Wednesday September 10, 2008

NC State Preview

NC State Preview
The Tigers host NC State Saturday at noon in the ACC opener. Clemson is banged up and has a lot of question marks coming into the contest but fortunately NC State has more.

NC State Offense
This side of the ball should present little resistance Saturday. Simply stated, the Wolfpack are pretty bad on offense. The problems at State start up front and are compounded because of injuries at the skill positions and lack of talent at quarterback.

Injuries keep superstar tailback Toney Baker and last year’s starter Jamelle Eugene out of Saturday’s game. The Pack will also be without their best wide out, Donald Bowens, All-ACC tight end Willie Hill and his backup Matt Kushner out as well. State will go with talented tailback Andre Brown and George Bryan at tight end.

The injury news is good at quarterback as Russell Wilson will return after suffering a concussion against South Carolina in the opener. Wilson (5-11, 191) is a red-shirt freshman who is a starter in baseball as well. He will run the zone-read option and is the most mobile of the NC State signal callers but he is limited in the passing game.

State’s most experienced quarterback is Daniel Evans but he has struggled in the first two games. He relieved Wilson in the opening loss to the Gamecocks and started the William and Mary contest. The offense was stagnant against William and Mary so Evans was replaced by Harrison Beck (6-2, 220, Jr) who ignited the offense with a good passing performance last week.

NC State’s problem’s start with an offensive line that was thought to be a problem heading into the season and little progress has been made so far early in the season. State will line up from left to right like this: LT Julian Williams (6-5, 305, Jr) , LG John Bedics (6-4, 295, Sr), C Ted Larson (6-2, 295, Jr), RG Meares Green (6-4, 306, Sr), RT Jeraill McCuller (6-7, 330, Jr). The entire front is made up of upper classmen who all red-shirted at some point. Williams and Green are the most experienced of the group. However, this is not considered one of the strongest units in the league and they have had a difficult time on the first two contests.

The Wolfpack’s biggest issues on offense may be the lack of playmakers at wide out. Jarvis Williams (6-4, 205, So), Owen Spencer (6-3, 180, Jr), Geron James (6-3, 220, Jr) and Darrell Davis (6-4, 212, So) lack experience and have not been able to overcome the huge void left by Donald Bowens’ injury. The lone star of the future may be T.J.Graham who is a burner.

State’s ability to move the ball will come down to the offensive line and Andre Brown. So far the results have not been great. NC State is 10th in the league in scoring, last in the league in total offense, 11th in the ACC in rushing offense, 8th in the league in pass offense and 11th in pass efficiency.

In the past State has not always been great on offense but they always seemed to have weapons. Injuries and a lack of talent make this unit nothing like most of the offenses the Wolfpack have brought to Death Valley in past seasons.

NC State Defense
The Wolfpack have three stars on defense but lack depth and so far this season this unit has spent way too much time on the field.

Linebacker Nate Irving (6-1, 225, So) is a true superstar. He is an athletic defender that makes big plays. He looks great dropping in coverage and can also come off of the edge to rush the passer. This will be one of the best looking linebackers the Tigers face all season.

Defensive end Willie Young (6-4, 243, Jr) is an explosive pass rusher that will test Clemson’s tackles Saturday. Young is considered a top NFL prospect when he decides to leave Raleigh.

Defensive tackle Alan Michael Cash (6-1, 286, Jr) is one of the top interior defensive tackles in the league. He can also rush the passer from his inside slot.

But those are the only three defenders that you have to gameplan against when you face NC State this season. The rest of the Wolfpack are not big-time defenders and the lack of depth makes this potentially solid defense into an average one.

So far this season, NC State is last in the league in scoring defense, 9th in total defense, 9th in rushing defense, 6th in pass defense and 5th in pass efficiency defense.

NC State Special Teams
The Wolfpack have Josh Czajkowski (5-9, 184, So) as the place-kicker and Bradley Pierson (5-9, 163, Sr) as their punter. It is Czajkowski’s first season as the place-kicker and so far he is 2-3 on his field goals and has hit all four of his extra points. Pierson averaged 37.2 yards per punt last year and has upped that to a 41.2 yard per punt this year.

Freshman T.J. Graham is a speedster who will return kicks and punts. State is 8th in the ACC in kick returns and 6th so far in punt returns.

Overall
This was not a very good football team before the injuries to Baker, Eugene and Bowens. Now they are really struggling. The defense is average but the depth is a concern. The biggest problems arise because of the offense. State has not been able to sustain much of an offense and can’t seem to stay on the field.

The Tigers have question marks but State is not the team who can exploit them. I would be surprised if this one is close.

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