North Carolina State University Athletics
Everette Sands Diary: Fair Week
10/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 21, 2011
This week, we'll be tested by a veteran defense at Virginia. The Cavaliers return three of their four lineman, two of their three linebackers, and three of their four backs, so they've only had to replace one guy at each level. That means focus on execution represented a priority for us in practice leading up to this game. If we execute well, we're going to be successful. They won't do a lot to try to fool us, and they've been very consistent through their first six games with what they do.
Mustafa Greene was redshirted at the beginning of the week, which we're all sure is the best thing for him right now. Instead of trying to push him through for a couple of games this year, we decided to go ahead and have him for the whole season next year. Although he's had a lot of time occupied with rehab, when he has the chance to be on the sideline he's managed to get in the mix and be very supportive of the guys. We have a good group of backs, not taking anything away from Mustafa because he's, but it would be a lot different if we didn't have anyone that could get it done. We're fortunate to have a solid group.
We've built some momentum with a couple of good rushing performances in a row, and I'm happy with what I've seen from our running backs, but our offensive line's play has really made a difference. They're getting better every time we step on the field. We only have one senior, but those guys are constantly getting a better grasp of what we're trying to do. As they become more decisive in their blocking, it's made things a lot easier for our backs to read.
Last Thursday night, Tony Creecy and Curtis Underwood came and spoke to my son's football team. I think those guys really enjoyed it, and a lot of the parents made sure to have me thank them for taking the time out to do that. My daughter cheerleads for the team, and they have a competition this weekend. If they win, they advance to the regionals hosted here in Raleigh the weekend of the Maryland game, so we're hoping that both the football team and the cheerleaders get wins this weekend.
My family and I also took some time to check out the fair over the bye week, and we really had a good time. We won two goldfish and they're still alive and kicking which surprised me a little bit. My kids are always asking for pets, so I keep telling them now we've got two.
