Posted: Tuesday April 29, 2003 11:39 AM
Updated: Tuesday April 29, 2003 11:39 AM
SI.com's Luke Winn breaks down the Top 10.
6
N.C. STATE WOLFPACK
Tramain Hall N.C. State Athletics
State of the Team:Noel Mazzone, the Wolfpack's third offensive coordinator in four years, was hired with just three practices left in the spring. Welcome aboard, Noel. Here's Philip Rivers, your meal ticket at QB; here's T.A. McClendon, the best sophomore running back not named Maurice Clarett; here's Jerricho Cotchery, Sterling Hicks and a batch of athletic newcomers at wide receiver -- You best not screw this up. Needless to say, head coach Chuck Amato won't have Mazzone making many changes. "Philip is not going to learn [Mazzone's] offense," Amato said. "He will learn Philip's offense." There's been very little talk out of Raleigh about what the Wolfpack lost (namely, Terrence Holt and Dantonio Burnette) because Amato's newcomers (namely, players who were ineligible in 2002) were impressive enough to make N.C. State look like the heavyweight in a strong ACC race. Two years after originally signing with the school, sophomore wide receiver Tramain Hall is finally cleared to play. He wasted little time getting into the mix, catching five balls for 54 yards in the spring game despite being slowed by a strained hamstring. Sophomore Richard Washington, who decommitted from Ohio State and also sat out 2002, caught five passes of his own in the spring game and is already asking to be called "Roy" -- for Rookie of the Year. Six-foot-7 freshman defensive end Mario Williams, who graduated early from high school and enrolled in December, was named newcomer of the spring on defense and expects to start in the fall.
Up-and-Comer:
Amato has so many players ready to break out that it's tough to choose. While Hall and Washington will be coming off the bench, true freshman Derek Morris is a lock to start at offensive tackle. Morris, at 6-6, 358 pounds, enrolled at N.C. State in January after originally signing with Ohio State.
Lingering Questions:
We learned two things about McClendon in his freshman season -- he's a top-notch running back, but he's vulnerable to injury. After sitting out the spring recovering from a wrist injury, will he be able to endure another season's worth of hits? ... Will Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay, a junior who is being pegged as the fill-in for the departed Burnette, be able to live up to his billing? ... The Wolfpack lost six of their front seven starters on defense; is there enough talent stockpiled to prevent a significant dropoff from 2002's stellar performance?
Tramain Hall
