T.J. Graham: 'Growing Up Fast'

When T.J. Graham came to NC State, he really had no choice but to grow up fast. His speed must have been too valuable of a commodity for the NC State coaching staff to let him sit out in a redshirt season. It wasn't as if Graham's speed was a secret to anyone coming into NC State in 2008. As a Junior at Wakefield High School (Raleigh, NC), Graham placed 3rd nationally in the 100-meter dash at the '07 Nike Nationals and as a Senior he brought home the North Carolina state title in both the 100 (10.44) and 200-meter (20.82). T.J. collected these accolades despite getting a late start in his sprinting career, sprinting competitively for the first time as a Junior in high school. I guess you could say that speed is something that just runs through Graham's veins, considering the fact that both of his parents are world-class sprinters.

When Graham showed up at NC State he boasted a 4.29 40-yard dash. The coaching staff saw something in Graham that was to valuable to redshirt. They saw his raw speed and athleticism and wondered what this young man could do as a return specialist, despite the fact that he had little to no experience returning kicks in high school.

"In high school I might have had one kick return. Back then I was scared to run through the middle," Graham said. "When I came here it was something I picked up and really enjoyed. It didn't require me to learn routes. I could just run. It's just something that's very instinctive for me."

Graham didn't disappoint the coaching staff in '08, making the most of the opportunity that was placed in front of him. In fact, he did much more than not disappoint his coaches, he made NC State history as a true freshman.

His 1,028 yards in kickoff returns last year was the most by a player in a single season in NC State history. He also owns the right to the longest kickoff return in school history, taking one to the house from a 100 yards out against Boston College in '08.

"When I got here last year, I was kind of scared. Most of the time I was running on pure adrenaline," Graham said. "During the first couple weeks I got hit everyday in practice pretty hard. I think that helped get a lot of my fears out.

Graham got hit so much in those first two weeks that he can't even recall which players on defense contributed the most in literally knocking the fear out of him.

"I really can't remember. They knocked the memories out of me," Graham said. "I remember a couple of times last year going across the middle thinking it was going to be an easy catch and I was going to be up the middle...Nah, that was a big mistake on my part."

As stated earlier, Graham was put into a position where he had to grow up fast. He had to quickly learn how to overcome his fears. Playing last year as a true freshman and putting in a lot of hard work over the off-season has Graham ready for whatever comes his way in '09.

"Now things have slowed down and I'm more focused. I expect to get hit now," Graham said. "I also put on some bulk in the off-season (14 lbs), which makes getting hit a lot easier."

Graham currently sits at #5 in NC State history in kickoff return yards with 1,217 (24.8). It is extremely likely that Graham will take the #1 spot from Ralph Stringer (73-77) by seasons end. With that being said, while Graham still remains a nightmare for opposing teams returning kicks, this season has been more about him emerging as a wide receiver.

"As Coach Bible would say, this year I'm more of a veteran player," Graham said. "I'm required to make reads. I'm more of a receiver this year instead of just a return specialist. I'm able to make a bigger contribution to the offense this year."

Graham caught a career high of 5 receptions against Gardner Webb and reeled in his first career receiving touchdown in the same contest. He also stepped in for the injured Owen Spencer last week in the Pitt game and showed tremendous poise, collecting 3 receptions for 63 yards.

"Last week I took advantage of the opportunity to step in and be a contributor. The team was depending on me to step in and fill Owen's spot, who is a good receiver. So I had to step in and be just as good as Owen, or better."

T.J. believes that the Wolfpack's receiving corps is something special, and with Owen Spencer back today against Wake Forest, he believes they are ready to show everyone what they are made of.

"We always tell each other to work harder so we can be the best wide receiver corps in the nation," Graham said. "We have the tools and stuff to make that happen. Now that we are at full strength and healthy, we've just got to show it all to the nation."

GAME PREVIEW: Pack Out to Dismantle Deacs

NC STATE WOLFPACK vs. WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS

Kickoff: 3:30 pm (10/3/09)
Location: BB&T Field, Winston-Salem, NC
Television: ESPNU
Records: Wolfpack: 3-1 , Deacons: 2-2

On Saturday, the Wolfpack will make the trip up to Winston-Salem to face off against the 2-2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Wolfpack will come in fresh off of a confidence building victory against, Big East foe, Pitt, while the Deacs are coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss against Boston College. This will be the first ACC opponent that the Wolfpack will face this season and their first time taking the field away from home in 2009. This game will surely be a test for the NC State defense, as Wake Forest boasts a running attack that currently ranks third in the conference. The defense will not only need to make tackles (over 40 missed in the two games against D-1 opponents) but also stay disciplined since Wake is known as the masters of misdirection.

QB SHOWDOWN
The match-up will also star the ACC's top two quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Riley Skinner. Wilson leads the ACC with a QB rating of 169.56, while the senior Skinner is hot on his tail with a 156.37 rating. Both also are sitting in the top three in overall passing yards so far this season and both a very heady signal callers with great leadership ability and a very strong will to win.

