Riled up in Raleigh

Hoop-crazed Tobacco Road already thinking about football

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Even here in the heart of basketball-crazed Tobacco Road, North Carolina State fans have more on their minds than brackets and RPI rankings this winter.

“You hear people asking, ‘When’s the spring game?’” said Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers.

Funny what happens when you’re coming off the first 11-win football season in school history, including a New Year’s Day bowl victory over Notre Dame, and you’re headed for a probable preseason top 10 ranking.

It’s been just over three years since Chuck Amato, the burly, fiery, raspy-voiced coach from Florida State, returned to his alma mater and spoke openly about winning a national championship in Raleigh, a goal that, based on the history of the program, seemed nothing short of preposterous.

His first month on the job, though, he went into Alabama and recruited Rivers, the record-setting quarterback who has become the heart and soul of a remarkable transformation.

Rivers, a sure-fire Heisman candidate who has thrown for 8,993 yards and 61 touchdowns in three seasons, is the unquestioned leader of the Pack. But one recent afternoon, while discussing what he hopes will be a storybook senior season, he kicked his feet up on a desk and reflected on how much has changed around him.

He arrived at a program so thin in numbers (62 scholarship players) that at one point he was one of only two scholarship quarterbacks. These days the Wolfpack are at nearly the 85 maximum.

He was greeted by the ACC’s most outdated football facilities. Next month, the team moves into a sparkling $40 million complex that will be among the best in the country.

And what was a decidedly one-team conference as recently as his freshman year could very well enter next season with four teams among the top 20 -- Florida State, N.C. State, Maryland and Virginia.

“Two years ago, I remember thinking if you lined up Florida State’s team and our team -- not knowing anything about them, just looking at them -- you wouldn’t hesitate picking who you wanted. You would pick Florida State,” said Rivers. “Now, I think it might not be such a quick decision anymore.”

He says so not just because they’ve beaten the Seminoles two straight seasons, becoming the first ACC team to do so. It’s because each year he’s watched Amato bring in an influx of talent cut straight out of the FSU mold, high on one overriding characteristic: speed.

“From when I was a freshman to now, as a team, it’s so much faster,” said Rivers.

The Wolfpack’s facelift became evident last season, when they improved from 7-5 to 11-3. A speedy, aggressive defense ranked 14th nationally in yards allowed (300.9 per game) while producing 48 sacks. True freshman T.A. McLendon became the explosive running back they’d been lacking, gaining 1,101 yards and 18 touchdowns.

N.C. State started 9-0 against an admittedly light schedule, but was finally beginning to gain some national respect before three heartbreaking losses by a combined 15 points to Georgia Tech, Maryland and Virginia. The Pack bounced back, however, to close with their most impressive victories, a 17-7 home win over FSU and a 28-6 thrashing of Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, completing the most successful season in school history and inspiring almost immediate talk of bigger accomplishments in 2003.

“We have the caliber of players that we can play with the big dogs, and I think we showed it this year,” said Rivers. “We’re here to win championships. I think this could be the year to do it.”

N.C. State hasn’t won even a conference championship since 1979. What makes it more realistic under Amato than his predecessors?

Besides Rivers, his most important recruit that first month on the job may have been assistant head coach Doc Holliday. Like Amato, the former longtime West Virginia assistant had been recruiting the state of Florida for nearly 20 years, forging relationships with prospects and their families as early as the eighth grade when they attended football camps.

With their connections now combined, the two have raided Florida for a staggering 34 players since the 2000 recruiting season.

“Florida’s been awful good to us,” said Holliday. “They bring that swagger and that confidence.”

The Floridians include starting defensive backs Marcus Hudson, Greg Golden and Andre Maddox and linebackers Oliver Hoyte -- the heir apparent to departed star Dantonio Burnette -- and Patrick Thomas. But the best of their recent coups are three freshmen -- two from Florida, one from North Carolina -- who will make their debuts this fall.

Receivers Richard Washington and Tramain Hall, State’s top recruits in each of the past two classes, were delayed by academic issues. They spent last fall turning scout team practice into a show. Now they’ll join 1,000-yard receiver Jerricho Cotchery to give Rivers a plethora of targets.

