downfield accuracy was definitely his biggest knock from last season. would love for that part of the offense to be more of a threat this season.

8/24/2015 4:11:46 PM

Yeah, downfield accuracy was the big knock. There were several times when Underwood or one of the other WR's would be open deep and Brissett misfired badly. He could have had at least another 5 TD's last year if he'd been a little more accurate.

Another issue was poise in the pocket. If he were going against a legit pass rush (ala Clemson) he got really rattled. Happens to all QB's I guess, but it was like night and day from earlier in the season. He was fleeing the pocket when no pressure was near him ... "hearing footsteps" i think is the phrase. He improved on this later in the year. Hopefully he doesn't relapse.

8/24/2015 6:00:34 PM

If he thought Clemson's pass-rush was bad last year, wait until he plays @VT this year, that DL is absurd.

8/25/2015 8:23:42 AM

Any word on pharoah mckever?

8/25/2015 12:26:12 PM

Joe Giglio tweeted that Johnny Frasier was on the scout team in practice today - an indication he very well may redshirt. Makes sense given our RB situation.

8/25/2015 12:27:43 PM

^^i read a tweet (I think from him) on PP that said it was just a "minor setback".

8/25/2015 12:44:47 PM

I went back and looked through PP's twitter and couldn't find it, but maybe I overlooked it.

I hope its nothing major b/c I think he's poised for a breakout season based on what I saw at the spring game and iirc he was going against the 1s.

8/25/2015 2:19:48 PM

Curious to see what the rotation is like at DE, sounds like Rose and Chubb locked up the starting role early so it must have been pretty clear-cut. Curious to see how much McKever and Roseboro rotate in.

8/25/2015 2:26:44 PM

Chubb must be beastin' it. We've got good size across the line at DL and at the 2-deep. Just hope some of these guys can create some havoc in the backfield without us having to blitz a lot. It's been a while since the Mario/Manny/Young run of having a guy or two that get to the QB with consistency.

8/25/2015 3:05:16 PM

IIRC McKever had 3 sacks in the spring game, so if he's in the 2 deep, I think we'll be in good shape.

8/25/2015 4:05:14 PM

per official twitter

8/25/2015 9:07:20 PM

There is not nearly the depth at OL that this team needs.

Especially with this style/system offense.

8/25/2015 10:58:06 PM

Not sure if I necessarily agree, assuming you are basing that comment off of the youth/inexperience among the 2s. It is a super young group, but I'll hold off judgment for now as I could easily see us being either better or worse than last year depending on how Thuney and Richardson work out at the tackle spots. Tony Adams was one of our best linemen as a true freshman last year and the only true freshman on the two-deep right now is McGirt, who I'm sure they'd prefer to redshirt as long as we don't have too many injuries.

Really the only other guys we have on OL (other than true freshmen) are Tu'uta and Workman... would have thought Workman could have earned a spot somewhere on the depth chart since he was a highly regarded juco guy, but who knows. Since they've barely played coming into this season as RS juniors, I get the impression that Tu'uta and Kennedy aren't really the kind of guys DD prefers in his system, so we're a little hampered in terms of upperclassmen both by that and by the unexpected departures of some others like McCoy, Shute, Reagan, etc. It will be an interesting next few years, though, if this depth chart remains mostly the same next year and we are starting 4 sophomores and a junior.
/ramble

8/25/2015 11:22:45 PM

That's the "2-deep", but that's not really how replacements would work. If Thuney goes down, you'll see Jones at LT, if Schooley goes down, Prescod won't be the next man up, etc.

Doeren talked about the depth on OL, think he said we've lost 9 OL in the last 2 years to injuries/transfers/graduation, so it's a work in progress. But instead of just having bodies, we have talented guys on the 2-deep, 3* and 4* young guys that just need some experience.

PFF graded Thuney and Adams in the top 5-6 OGs in the ACC last year, and Schooley is a solid player. I think we have 4 really good/proven OL, the question marks are at RT(though Richardson has apparently been playing great) and the back-ups. On the other hand, the staff has made it a priority to make our OL more of utility players that can shift around as needed, so I think we'll always aim to keep our best players on the field as much as possible even if they're playing out of their normal starting position.

