A few weeks back, Rivals released their ACC preseason unit rankings. Here is a breakdown of where the Pack ranked in each category:Offensive Backfield:
3. NC State: Russell Wilson undoubtedly is the ACC's top quarterback, but the injury concerns surrounding RBs Jamelle Eugene and Toney Baker keep the Wolfpack from ranking higher.
Receivers:
1. N.C. State: Owen Spencer and Jarvis Williams give the Wolfpack two returning starters. Spencer is a big-play threat who came on strong late last season. The Pack will also welcome back Donald Bowens at some oint, who caught 41 passes two years ago before a back injury sidelined him last season.
Offensive Line:
9. N.C. State: The Wolfpack have returning starters at center and at both tackle spots, but they need to do a better job of protecting QB Russell Wilson.
Defensive Line:
4. N.C. State: Willie Young struggles with consistency, but he's one of the nation's elite pass rushers when he's on his game. Young, Alan-Michael Cash, Shea McKeen and Leroy Burgess give the Wolfpack four senior starters on the line, though depth is a concern.
Linebackers:
8. N.C. State: Ray Michel returns after recording a team-high 102 tackles. Michel and Nate Irving would have formed arguably the top linebacker tandem in the ACC if Irving hadn't been involved in a car wreck this summer that jeopardized his status for the season.
Secondary:
11. N.C. State: The Wolfpack ranked 11th in the ACC in pass efficiency defense last season. They could improve if injury-riddled safeties Clem Johnson and Javon Walker can stay healthy.
Special Teams:
2. N.C. State: Josh Czajkowski returns as the Wolfpack's kicker after going 16-of-19 on field-goal attempts last season. T.J. Graham ranked fifth in the ACC in kickoff-return average last year. Chris Ward and Jeff Ruiz are competing for the punting job.
Coaching Staff:
6. N.C. State: The Wolfpack's late-season surges the past two seasons have shown that Tom O'Brien's guys never stop playing for him. Now he just needs them to start playing better early in the season.
What are your thoughts on these preseason unit rankings?
comments
22 Responses to "Sharing The Wealth: ACC Preseason Unit Rankings"#1 Recievers suprised me but excites me all at the same time.
I understand their reasoning for the #3 backfeild ranking but I argue even if injurys come into play w/ underwood and barnes behind them depth is not an issue at all.
#9 for Off Line if ridiculous w/ 3 returning starters including the general at Center and another is a captian, there is little doubt we should be in the top half....
#8 for lb is way underrated just because Irving is out. Talent is still there and Cole will sneak up on alot of people. If Irving was still in thatd be top 3.
Lastly coaching staff #6 is almost humerous. NO WAY theres 5 better coaching staffs in the ACC... NO WAY. I give VT, GT, & WF the pass but anything else is just ludacris. Bobby Bowden, as much as I detest him, is one of the all time winningest coaches so how in the hell did they put pretty boy Butch ahead??? He gets way too much credit, shouldnt be ahead of Bowden OR Obrien....
Why would you even consider the potential for injurys when doing something like this.
They would have ranked us higher if we did not have the potential for injurys.
Thats just stupid reasoning and calcucation. How do you even calcualte injurys in any "pre" ranking.
First of all Coach O'Brien would definitely say its pre season so these kind of things are meaningless. Sorta have to be on board with that.
But, he would also tell the media or whomever that we are more experienced all across the board. It may not seem so but if you remember how many first time dressers went to Columbia a year ago you begin to see where he's coming from.
As far as looking into this ranking I would defer to ACC Sports journal on this one. Went through their publication this past week and was very impressed with the research and impressions they gave (Admittedly focused way more on each Atlantic Division team).
They were very high on our backfieid and OL. They also seemed confident that this Coaching staff is one of te best though they did not go right out and state it. I agree with those points they made.
Personally I think our DL is going to be one of the best in the country if we stay healthy. Overall our statistics may not show it but the DL will shut down opponents in key area and get out punt receiving unit out their enough times to be very much in every game. The depth, size, skill of this unit is going to really dominate periods of each game and it will be interesting to see how the OL of USC performs against this unit. The fact that Markus Kuhn and Jeff Reiskamp just missed out on the 2 deep speaks loudly to the collection of playmakers we have.
Garcia is going to get beat around some, mark it down.