PACK BEGINS DEFENSE OF 'STATE' TITLE
The Wolfpack begins its defense of the unofficial 'state' title this weekend at Winston-Salem. NC State will play Duke on October 10 and will finish the season with North Carolia on November 28th.

Head coach Tom O'Brien has been particularly strong when playing against i-state rivals since arriving in Raleigh. O'Brien has posted a 6-1 mark against FBS teams from the state of North Carolina, including a perfect 3-0 mark at home. In fact, his only loss to an in-state school was at Wake Forest in 2007.
The Wolfpack posted wins over North Carolina , East Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest in 2008. It marked the first time NC State has defeated all four in-state FBS schools in the same season since 1986.

PACK DEFENSE IS NATIONAL LEADER
Say all you want, but the numbers are speaking for themselves. NC State, so far, has the best defense in the nation. We highlighted this yesterday in an article that sparked a good deal of discussion. This defense will be tested week in and week out for the remainder of the season, and it truly starts on Saturday. Wake Forest can move the football. They rank fifth in the ACC in total passing yards and third in total rushing yards. They are known for their misdirection, end-around, trickery on the ground. Mix that with a quarterback who is more than capable of driving his team down the field and you have your hands full on defense.

The Pack, however, is only allowing 14.8 points per game and a nation's best 201.2 yards per game. They were completely stingy against South Carolina, allowing only 7 points. USC has since gone on to average over 30 points per game facing big name competition in #21 Georgia and #4 Ole Miss. The Pack defense then allowed only 36 yards against Murray State, even though they second, third and fourth teams spent a majority of time on the field.

WILSON STILL STREAKING
Russell Wilson set the all-time record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception a couple weeks ago against Gardner-Webb. Wilson broke the mark of 325, which was set by Kentucky's Andre Woodson from 2006-07 and now has thrown 364 passes without being picked off. Thats spans over 13 games.

NC STATE vs. WAKE FOREST: THE OLDEST RIVALRY
Saturday will mark the 103rd showdown between the Pack and the Deacs. While UNC remains NC State's biggest true rival, there is none that have dated back further than Wake Forest. The Wolfpack vs. Demon Deacon series is the longest running series in NC State football history. The Pack leads the series 61-35-6, and have won 15 of the past 21 meetings. The bad news is that the Pack has lost 5 of their last 6 in Winston-Salem.

WOLFPACK KEYS TO THE GAME
Discipline. The NC State defense is going to have to do what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it, and do it that way every time if they are going to take down the Deacs. Jim Grobe and company will certainly be no walk in the park. Grobe has taken a ACC irrelevant football team and turned them into a true contender year in and year out. The trouble with preparing for Wake is their constantly changing game plan. Coach O'Brien mentioned that Grobe is known to tweak his method of attack every two weeks or so. State will have to stay in their lanes and not allow the constant misdirection to catch them over-pursueing. Stopping the run will only be half the battle, as Wake's Riley Skinner (a 4 year starter at QB) is hard to stop in his own right. The Wolfpack secondary will have the task of shutting down the Skinner to Williams connections. Marshall Williams is a tall, lanky receiver that has been one of Skinner's favorite targets, already scooping up 20 receptions for 329 yards and 2 TD's.

On the other side of the ball it's going to be the Wolfpack offensive line that will be key in walking away with a win. Like every week, if Russell Wilson is given time, he will succeed, however this is no slow front line that Wake is throwing out there. The Deac defense is athletic, but still has questions. In a surprise move, Jim Grobe has decided to take the redshirts away from three freshmen and allow them to fight for some action this Saturday. Daniel Mack, Duran Lowe, and Dominique Tate have been participating with the first team, according to the Winton-Salem journal, in hopes that Grobe will find someone that can make tackles in the secondary. State will need to open up the run game to keep the Deacs honest. If Baker and Eugene can pull that off, Wilson should have a heyday throwing against this young secondary.

**Some information courtesy of NC State Media Relations

Snap Leaders Through 4 Games

Offense

1. Ted Larsen - 251
2. Jeraill McCuller - 251
3. Russell Wilson - 238
4. R.J. Mattes - 235
5. Jarvis Williams - 206



Defense

1. Audie Cole - 172
2. Koyal George - 157
3. Dwayne Maddox - 145
4. Ray Michel - 132
5. Willie Young - 129
5. Shea McKeen - 129

Coach O'Brien Talks Before Wake Forest

On Wake Forest

"They are very creative in what they do. It's never the same thing two weeks in a row. They do a great job exploiting what they perceive your weaknesses to be. We're going to have to be on top of our game. The best thing you can do is get lined up right and hustle like crazy."

On how the defense needs to prepare for Wake's ability to effectively run the reverse

"We have to be ready. We've been susceptible to them as we saw in the second game of the year. We've made a big point of emphasis that when the ball goes away you've got to look and see if anything is coming back. Hopefully we'll do a better job than we did in the Murray St. game."