8/26/2015 8:25:34 AM

I don't remember seeing that JSW had moved to DE (guessing he'll likely redshirt), but I probably just missed it... other than that, nothing too surprising here. I'm excited about our depth at DL and could see us using a rotation of 9-11 guys (depending on injuries) as the season wears on. Crazy that if (big if) we only lose DL to graduation, all but Rose and Nelson will be here two years from now.

8/26/2015 7:10:45 PM

There's too much good news and "sleeper" talk going on right now. I always get nervous when things start sounding good.

8/26/2015 7:42:48 PM

I perceive the weaknesses on this team to go like this:

1. Special Teams(may not even end up a weakness, there is just alot of uncertainty with 3 FR)
2. Wide Receivers(who is gonna step up?)
3. Offensive Line(Thuney is great...but not at LT. Adams is a stud. Schooley is solid. Barr at guard? How good will Richardson be?)

Overall, YOUTH is our biggest weakness. Seems this team is littered with FR, RSFR and SO players in the two deep. Could/should be a fun team to watch, but there is reason to hold your hopes for anything drastically better than last season.

8/27/2015 1:18:01 AM

Yeah next year has always been year 1 imo

8/27/2015 4:04:37 AM

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/ncsu-s-kentavius-street-ready-for-new-challenge-on-defensive-line/14856311/

8/27/2015 11:12:38 AM

I need more hype videos. Currently underhyped.

8/27/2015 11:41:57 AM

Quote :

"I'm excited about our depth at DL and could see us using a rotation of 9-11 guys (depending on injuries) as the season wears on. Crazy that if (big if) we only lose DL to graduation, all but Rose and Nelson will be here two years from now. "

I hope this doenst hurt us with

8/27/2015 11:47:20 AM

PP tweeted that Doeren said Johnny Frasier will "probably redshirt"

8/27/2015 12:00:24 PM

^^ That kid is going to get PT no matter who we have on the team. Even if he doesn't start, he'll be on the two-deep...and we rotate our lineman so much...the second string guys often get 30-40% of the reps.

8/27/2015 12:04:33 PM

^^^ Based on his reputed talent, I would assume Lawrence will be in the competition for playing time as soon as he hits campus wherever he goes. Reportedly the major players for him are Florida, Clemson, State, and Carolina; the first 3 all seem to have a good number of sophomore and freshmen DTs on their two-deep, but I assume anyone on Carolina's depth chart already is >= garbage. My comment about rotating 9-11 guys is pure speculation based mostly on DD's comments during camp, but we do like to rotate our DL lot, which would help assure Lawrence of some playing time his first year, I'd think.


I wish they would call that position J-Sam instead of pretending he's a fullback. Kinda surprised that Till isn't on the TE depth chart right now because he had a nice catch in the spring game, seemed to get open pretty well, and looked tough to take down. I think Cook is more of a blocking TE though, so it's probably more situational in terms of who gets the snaps.




[Edited on August 27, 2015 at 12:19 PM. Reason : ]

8/27/2015 12:16:15 PM

Shad suspended first two games. Has he ever started Week 1?

8/27/2015 12:38:18 PM

Quote :

"N.C. State running back Shadrach Thornton has been suspended again. Thornton, a senior and the team’s leading rusher last season, will not play in the Wolfpack’s first two games after he broke a school rule, coach Dave Doeren said Thursday. Doeren did not give any details about Thornton’s suspension other than to say it was related to a university issue. The only outstanding legal charges against Thornton are minor traffic infractions. Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/nc-state/state-now/article32534601.html#storylink=cpy"

And there it goes, I knew things were sounding too good

8/27/2015 12:38:43 PM

c'mon man!

8/27/2015 12:40:02 PM

His planking was only the beginning.

8/27/2015 12:43:22 PM

Quote :

"Shad suspended first two games. Has he ever started Week 1?"

Hopefully they still redshirt Frasier. Should be fine those two games with Dayes, Samuels, Gallaspy, etc.

8/27/2015 1:10:08 PM

Probably toked up 6 months ago and failed a drug test. Apparently people knew this was coming ever since it happened.

Two games against our cupcake schedule won't matter much. Hopefully he comes in beast mode for the rest of the season trying to prove something to the scouts.

8/27/2015 1:12:26 PM

lol this would be like tom brady getting suspended for the preseason. nothing to see here.

8/27/2015 1:21:44 PM

Shad was gonna run the ball, but then he got high.

