North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: O'Brien Keeping Fingers Crossed
6/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – This time last year, NC State football coach Tom O'Brien felt good about the prospects for the 2009 Wolfpack football season.
Then, in between the end of the first session of summer school and the start of the second, two starters in the defensive secondary left the squad and an offensive lineman who was expected to play a significant amount of time also left school. To cap off a difficult offseason, last June 28, All-ACC linebacker Nate Irving was involved in an early-morning, single-car accident on his way back to Raleigh, sustaining serious injuries that prevented him from playing all of last year.
Collectively, the events had a devastating effect on the Wolfpack defense, especially in the secondary, where O'Brien used a number of combinations of freshmen and walk-ons. The result was a passing defense that allowed 222.2 yards per game and finished ranked No. 9 in the ACC.
The 2009 Pack ended the season with a 5-7 record, following its 28-27 victory over North Carolina in the regular-season finale.
O'Brien is encouraged, going into the coming season, that those young members of the secondary – Earl Wolff, Jarvis Byrd, Brandan Bishop, Rashard Smith, C.J. Wilson were all freshmen last year – are another year older, with game experience and another spring practice under their belts.
"A lot of things can happen between the end of the first session of summer school and the start of the second," O'Brien said Wednesday afternoon following a Wolfpack coaches/media outing at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course. "Right now, we are in as good a shape as we have been in. But after last year's experience, I have my fingers crossed that we get to the first day of camp."
The first session of summer school ends on Tuesday, and the second session begins the following Thursday. O'Brien said all members of his 2010 signing class will enroll in the second session. Most returning players were enrolled in both the first and second sessions.
The good news for O'Brien is that he knows he will have his starting quarterback, Russell Wilson, back for his junior season, even though the dual-sport star has already begun his career as a professional baseball player. Wilson was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round of the baseball draft earlier this month and was assigned to the Tri-Cities Dust Devils of the Northwest League in Pasco, Wash. He signed his contract Saturday, but has yet to play a game.
Wilson has already endured a rollercoaster summer. The day after he was taken by the Rockies, his father, Harrison Wilson III, passed away, making his transcontinental trek to the minor leagues even more difficult. He will remain with the Dust Devils until the end of July, then travel back to Raleigh on Aug. 1 and be ready to begin fall drills with the rest of the team on Aug. 3.
"He called me right after he signed his contract," O'Brien said. "He was excitied. He had just talked to his mother and his brother. Everything was arranged so that he would be finished playing by the first of August, be back here by Aug. 1, report on Aug. 2 and be ready to start practice on Aug. 3."
Irving is also ready to return to the team. Though he was limited in spring practice, the hard-hitting linebacker will be at full strength when practice begins in a little more than five weeks.
"Nate has been working through the summer in the strength and conditioning program, trying to get back to the level he was before he was injured last year at this time," O'Brien said.
He and Irving had plenty of time to talk about the upcoming season on Wednesday, as Irving drove the coach's golf cart while O'Brien played two holes with each of the eight groups at the golf outing. Irving, who plays left-handed, was little more than the coach's chauffeur - a dangerous proposition - until he was able to borrow a left-handed putter and participate with several groups on the green.
O'Brien says his primary concerns going into the season are the offensive line - which lost starters Julian Williams, Ted Larsen and Jeraill McCuller - and the secondary, which still needs to mature in order to face ACC competition.
"The offensive line, certainly, is a concern," O'Brien said. "We lost a lot of good players up front, but we feel like we have a lot of really good young kids coming back. That is an inexperienced position. We have an experienced quarterback, tight ends, wide receivers, even running backs who got some time in last year.
"The secondary did grow up a lot last season. That is a positive going forward. They don't have to grow up as fast as they did last year, but they do have to play better."
The season begins on Sept. 4 against Western Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium. Three-game mini-packs are now available for purchase through the GoPack.com Ticket Center or from the NC State Ticket Office at (919) 865-1510.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
