North Carolina State University Athletics
O'Brien: Still A Lot To Learn About 2011 Wolfpack
8/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Aug. 13, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Football's preseason practice lasts five weeks for a reason. No one knows that better than NC State head coach Tom O'Brien.
Facing a roomful of inquiring local reporters Saturday at the Murphy Center on media day, O'Brien mostly kept his cards close to the vest. Practice has been underway less than two weeks. The season-opening game with Liberty is still three weeks away. And judging by his answers, O'Brien firmly believes there's not that much to be learned the first two weeks of practice, and so much still to find out in the three weeks between now and the Liberty game.
Asked early in the press conference how the offense would change if back-up quarterback Daniel imhoff had to take more snaps than expected, O'Brien more or less deferred to the second half.
"You'll have to ask me that question as we head into the Liberty game," he said.
O'Brien tossed out several variations of that answer before the session was over. Most were to questions seeking definitive answers to situations that won't be defined until the season gets underway.
For example, a reporter asked about the style of offense the Wolfpack would play with Mike Glennon taking over for the departed Russell Wilson.
"The thing that we're assessing right now is what Mike's strengths are," O'Brien said. "The offense will take its cues from what those strengths are. Whatever direction that takes us, that will be the change in the offense."
Asked which running back will get the bulk of the carries at the start of the season, O'Brien was equally blunt and equally non-committal.
"I don't know that," he said. "We're going to find that out as we go on. We have two more scrimmages and three weeks of practice to go, and we'll figure out how we're going to break this thing up."
Because of the amount of experience, talent and depth returning on defense this year, another reporter asked, would the defense try to set the tone in order to make things easier for the offense?
"It may play out that way," O'Brien said, "but a lot of good football teams play that way."
Asked if this year's defensive unit could be the best O'Brien has had in his time in Raleigh, he really went out on a limb.
"Time will tell," O'Brien said. "They have a chance to be pretty good."
O'Brien was not being deliberately vague. When asked questions he could answer in detail, he didn't duck.
Asked how well senior Audie Cole was adjusting to the move from outside linebacker to middle linebacker, O'Brien said a mouthful.
"Audie's really smart to start with and he's a smart football player, so probably in some respects he's ahead of where Nate [Irving] was last year," O'Brien said. "Nate had all that time off when he was hurt. Audie's been playing. That makes a difference.
"The whole thing with the defense is that they're playing a whole lot faster than they were a year ago because there's a lot of experience there right now. You look at the way they played the last five weeks of the season, that was pretty good defense. They've picked up from where they left off at the end of the spring and Audie's a key figure there because he's the quarterback of the defense."
O'Brien also spoke to the need for further development in the passing game, citing in particular a distressing number of dropped passes in a game-situation scrimmage Friday night. And asked if Glennon turned to star tight end George Bryan when flustered in practice, O'Brien praised his first-year signal caller's poise under pressure.
"I don't think he gets flustered," O'Brien said. "I haven't seen that in him at all. He has amnesia at the right times and is able to forget what just happened, good or bad, and go on to the next snap. That's a good trait for a quarterback to have."
O'Brien's most telling answer probably came when asked what would be the benchmark for a successful season for the Wolfpack this season.
"We're here to win `em all, each and every game," he said. "That's success. Start in week one and try to beat Liberty and then we'll move on. That's what our goals are and that's not going to change."
