Last season the Pack struggled mightily under Coach Doeren, not only in the eye test but also by the numbers. As we look at the numbers it is easy to see why we were last in the ACC in wins. Our Defense was 13th out of 14 conference schools in scoring defense and offense wasn’t much better, 10th in scoring offense. However I am quiet the optimist and I want to focus on why this year’s team will rise up and become one of the surprise teams in the ACC.

By the numbers:

• 38th ranked recruiting class according to ESPN
• Returning Starters 16 (6 offense, 7 defense)
• New Defensive Scheme 4-2-5
• 51 Freshmen

Patience will be an important quality not only for fans but the coaching staff as well. Now I know patience isn’t a strong point of NC State fans, trust me I have been a life- long fan, but as I look around campus at our athletic facilities there isn’t a doubt in my mind that we could be a staple in the top 25. It will take time. Football takes a lot of moving pieces to have a great team. You must have at least 30 to 40 highly skilled players to compete for an ACC championship. Last season we all witnessed just how important depth is, or how glaring of a weakness it was for the Pack last season. Injuries ravaged our team and left much to be desired.

On to the good, it can’t get any worse. Also it has been said that adversity breeds success, I am a firm believer that adversity brings a team together. I also believe that the team this year will be hungry to prove the doubters wrong.

If NC State makes a bowl game, here will be your top 3 Reasons:

1. Jacoby Brissett:

I was a witness last season to every single home football game. One of the key things that stood out to me was this one guy in sweats always standing around the huddle. He was always the first guy to give high fives, the first guy to pick up a teammate, and the first guy jumping around after a good play. This guy was Jacoby!

He was a leader on this team last season. He was vocal and you could tell that guys liked him. Quarterback is arguably the most important position in all of team sports. No other position receives such an unequal share of blame or praise for a team’s success or failure. All of the reports out of NC State’s practices point to Jacoby being a huge upgrade at the QB position. He has the prototypical size (6-4 235lbs). Jacoby has the arm strength and mobility.

I do however caution us to not expect results immediately. We must all remember that he hasn’t seen any playing time in 2 years. Undoubtedly game speed and practice speed are two completely different animals. I remember Mike Glennon struggling in his first few games until he was back up to speed. The rest is history.

2. Skill Positions:

One of the reasons last season was so frustrating from my point of view was the fact that I felt our skill positions had lots of promise and talent. We had a great blend of speed and size at the receiver position. All too often we were unable to get them the ball in space in order for them to create. Countless times our QBs from last season were all too quick to tuck and run, rather than hanging tight in the pocket. I am confident that Brissett with his mobility will be able to extend the play and keep his eyes down field. Returning we have the ultra-quick Bryan Underwood, who is currently 10th in school history with 13 career TD receptions. To compliment Underwood there is the big and versatile sophomore Victor Valdez standing at 6’3”.

Matt Dayes is a key player who I think has the ability to be the featured back in the Packs ground attack. He has the size and agility to excel on misdirection plays and has shown the capability to catch the ball and provide added yardage after the catch. Throw in the wildcard Shadrach Thornton and we could have a dynamic run game. Thornton has proved he is more than capable of producing electric plays on the field; hopefully his off the field issues are a thing of the past.

3. Mind Set:

Last year is over! To quote Tony Creecy at ACC media day, “I haven’t thought about last season. At the end of the year we grieved on it and we left it behind. This summer we really worked hard to turn that around because we owe the Wolfpack fans a great season.” Given the returning players and the fact that we have 51 freshmen on the team I am confident that last season is history. I can tell that our team learned their lessons; nothing is a sure thing. There are only a finite number of years that you can play the game of football. I know we will see lots of passion and effort from this year’s team. On our team we have a lot of guys that are looking to prove that they are good enough. That a rating out of high school is simply a number! Personally I can really get behind a good underdog story, I value a team that may not be as talented but makes up the difference by playing harder than every other team they face. Wolfpack athletics has a history of exceeding expectations! I think that that trend continues this season.

Kickoff is slated for August 30th at 12:30 PM