“Some days we’d look over there and they’re catching touchdowns, driving our defense crazy,” said Rivers. “Those guys are going to help.”

And cornerback A.J. Davis was another highly ranked recruit who broke his leg during fall practice and redshirted last season. He’s expected to be ready for spring.

Not only are those three already on campus, but seven of this year’s recruits enrolled in January, including two, former Ohio State offensive line signee Derek Morris and highly coveted defensive end Mario Williams, who may start immediately.

Hall, from Deerfield Beach, Fla., was a high school teammate of Miami quarterback Derrick Crudup. The two speak regularly, often about Crudup’s experiences playing in two straight BCS title games, something Hall’s team is talking about for itself with increased confidence.

“He says, ‘I’ve been hearing about you guys more and more,’” said Hall. “And I tell him, ‘We’re right behind you.’”

Coaching carousel never ends

The minute they signed on the dotted line Feb. 5, recruits were officially bound to their new schools, faced with the penalty of sitting out one, possibly two seasons if for some reason they changed their minds.

Coaches, however, are under no such restrictions. And off they went, as quickly as a couple days after signing day, leaving behind the very players they’d just convinced to come play for them.

The most dramatic example, of course, was Dennis Erickson’s exodus to the 49ers, a move that caught Oregon State completely off guard and precipitated the somewhat bizarre return of Erickson’s predecessor, Mike Riley. But often it’s the assistants who recruits become closest to, and plenty of them have been switching addresses as well. Just two days after signing day, Bill O’Brien escaped the sinking ship at Georgia Tech, where he succeeded Ralph Friedgen as offensive coordinator, to rejoin Friedgen at Maryland in a lesser role.

“I met with him on my official visit in January, and then he said he couldn’t see himself leaving anytime soon,” Yellow Jackets quarterback signee Reggie Ball told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Elsewhere, Texas Tech defensive coordinator Greg McMackin left to join Erickson in San Francisco; N.C. State offensive coordinator Marty Galbraith departed for the Arizona Cardinals; and Florida recruiting coordinator Tyke Tolbert became a Cardinal as well.

Badgers’ familiar new boss

In a business where job security drifts somewhere between thin and non-existent, Barry Alvarez recently received the ultimate vote of confidence: As of April 1, 2004, he’ll be his own boss.

Longtime Wisconsin athletic director Pat Richter is retiring next year, and Chancellor John Wiley has named Alvarez, entering his 14th season as head coach, to replace him. He will continue in a dual role but with the intention of becoming a full-time administrator once his coaching days are complete.

“I’ll run the department much like I coach the football team,” said Alvarez, 56. “Put a good plan in order. Hire good people to execute it. And be flexible enough to make adjustments.”

Alvarez’ appointment reflects a refreshing appreciation by the school for what he’s done for the program. The Badgers are coming off two so-so seasons by their standards, but Alvarez is the reason the bar is that high in the first place. Historically one of the Big Ten’s weakest programs, Wisconsin has won three Rose Bowls and earned five other postseason trips. Plans are under way for an $83.7 million renovation of Camp Randall Stadium due to the community’s enthusiasm.

And to think that at some places, last year’s 8-5 Alamo Bowl season and the 5-7 campaign before it might have gotten the coach fired.

Worth noting

With only one season left to convince scouts he can be an NFL quarterback, notoriously hefty Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen has begun the low-carb Atkins Diet with the goal of staying below 300 pounds this season. … Kevin Sumlin, the former Texas A&M assistant who R.C. Slocum promoted to offensive coordinator in mid-season last year, left Colorado, where he had been named receivers coach, after a month to join Oklahoma as tight ends coach. Dino Babers, the assistant Slocum demoted in favor of Sumlin, has landed at Pittsburgh as running backs coach. … Deposed Wyoming coach Vic Koenning has been named Troy State’s defensive coordinator. … ABC has selected Notre Dame-Syracuse and Oregon State-USC to be moved to “Championship Saturday” on Dec. 6. The network is also mulling airing the Aug. 30 Nebraska-Oklahoma State and Sept. 6 Florida-Miami games in prime time.

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.

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