NC State Opens Preseason Football Workouts with a Surprise
Wolfpack adds new running back on first day of practice.
Aug. 6, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - One down, 28 more to go. Twenty-eight more practices to figure out who will succeed Philip Rivers at quarterback. Twenty-eight more practices to evaluate the health status of tackle Chris Colmer, guard Ricky Fowler, receiver Sterling Hicks and defensive end Renaldo Moses. But on day one of preseason football practice on Friday afternoon, the Wolfpack added a talented player it didn't expect to have when Bobby Washington, a highly-touted running back from Miami, was admitted to school just in time to join his new teammates on the practice field.
A parade All-American who rushed for 2,132 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior at Killian High School, Washington's path to Raleigh took a number of interesting twists and turns. Initially signed by Miami, he was recently released from his letter of intent by the Hurricanes. His next stop was NC State, which had pursued the 6-1, 200-pound speedster with vigor during the recruiting process.
"How good is he? I don't know; we'll find out," said Chuck Amato, who is starting his fifth season as the Wolfpack's head coach. "He's pretty good."
Good enough to rush for 5,695 yards and a whopping total of 61 touchdowns during a celebrated prep career. Good enough to be rated as the 3rd ranked high school running back in the nation last year by rivals.com.
With starter T.A. McLendon and back-up Josh Brown missing a significant amount of playing time because of injuries last year, depth at tailback was a big problem for the Wolfpack in 2003. But with the addition of Washington, NC State now appears to have a stall of talented backs.
"It takes a lot of the burden off of me," McLendon said when asked about the infusion of tailback talent. "I'm going to go in there and do what I've got to do, but if someone else has to go in there, I'm not going to worry about it because I know they can handle themselves and do the job."
On day one, McLendon, the 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year, pronounced himself 100 percent healthy and ready to go.
"There are no nagging problems and I always start every year with no nagging problems, but who knows?" McLendon said. "It gets on my nerves to hear people talk about my injuries. Let's not talk about last year. Let's talk about how we're getting better. I'm not going to dwell on the past anymore."
The day started with the entire team participating in the annual running test, which gauges the overall conditioning level of the team. Then, following a short break, Amato put his team through a workout in shorts and helmets that lasted around two hours.
Colmer, who missed all of last season with a rare nerve disorder in his shoulder and arm known as Parsonage Turner Syndrome, participated in all of the low-impact, non-contact drills that were conducted on Friday. But Amato says until workouts get a little more physical, there's really no way of knowing just how effective the sixth-year senior can be.
"I'm very concerned about Chris in that he doesn't get too rambunctious," Amato said. "He really hasn't done anything in almost a year and a half."
Like Colmer, Fowler, Moses and Hicks have all been cleared to practice following their rehabilitation from knee injuries.
Almost lost in everything else that happened on day one was the continuing quarterback battle between Jay Davis and Marcus Stone, a competition that started in the spring, but most likely won't end until late August.
"There were some first day jitters, but now that's in the past" said Davis, a redshirt junior who served as Rivers' back-up the last two seasons. "Phil was a great quarterback, but now he's gone. We're prepared to talk to all the reporters about the situation, but the main thing right now is that we're competing for the job and trying to find the best fit for this team for this year. The mindset really doesn't change for me because I come into this fall camp just the way I did last year. I want to compete and I want to do the best I can."
Indeed, it was a historic first day of practice given the fact it was the first time during the Amato era that Rivers, the ACC's all-time leading passer, wasn't around for a preseason workout. There was no No. 17 there to zip passes to a variety of receivers and to offer up the playful verbal jabs for which he is now famous.
"It's funny because without Philip here, you don't hear his mouth," McLendon said with a laugh. "That's just him. He likes to talk a lot and joke around with the offense and the defense. It's funny, but we'll get used to a new quarterback."
And a new running back.
Wolfpack adds new running back on first day of practice.
Aug. 6, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - One down, 28 more to go. Twenty-eight more practices to figure out who will succeed Philip Rivers at quarterback. Twenty-eight more practices to evaluate the health status of tackle Chris Colmer, guard Ricky Fowler, receiver Sterling Hicks and defensive end Renaldo Moses. But on day one of preseason football practice on Friday afternoon, the Wolfpack added a talented player it didn't expect to have when Bobby Washington, a highly-touted running back from Miami, was admitted to school just in time to join his new teammates on the practice field.
A parade All-American who rushed for 2,132 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior at Killian High School, Washington's path to Raleigh took a number of interesting twists and turns. Initially signed by Miami, he was recently released from his letter of intent by the Hurricanes. His next stop was NC State, which had pursued the 6-1, 200-pound speedster with vigor during the recruiting process.
"How good is he? I don't know; we'll find out," said Chuck Amato, who is starting his fifth season as the Wolfpack's head coach. "He's pretty good."
Good enough to rush for 5,695 yards and a whopping total of 61 touchdowns during a celebrated prep career. Good enough to be rated as the 3rd ranked high school running back in the nation last year by rivals.com.
With starter T.A. McLendon and back-up Josh Brown missing a significant amount of playing time because of injuries last year, depth at tailback was a big problem for the Wolfpack in 2003. But with the addition of Washington, NC State now appears to have a stall of talented backs.
"It takes a lot of the burden off of me," McLendon said when asked about the infusion of tailback talent. "I'm going to go in there and do what I've got to do, but if someone else has to go in there, I'm not going to worry about it because I know they can handle themselves and do the job."
On day one, McLendon, the 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year, pronounced himself 100 percent healthy and ready to go.
"There are no nagging problems and I always start every year with no nagging problems, but who knows?" McLendon said. "It gets on my nerves to hear people talk about my injuries. Let's not talk about last year. Let's talk about how we're getting better. I'm not going to dwell on the past anymore."
The day started with the entire team participating in the annual running test, which gauges the overall conditioning level of the team. Then, following a short break, Amato put his team through a workout in shorts and helmets that lasted around two hours.
Colmer, who missed all of last season with a rare nerve disorder in his shoulder and arm known as Parsonage Turner Syndrome, participated in all of the low-impact, non-contact drills that were conducted on Friday. But Amato says until workouts get a little more physical, there's really no way of knowing just how effective the sixth-year senior can be.
"I'm very concerned about Chris in that he doesn't get too rambunctious," Amato said. "He really hasn't done anything in almost a year and a half."
Like Colmer, Fowler, Moses and Hicks have all been cleared to practice following their rehabilitation from knee injuries.
Almost lost in everything else that happened on day one was the continuing quarterback battle between Jay Davis and Marcus Stone, a competition that started in the spring, but most likely won't end until late August.
"There were some first day jitters, but now that's in the past" said Davis, a redshirt junior who served as Rivers' back-up the last two seasons. "Phil was a great quarterback, but now he's gone. We're prepared to talk to all the reporters about the situation, but the main thing right now is that we're competing for the job and trying to find the best fit for this team for this year. The mindset really doesn't change for me because I come into this fall camp just the way I did last year. I want to compete and I want to do the best I can."
Indeed, it was a historic first day of practice given the fact it was the first time during the Amato era that Rivers, the ACC's all-time leading passer, wasn't around for a preseason workout. There was no No. 17 there to zip passes to a variety of receivers and to offer up the playful verbal jabs for which he is now famous.
"It's funny because without Philip here, you don't hear his mouth," McLendon said with a laugh. "That's just him. He likes to talk a lot and joke around with the offense and the defense. It's funny, but we'll get used to a new quarterback."
And a new running back.
