North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: A Handful of Pack Football Notes
11/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 10, 2010
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. -- For the fourth consecutive year, NC State football coach Tom O’Brien is lending his support to the school’s annual Toys for Tots campaign. Fans attending Saturday’s Homecoming game are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the primary collection site in Fan Zone in the Dail Plaza between Carter-Finley Stadium and the RBC Center. Volunteers will be on hand to receive toys, preferably in the $10-15 price range, when Fan Zone opens at 11 a.m. until just before the 2 p.m. kickoff.
While all donations are appreciated, toys for toddlers ages 2-4 and pre-teen ages 10-12 are needed most.
Cash donations will also be accepted at all entry gates into the stadium.
The Wolfpack has already done its part to help make the holidays brighter for some children around the Triangle, thanks to its partnership with Coca Cola, which donates $500 for every touchdown the team scores this year.
Pack players will gather in early December to participate in a shopping spree, with everything going to the local U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Toys program.
For more information, visit here.
TWC Digital picks up State-Wake Game
Saturday's football game between NC State and Wake Forest will be available on ESPN3.com and will also be shown on Time-Warner Cable Digital Channel 520 in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Personnel Updates
O’Brien doesn’t generally reveal too much about his team’s medical report until the ACC-required injury report is released on Thursday morning. But the coach did mention during Wednesday’s ACC coaches teleconference that redshirt freshman tailback Dean Haynes could return to action this weekend.
Haynes was knocked out of the Wolfpack’s win over Florida State two weeks ago and missed Saturday’s game against Clemson, as true freshman Mustafa Greene took his place in the starting lineup.
Haynes was cleared to play against the Tigers, but O’Brien held him out as a precaution.
“Even though he was cleared to play, there was no contact for him until Thursday before the game,” O’Brien said. “I’ve always been pretty leery of those things. It was pretty similar to [quarterback Russell Wilson] his first year, getting knocked out of the Thursday night game against South Carolina.
“Haynes was cleared to play medically by the staff. We wanted to be a little safer in that situation now. He's back in the mix this week. I’m not sure who is going to start, but all three [Haynes, Greene and James Washington] will be available to play."
Wilson said that while he will be introduced with the rest of the senior class prior to Saturday’s Homecoming contest, he has made no decision about whether he will return to NC State next fall for his final season of college football eligibility or play full-time for the Colorado Rockies organization.
“I will fly where the Lord sends me,” Wilson said. “We haven’t really talked that much about it. Right now, I am focused on Wake Forest.”
Fans Can Preorder Postseason Tickets
Now that NC State has qualified for postseason play, Wolfpack fans can preorder tickets through the GoPack.com Ticket Center. Prices vary for the ACC Championship game and the eight bowls with ACC ties. For more information, go to GoPack.com/bowls.
Priority deadline for the ACC title game is Nov. 9 and for bowl games on Dec. 10.
Bass-Fishing Display
Curious about NC State’s national championship bass fishing program? Learn more about this club sport as it hosts the FLW College Fishing Northern Regional Championship this weekend at Jordan Lake.
For more information, visit here.
Watch first- and second-round weigh-ins live on Thursday and Friday, beginning at 4 p.m. each day here, or in the parking lot of Carter-Finley Stadium.
Saturday, prior to the game, there will be an interactive bass-fishing display, including the National Guard rock climbing wall and ropes course, a fly-casting area, basketball and football tosses and tailgating games.
There will also be a free concert from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Following the game, fans are invited to see a live weigh-in from the final round of the regional tournament at Gate E, near RBC Center parking lot 6000. There will be free pizza for everyone, while supplies last.
Book signing
Finally, join my co-author Roger Winstead and me in Fan Zone, beginning at 11 a.m., as we sign copies of the newly released book “NC State Basketball: 100 Years of Innovation,” the official history of the Wolfpack’s first century of college basketball.
Books are $30 on site and are also available in the GoPack.com on-line store, the GoPack Store in Ridgewood Shopping Center in Raleigh and the NCSU Bookstores. For more information, go to www.packhoops100.com.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
