardinals’ rush.

Following the big play to Bowens, Daniel Evans eventually got NC State (1-4) in the end zone for the only time with a two-yard scoring strike to fullback Cedric Hickman.

Evans, who was NC State’s starter prior to being replaced by Beck in the opener against Central Florida, will again be back in the saddle for this weekend’s 3:30 contest against the Seminoles (3-1) in Tallahassee. He’ll be backed up by redshirt freshman Justin Burke.

After winning the starting job in preseason camp, Evans found himself in the back-up role very quickly after going 7-of-10 for 65 yards with an interception in the opening half against UCF in week one. Down 25-3 at the break, the Wolfpack rallied behind Beck in the second stanza before eventually falling 25-22.

“I never lost confidence in him, it was just a question of who we thought was the best quarterback,” O’Brien said. “We thought Harrison gave us the best chance to win after watching the tape of the Central Florida game. We didn’t make the change because we lost confidence in Daniel.”

When he leads NC State up against Florida State on Saturday, Evans will have one feather in his cap: he was the starting quarterback in the Wolfpack’s 24-20 victory over the Seminoles last October in Raleigh. Playing perhaps his best game all season, Evans completed 13-of-22 throws for 190 yards and three touchdowns.

The Pack hasn’t won an ACC game since.

O’Brien said on Monday that there were no plans to put Burke in the game unless Evans goes down with an injury.

“The same situation applies; you’re one play away from being in, so [Burke] has to prepare like he’s the starter.”

Beck wasn’t the only player spending a lot of time in the Murphy Center training room on Sunday. Also limping around was starting tight end Marcus Stone, who’s listed as questionable this week with an ankle sprain. Starting fullback Pat Bedics, who sat out the Louisville game after undergoing knee surgery, is questionable this week, as is defensive tackle Jamaine Clemmons (ankle). After missing the last two weeks with a sprained ankle, defensive tackle John Bedics is expected to be available.

“With injuries, you can’t prevent them,” said defensive tackle DeMario Pressley. “The only thing I can say is it’s just bad luck I guess.”

Pressley should know. After missing much of preseason camp with an elbow problem, he sat out two games with a knee injury that was suffered in the last practice prior to the Pack’s road trip to Boston College on September 8^th.

Of course, standing on the opposite sideline in Tallahassee this weekend will be former Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato, who recruited just about every player on the current NC State roster. Now serving his second tour of duty on Bobby Bowden’s FSU staff, Amato guided the Pack to five bowl games in seven years before being replaced by O’Brien in the aftermath of last year’s 3-9 campaign.

Knowing that a number of his players will likely experience sentimental feelings for their ex-coach this week, O’Brien broached the subject during a team meeting on Sunday.

“We talked a little bit Sunday,” O’Brien said. “It’s a similar situation to what I had when I went back to Boston College. I think their kids handled it well. As I said to our guys, before the game it’s about the game and business. Once the game is over, if you want to go over and visit, that’s the appropriate time to do it.”

Three and Out: O'Brien announced on Monday that three players have left the NC State program. Cornerback Levin Neal, punter/kicker Nathan Franklin and receiver Marcus Bond have been released and can pursue scholarship offers from schools not in the ACC.

North Carolina State University Athletics

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