8/27/2015 1:30:32 PM

Think it was more traffic tickets than anything drug-related. Also apparently happened months ago and the staff and Shad knew about this for months.

8/27/2015 1:46:56 PM

Quote :

"^^ That kid is going to get PT no matter who we have on the team. Even if he doesn't start, he'll be on the two-deep...and we rotate our lineman so much...the second string guys often get 30-40% of the reps."

My hope is that he sees what we have going on with our D-line and wants to come play here because of it. D-linemen get #'s largely based on who they are playing beside. If he's the best player, he will be the one the other teams choose to double team. If he's playing beside several other very talented players, his #'s will likely be better IMO. That's not as true of interior linemen as it is for the edge guys, but I image that's the sales pitch our coaches are giving him.

8/27/2015 1:51:19 PM

^^ Shad has a pending ticket:

Quote :

"2015718176 IF Arraigned Defendant Name: THORNTON,SHADRACH,SHURMAINE County: WAKE Court Date: 09/17/2015 Infraction MOTORCYCLE/MOPED HELMET PSGR 20-140.4(A) Infraction EXCEEDING SAFE SPEED "

8/27/2015 1:58:23 PM

Going to fast on a moped? Sounds oxymoronic.

We'll be fine letting Dayes carry the load the first two games. He's not as physical, but he's more versatile than Shad and just as fast. Still got Samuels and Nyheim Hines waiting in the wings too.

8/27/2015 2:06:08 PM

Shad is being suspended for failing his 2nd drug test. Has nothing to do with the traffic tickets.

8/27/2015 2:07:05 PM

anyone know of a site that has a downloadable iCal schedule?

this site used to be reliable, but not anymore
http://www.collegefootballcalendar.net/teams/ncst

8/27/2015 2:30:00 PM

yeah, those moped tickets are super easy to get out of.

8/27/2015 3:33:13 PM

sounds like it was a failed drug test back in the spring semester.

Quote :

"Hopefully they still redshirt Frasier. Should be fine those two games with Dayes, Samuels, Gallaspy, etc."

yeah no need to burn somebody's redshirt on Troy and EKU. plus Dawka Nichols was getting some praise from coaches recently...we'll be fine without Shad those two games.

8/27/2015 4:16:32 PM

yeah I think it'll be good for Gallaspy and Nichols to get a decent number of carries in those games to give them some confidence from in-game reps in case we need them to carry a heavier load later in the year due to injuries or whatever

8/27/2015 4:24:47 PM

Fucking kick the dude off the team. Assault, drugs, enough is enough. I mean we're not unc or fsu

8/27/2015 8:13:38 PM

^ i'd be fine with that, at this point... you're a freakin idiot if people are wondering -when- you're going to screw up again

8/27/2015 8:27:01 PM

he'd definitely be gone if he wasn't as good as he is.

8/27/2015 8:37:20 PM

Its not like RB is a position of need

8/27/2015 9:11:23 PM

And hes good, but he's not TA or Andre Brown good. Seriously, I'd be fine with being done with him. How many times are you allowed to f up without finally getting the heave ho? He's learning nothing from these 1 game and 2 game suspensions. Wed be fine with dayes, Gallaspy and a combo of Nichols and Samuels running the rock this year

8/27/2015 10:29:15 PM

maybe I'm reading too much into things, but I feel like from some of Doeren's comments whenever he's previously disciplined Shad and, more recently, about how Shad has grown up and learned from his mistakes (presumably after whatever he did six months ago to earn this suspension) that he's kinda torn between trying to be a mentor to Shad and showing him tough love. I wouldn't really have disagreed if he'd have kicked Shad off the team, but I'm not sure if 2 games of his senior season is a super lenient punishment either.

also:

8/27/2015 10:45:54 PM

^2 games against Troy and EKU where he wouldn't have played past the first half anyways. Its really not much of a punishment at all. Especially when you consider his past boneheadedness.

8/27/2015 10:49:26 PM

it's not much of a punishment to the team, but I think you're probably underestimating the importance Thornton (likely) places on missing the first two home games of his senior season. I don't know the dude so I could easily be wrong, though.

[Edited on August 27, 2015 at 10:58 PM. Reason : ]

8/27/2015 10:57:35 PM

I don't know him either, but if he cared so much about playing his entire senior season, maybe he wouldn't keep making mistakes worthy of being suspended.

8/27/2015 11:00:07 PM