On Wake's speed this year

"I've never thought that they were not a fast team. A couple of years ago they were as quick as anybody. Certainly they were pretty fast last year on defense with guys like Curry. They have a lot of speed. That hasn't changed."

On Wake receiver Marshall Williams

"He played against us last year. He's a tall rangy kind of guy that you might misread his speed sometimes, just like people misjudge our tall-lanky guys speed. We have to be on top of it. Maybe one of our advantages is playing against our guys."

On Wake's 2 Defensive Linemen in the middle

"Their fifth year guys. Obviously Russell is the leader of the defense. He kind of reminds me of Chris Hovan who played with us at BC and is still playing in the NFL. He makes a lot of plays. He's tough to block. He's very active. The other kid is a very strong powerful guy."

On Riley Skinner

"He does a great job of keeping his poise and moving in the pocket. He's always stepping up and finding a seam and making a play. He takes very few sacks, gets rid of the ball fast, which you would expect out of a 4-year starter, considering how he has played the previous three years. He is really a mature quarterback."

Owen Spencer Returns...NC State vs. Wake Forest: Injury Report

OUT FOR SEASON
Mario Carter, TE - knee
Denzelle Good, OL - shoulder
Nate Irving, LB - leg
Colby Jackson, FB - knee
Everett Proctor, QB - shoulder

OUT
Jeff Rieskamp, DE - hip
Rashard Smith, CB - ankle
Javon Walker, S - knee

2010 NC State Commit: Torian Box

Position: OG, C
School: North Clayton High School (College Park, GA)
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 295
Class: 2010
Stars: Scout and Rivals - 3 Stars
Status: Commit
Offers: NC State, ECU, Mississippi St., UAB

Biography

Last season NC State commit Torian Box helped newly appointed head coach Rodney Hackney turn the North Clayton Football program around. In '07 the Eagles finished the season with a 5-5 record, and finished tied for second in conference play (4-2) behind Griffin (6-0). The '08 campaign was a completely different story. Box helped lead the Eagles to a 10-2 overall record, and go undefeated in conference play (8-0). After winning their conference, North Clayton went on to lose in the second round of the state playoffs in a nail-biter to Statesboro 12-14.

Torian Box has been projected as a Center and Offensive Guard at the next level. Rivals thinks he is one of the best Centers in the '10 class, ranking him as the #16 Center. Scout and ESPN both see him as a Guard at the next level, with Scout ranking him #50 and the latter ranking him #23.

Box has been clocked running a 5.3 40-yard dash.

Box committed to the Pack on June 20th, 2009.

Wolfpack Defense A National Affair

Coming into the season, there were many questions surrounding the NC State Wolfpack. Most of those questions were directed at the defense. Are they experienced enough? Are they deep enough? Are they good enough to compete in what projects to be an extremely competitive ACC?

Through four games the Pack defense has been more of the answer than the question, continuously keeping the team within striking distance and coming up with big play after big play. Their performance, in fact, has them sitting atop the nation, allowing a stingy 201.3 yards per game to their opponents. Yes, you heard that right, NC State has the #1 ranked defense in the nation, however, don't tell that to Tom O'Brien.

"It doesn't really say anything. It's only been four games. If we're there through twelve games then it will definitely say something." he said.

Now, of course, NC State has only played two true division one opponents, but one of those was a South Carolina team who ran up an impressive 37 points on the #21 Georgia Bulldogs. Mike Archer's defensive unit also ranks 3rd in the league in scoring defense, giving up just 14.8 points per game (20th best mark in the FBS this week). In the first three games this season, the Pack had allowed just 28 points, the fewest points allowed in the first three games of the season since 1991, when Dick Sheridan''s squad allowed just three points in the first three contests.

The Wolfpack players are aware of their accomplishment and cognizant of their #1 ranking, however some, like LeRoy Burgess, echo head Coach Tom O'Brien when asked about the Pack sitting atop the nation.

""We knew, but at the end of the day, that's now what we're worried about right now...
It doesn't matter right now to us. What matters to us is stopping the opposing teams offense. At the end of the season, if that still stands, that will be a great accomplishment." he said

While many on the defensive unit are downplaying the ranking, there are some that embrace it and hope to build on it. Willie Young, one of the leaders of this defensive unit has begun a campaign amongst the front line. When the line brings it in after practice or before a game, it's "STATS UP!" that's yelled, referring to the Pack defense adding to it's already impressive numbers. This is a defense that wants to be on the field. A group of guys that want to dictate the flow and outcome of the game. When asked, following the Pitt game, what the defense was thinking when Pitt recovered an errant snap at the 8 yard line with less than two minutes left to play and only trailing by a touchdown, Young responded with a big smile, "It was time to get the stats up, that's all. We weren't thinking about the score."

The confidence of this unit seems to be building each week and they are believing in each other more and more. A confidence and swagger they will need heading into Wake Forest, a school known for their unique running attack. It will be a test for the number one defense in the land, but a test that they are more than ready to take.