Agreed, #9 for the OL is ridiculous! But that's okay. If anyone wants to underestimate a TOB O-line, be my guest. I would have to say that one would make the argument that their progression through the season in '08, helped RW and the receivers notch those wins at the end of the year. They WILL be better this year.
Jose-Good pint about Kuhn and Reiskamp. Last year, they were in the games b/c we had nobody else to put in. Having said that, they performed admirably. But, it is a good sign that, even though they are probably better with age and experience, there are others who will be playing ahead of them. It shows depth and talent on the roster. And, you know that those two will be on scout team pushing the starter in every practice.
To the coaching staff - I know the knock on TOB is that he never won 'The Big One,' but my thinking is that if you win 10-11 games every year, eventually you will have your shots. And, he left BC b/c he didn't feel like he was going to get that opportunity there, so it was a mutual split for the same reasons. Only the fans/admin blamed TOB and TOB blamed the circustances surrounding the fans, recruiting and the admin. The Staff has already shown the ability to bring in more talent in Raleigh. We already know how they can 'Coach 'em up.' When this ball gets rolling with this team, I think TOB will be proven right. The ceiling at NCSU is higher than it is at BC.
So, what's on the menu for Thursday? Jose? Pack Leader? Redfred?
Im glad you asked that PPack!!
Menu at my tailgate party...
-Grilled Kabasi, onions & peppers
-BBQ Chicken w/ homemade BBQ sause
-Grilled Sweet Corn
-Mashed potatoes
-Miller High Life
Ohhhhh we are only days away....
The correct spelling is INJURIES, not injurys. Generally, when you make a word that ends in -y plural, you replace the -y and add -ies.
Guys, I know a lot of the articles and comments on this site are submitted on the fly and are just for fun, but there are just way too many simple spelling/grammar mistakes. Keep in mind, this site is about NC State, so anything submitted by NC State alumni/fans represents our institution as a whole.
Perception is everything.
Wow. Im not sure that was needed anonymous....
Isnt there a 4th grade paper you should be correcting instead of a free wolfpack blog??
Agreed PL. I will say it again. If you have time to correct grammar on a blog, you have way too much time on your hands. The text thing must drive you nuts, huh? Anon, please sign your posts. we would like to know who is grading our articles and responses. I'm supposing that you are a full-time On-line Grammar Instructor? Would you also like cited resources? Gimmie a break. Yeah, gimmie.
PL, Miller High Life, huh? We won't ever be accused of sticking our pinkies in the air whilst we chug the High Life! And, damn those saugage and peppers sound good! We are also doing up some BBQ Chix with fixin's. But, I have vowed to set up early (in the Fairgrounds RV lot) with my grilled chicken wings pre-lunch (and on-going) snack. I can't wait to munch on wings and wash it down with some suds while conversing with the LOADS of Cocks that are coming to the Fairgrounds in RV's. Over 200 SC RV's are reported as making the trip...as of last week!!!!! If you want to hang out around the 5-hour rule, park elsewhere, and walk to this lot, or cab in and make after-game arrangements on the fly! We are probably going to need some back-up in Cockland. Go Pack!
what it sounds like to me is that the rankings started off as actual analysis and then delved into something based on W-L record or something like that; especially considering coaching staffs. I of course want NCSU to be #1 in everything, but that seems askew
My original intent wasn't to attack any one person, it was just a request that Wolfpackers 'step their game up' so we can squash some of the negative perceptions about our school, which OBVIOUSLY have some merit.
Pack Leader, since you mentioned it, I did a 4th grade level review of your OP and found at least 8 misspellings. Just for reference, ludacris is the name of a rapper. I believe the word you were looking for is ludicrous.
PP3, as PL mentioned, this is indeed a free blog. Subsequently, I'll post what I want and you post what you want. This isn't about reviewing posts, it's about having an elementary school level command of the English language and the shock we should ALL have that so many Americans can't even speak their own language properly. Also, to your request, let's assume my name is Jethro. Now that you know my name is Jethro, does that change our situation at all?
Perhaps some of us should put down the 'champagne of beers' and pick up a dictionary?!?!
--This is my last post. I don't want to hijack/flame the thread.--
Jethro, I understand the sentiment. I get that you want Wolfpack Nation to be perceived as intelligent. And I agree, people today have a much worse grasp of the English language. I just don't believe that our fan base is looked down upon based on blog posts. The articles may be held to a higher standard. But an anonymous poster, that displays bad grammatical skills, is hardly a representative of all Pack fans or NCSU.
