North Carolina State University Athletics
Wilson: Moving On, Moving Forward
9/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. - Not unexpectedly, NC State sophomore quarterback Russell Wilson has moved on.
He's put last Thursday night's season-opening loss to South Carolina behind him and is ready to face Murray State Saturday evening at Carter-Finley Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. for the non-televised game.
He has, of course, learned a few lessons, but his faith in his abilities and those of his teammates remains unwavering.
Sure, there were some dropped passes, some missed blocked, some blown assignments. But Wilson doesn't claim to have had the best game of his career either.
"I have all the confidence in the world in the offensive line, the tight ends, the receivers and the running backs," Wilson said Tuesday morning at his weekly media availability. " I think we will be just fine.
"I am definitely excited about moving on and getting ready for this next week and pushing and straining to get through this next week of practice and getting better. That is the fun part of the sport, to keep moving and give you motivation to get better."
Following are some of Wilson's thoughts on other aspects of the 7-3 loss to the Gamecocks and this week's game against Murray State, which kicks off at 6 p.m. at Carter-Finley and is available for viewing at www.theacc.com via ACC Select.
On the receiving corps:
"They are all my good friends," Wilson said. "I'm just trying to keep them positive and let them know I am going to keep coming to them. I don't care if they have dropped six balls already, I am going to keep throwing to them. I won't hesitate to throw the ball to them, as long as they are in my reads."
On Thursday's atmosphere and outcome:
"The atmosphere was great on Thursday," Wilson said. "That is what we need every weekend. It will help us win. The score of the game was 7-3. It was not like we got blown out or anything. It was a good game. We should have won. We will make sure we capitalize on those opportunities more often. We will do that. If the fans are like that every week, I am telling you, we will be good."
On the play of the NC State defense in holding South Carolina to one touchdown following a turnover:
"It's definitely exciting," Wilson said. "The defense played well and they have to keep playing well every week. We have to pick it up and play better as an offense. It's a team effort."
On team's preparation for the season opener:
"We were pretty disappointed. From a player's perspective, we really prepared hard for that game and were ready to play. We were in sync with every one else. You never get satisfied with losing. We have to get ready for these next few games and be ready to play."
On "fixing" the offense:
"We don't need anything drastic or out of our control. We have to catch the ball better. I have to make better throws. The line has to block a little better. When all that comes into line, we will win games. It's nothing that can't be fixed."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
