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Below is the video of Troy Head Coach Neal Brown’s Press Conference today before their game against the Wolfpack this Saturday.  A portion of the transcript is provided as well.  At the bottom is the video of three Troy players at the Press Conference today: Tyler Roberts (DE), Brandon Silvers (QB), Brandon Burks (RB)

Troy Head Coach Neal Brown

Troy Head Coach Neal Brown
Opening Statement…
It’s game week. It’s finally here. I think our guys are ready. They’re tired of going against one another in practice. A tremendous challenge here in week one going to Raleigh, N.C., playing North Carolina State, a group that I thought was probably the hottest team in the country at the end of last year. They played extremely well on both sides of the ball. Probably had their best game in a complete victory, where I thought they really dominated the game, against Central Florida in their bowl game. I think, when you talk about North Carolina State, it starts with their quarterback, Jacoby Brissett. I think he’s a Heisman Trophy candidate. He’s a guy that is a dual-threat- big, physical runner, and can also throw it. He is extremely accurate and threw the ball really well at the conclusion of last season. Running back, they did a really good job rushing the football. They’ve got one guy that’s going to be out, but the kid (Matthew) Dayes is really impressive. He does a great job on kickoff return, but also very talented. They were one of the most balanced offenses in the country last year. They’re going to start two freshmen. The true freshman (wide receiver Nyheim) Hines can really fly. He was a national recruit, big time player. They are also going to start a tackle that we recruited, (Will) Richardson, who we recruited at Kentucky. I think he’s a really fine player, I know he’ll jump in there and do a good job.

Defensively, statistically, I think they did some really good things last year. Again, they played their best at the end of last year; really from the Louisville game on I thought they were really impressive. Schematically I think it probably starts with their head coach, Dave Doeren. He’s a defensive-minded guy. Their defensive coordinator (Dave) Huxtable has had a lot of success a lot of different places. Doeren, if you look at his win-loss record, and you take out his first season at NC State, it’s really impressive – as good as anyone else in the country. I think you can always judge really good coaches by their win-loss record in close games, but his is extremely high there too. Defensive line guys have a lot of depth. They’re going to run a lot of guys in there. It will be a challenge for us up front and then they also have one of the most, if not the most, experienced secondary’s in the country. So, we have our hands full, but our kids are looking forward to it. It will be a great environment to go out there and play Saturday night.

On how much he’s looking forward to his first game as a head coach…
It will be fine. We’re looking forward to it. We’ve got our hands full, but it will be fun. It will be a different experience. I think any time, it’s obviously the first time I’m going to run out there as a head coach, there will be some things that I will have to get used to, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s a great venue to play at. I played there when I was a player at UMass; several of our coaches have competed there. I think they will do a good job. Their crowd is right on top of you, so our guys are excited about playing for sure.

On the confidence he has in his team…
I think it is hard to speak on confidence until you’ve played. If you want to talk about trust, I trust them. The guys we’re going to roll out and play I trust them. They’ve done what we’ve asked them to since we got here. To a man, from an academic standpoint, from an off the field behavior standpoint, to the way we’ve worked in the weight room and then on the field during preseason camp, they’re a group that I trust and I’m going to be confident in them to go out there an execute our game plan. Our game plan will be simple, as most teams are early in the season. I want our guys to play. I don’t want to be worried about making a mistake. I want them to go out there and play and grow as we continue. You know, if you look at our schedule, the way it’s set up, playing 12 games, we’ve got three games and a bye week. For those first three games, we have to play a lot of people. We have to play a lot of people and find out who is going to step up and make plays and compete when the lights come on and who are some guys that maybe aren’t ready yet. We’ve got to use these first three games to find that out before our true test, which is the Sun Belt Conference.

Tyler Roberts (DE), Brandon Silvers (QB), Brandon Burks (RB)

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston Signs with Marshall

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Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston has officially transferred to Marshall for his final year of eligibility. NC State played Marshall this past season, but Houston didn’t play against the Thundering Herd, because he had already opted to redshirt the remainder of the season.

After playing in three games this past season, Houston opted to redshirt the remainder of the season (despite the fact that he was the starter at the time), giving him the ability to transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

Houston played in 51 games for NC State over 5 years on the field, rushing for 1,392 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes for 398 yards and 1 touchdown.

Houston was a 3-Star prospect in NC State’s 2019 recruiting class out of Flint High School in Oakton, Virginia.

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NC State Football

Philip Rivers will Finally be Enshrined in the NC State Hall of Fame in April

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Wolfpack legend Philip Rivers will finally be inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame on April 20th!

Rivers was elected into the Hall of Fame back in 2013 (2nd year of the NC State Hall of Fame), but he has deferred his enshrinement over the years due to time constraints.

 

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Rivers pretty much owns every NC State record for Quarterbacks, and still has the most Career Passing Yards and Passes Completed in ACC history, and he ranks 3rd in Touchdown Passes. Rivers was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and the ACC Player of the Year in 2003.

You can buy your tickets here.

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NC State Football

DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

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When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

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NC State Football

WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

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This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

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