To add, perception may be everything in your eyes, but not in mine. I post here because I want to talk about the Wolfpack. That's fun for me. Just because I want to talk about having fun at our tailgate doesn't mean that I'm a beer swilling alcoholic. That's your perception. Oh, forget it.
WPP, The injury report comes out tomorrow. Do you have any prediction as to what new injuries may surprise the fans? There's been speculation about Morgan. Do you think anyone will be cleared to play at the last minute? I think that we may find one or two interesting things on the list, but I may be wrong. Go Pack!
Coach O'Brien keeps a pretty tight lip about injuries so as of now we don't know anything you don't know.
As far as Morgan is concerned, Coach made the following statements.
When asked if Morgan had simply been beaten out. He referred to his previous comment about "Whoever won the position in practice is first on the depth chart.'
But when pressed on whether Morgan was injured, he kept saying that the injury report comes out on Tuesday.
So take it for what it's worth and we'll find out more tomorrow. Keep checking back b/c as soon as we hear, we'll post it from our phones.
PPack Do you have to have a parking pass to tailgate in the fairgrounds RV lot?? Any good spots I dont know of? I gotta find somewhere to cook since my cousin took our parking pass.....
Jethro thanks for checking over my quick comments I make between meetings at work, I can tell that really is important to you. I would actually appreciate it if you could retype all the comments PPAck and myself have made that you feel are below standards and put them into MLA format with the appropriate annotations. Lastly if you could then reformat that into a spreadsheet with minor notations on words you feel may have been used in inappropriately then give footnotes on various options for different senarios. I didnt attend NC STATE UNIVERSITY to be a secretary....
I'd definitely rate our OL higher. I think now that depth is beginning to build we can put our 5 best OL on the field at the same time. We technically have 4 starters back this year (McCuller, Larsen, Williams, and Vermiglio). I think that is a solid foundation and if Mattes has beaten out Barbee as a rsFreshman he is pretty dang good.
Jethro = Wet Blanket
Relax. Hakeen Nicks attending UNC and managed an 11 on the NFL's Wonderlic test, making him slightly dumber than a janitor. As big as the story was, I don't think UNC saw a drop in applications, recruits, or wine/cheese sales.
Everyone gets your point, but you seem to be the only one who cares. You are similar to the old blue hairs who protest various radio and TV personalities for things they say, rather than just changing the channel. I would have thought this blog was for everyone's enjoyment, but you have proven me wrong.
Congrats! Now go change the channel...or in this case, read another blog.
PLeader - No parking pass. The WPC had said that they were going to offer RV spots through the fairgrounds when they squeezed us out of the RV lot after 10+ years. But, they simply applied part of the RV lot fee to a regular parking space and refunded the difference, without a phone call. We had even ridden out there wtih reps from the WPC to see where they were planning to "relocate' us. BTW, that would've been INSIDE the fence at the fairgrounds. Big fun, separated from the masses.
Now, the fairgrounds has told us that their RV spots (which have water/sewage/WiFi/210&110 outlets) are FCFS and are $25/night. They said, "You'd better get it here early (like Tuesday) b/c we already know of about 200 RV's coming from SC." Again, this was at the beginning of last week. There is no telling what that lot will look like by game day, but I can venture a guess......FUN!!!!
Form what my Father has told me, the lot is at the corner of Trinity and Blue Ridge Rd.'s. I think that it is on that corner. Doesn't matter. you could spot our ride from anywhere, and you wouldn't have trouble finding it. I can let you know where we will be tomorrow or the next day. The more the merrier. Well, no wet blankets, please. j/k Jethro. You can come too.
Let me know what you're thinking. I hope to scout the area tomorrow to see the possibilities.
^ woah PPack, i didn't know you were rolling in style with the and RV. Very nice!
WPP - You don't know the half of it. And, the word 'Unique' just doesn't encompass it.
Yeah PP keep me posted where you'll be pregameing at....
Big time RV huh....
Should I look for the Wolf amongst the cocks????
I've just made several wagers on the game and am currently hoping that I can share some spectacular photos of some USC D-Bags wearing some absurdly small pack gear.
With a loss...an embarassing tribute to cocks on youtube.
COME ON PACK!!!
We'll certainly be a Wolf in the hen house. HA!
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