Pack Can Be Good

A new coach and a fresh start -- spring is the time for a new beginning.

N.C. State held its annual spring football game on Saturday and there was a lot for Wolfpack fans to like.

N.C. State fans want to win big, and I don't mean the 8-4, 7-5 seasons with a 9-3 sprinkled in. They've seen that. They want to be a national player. It is a tall order considering Wolfpack football has never been such. I mean, State hasn't won an ACC title since 1979.

In steps, the no-nonsense Tom O'Brien is making moves with his mindset on instilling the discipline that was lacking in the flash-and-style-but-no-substance regime of the fired Chuck Amato. I thought he was a home run hire back in December. I still think that.

Amato brought enthusiasm to N.C. State football. He did. He got N.C. State fans to dream big, but those dreams turned into last year's 3-9 nightmare when the Pack was guilty of just about every mistake imaginable.

Now O'Brien, who put together a string of bowl teams at Boston College, and his staff have worked all spring to try to eliminate the mistakes that gnashed so many teeth last fall. It's still a work in progress, but give Amato this -- recruiter that he was, he did not leave the cupboard bare. He left O'Brien with some gifted players.

Nearly 15,000 fans showed up to watch N.C. State's Red and White game and they saw some talent on display that has tantalized them so much with unfulfilled potential.

Rising junior running back Toney Baker ran for 163 yards on 23 attempts. Andre Brown, also a rising junior, rushed for 112 yards. These were two of the most heralded running backs to ever come out of the North Carolina high school ranks.

Rising sophomore Jamelle Eugene was dazzling with 168 yards on 15 carries. He impressed Toney Baker.

"Jamelle was real good," said Baker. "All three of us can run the ball well, we can all make plays."

That wasn't the case last year when N.C. State's offensive line was torn up with injury like a cabbage in a briar patch. One of O'Brien's strengths at Boston College was molding big effective offensive lines. If the guys up front can stay healthy and block, the Wolfpack certainly has the backs who can run in an open pasture. Baker says the offensive line has improved.

O'Brien says that he's not ready to name a starting quarterback, but I would think that Daniel Evans, last year's starter, has the inside track. He was the best Saturday with a 20 of 34 passing day for 275 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winner to "big-play" Darrell Blackman with just 16 seconds left.

Evans doesn't have the big arm, but he's smart and he now has experience. He says if he plays the way he should, the job should be his. Right now coming out of the spring game, he does look like the best N.C. State has. O'Brien says his quarterback has to make good decisions, and that does appear to be Daniel Evans.

It was the offense's day to shine with a total of 66 points put on the board, but O'Brien did like some of the things he saw on defense, especially in his zone coverage. He said there were some good breaks on the ball, a lot of tips that could have and should have been intercepted. Obviously with Baker, Brown and Eugene running like Gale Sayers, the run defense needs some work; however, run stopper DeMario Pressley didn't play because of an injury. That could be an area of concern.

O'Brien says he liked the way his team competed but lamented some of the same bugaboos of the past, turnovers and penalties.

"We've got a lot of work to do," O'Brien said, looking ahead to the summer. "It's an ongoing process."

One thing that O'Brien has done that I really like is reaching out to former players. More than a few have told me they never felt a part of N.C. State football when Chuck Amato was coach. Over 300 attended a reception on Friday night. O'Brien wants former players to be involved

So while O'Brien says there's plenty of work to do, and there is, he appears off to a good start.