Eight years ago the NC State head coach Chuck Amato needed to find a capable running back to play sidekick for their nationally recognized quarterback Philip Rivers. They ended up transferring a defensive back, Greg Golden, to halfback to bring in some speed and some toughness to the backfield. Behind Golden on the two-deep was a highly touted freshman running back TA McLendon. McLendon was electric with the ball. He was strong, fast, and had a unstoppable hunger for the end zone and it was only a matter of time before he’d make all of that known the Wolfpack faithful, but his lack of experience and questionable blocking had him coming off the bench in his freshman year.
Today, in 2010, the scene seems to be replaying itself, only with an entirely different cast. Wolfpack head man Tom O’Brien has lost his two best backs from a year ago and is looking to fill the backfield slot behind the Pack’s nationally recognized quarterback, Russell Wilson. To everyone’s surprise, O’Brien has turned, not to a running back, but once again to a converted defensive back. This time it’s redshirt freshman Dean Haynes who spent all of last season as a scout team quarterback and started the preseason competing for a spot at corner. Haynes, like Golden, is very fast, and very tough, but neither had honed the running back instinct throughout their careers. One person that has is true freshman Mustafa Greene. Greene sits behind Haynes on the depth chart but will constantly be pushing for the starting job. Like McLendon, Greene is obviously the most dangerous player with the ball in his hands, but learning the schemes and showing that he can pick up a blitz will play a big role in how much field time he sees this season.
“There wasn’t a player on the team that broke more big plays than Greene.” Said the usually reserved O’Brien.
Greene is a strong talented runner who possesses good speed,vision, and violent cutting ability. He entered NC State with a lot of expectations and a lot of fanfare, and has since worked his way out of a red-shirt and into the opening day two-deep.
“I was hoping for this. This was a dream come true for me.” said Greene
However, Greene isn’t satisfied with being second on the depth chart, he wants to make an immediate impact, like the player he patterns his game after, Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings).
“I just like (Peterson’s) effort. Every play it’s like he’s trying to score.”
In 2002 it only took TA McLendon a few touches before he showed that the damage he could do with the ball in his hands was too costly to keep on the bench…
How long will it take Mustafa Greene?
**Here is video from Mustafa during his senior high school season
