You might see the N.C. State faithful start up a book club this fall. After all, they have to have something to talk about.
For the first time in five seasons since Mike O'Cain took over for Wolfpack coaching institution Dick Sheridan, the year won't begin with grumblings about O'Cain's immediate future. A four-year deal from athletic director Les Robinson removed him from the hot seat for now, and shifted the focus back to the team itself.
Good timing.
In a season that should prove to be as wide open in pursuit of second place as any yet, the Wolfpack might just sneak their way into better holiday travel plans.
"We've got to stay healthy, that's the first thing we have to do," O'Cain said. "We've got to have a couple of young players step up in the linebacker and tailback position. And then again, I don't know how everybody else is. We've got to play well on those 'given' days, because going into the season, it looks like our conference will be the most competitive it has ever been top to bottom."
Once again the middle name of N.C. State offense will be Torry Holt. The senior speedster, considered by most to be the finest Wolfpack receiver since Mike Quick, ravaged even the vaunted Florida State defense en route to his first-team All-ACC selection. His five touchdowns against the Seminoles last year set a single-game record in the conference.
Already the owner of both the single-season yardage and reception records at N.C. State, in addition to the career touchdown mark, Holt will have plenty of opportunities to add to his totals.
"We will work very hard to get Torry's hands on the ball," O'Cain said. "When you have a talent on the team, you need to use it."
Unlike in past seasons, however, Holt realizes this year everyone in the conference will have his name circled on the chalkboard.
"I don't think I'm going to sneak up on people anymore," Holt said. "I have to be in great shape, got to concentrate on everything I'm doing and be mentally and physically prepared and just try and give 100 percent."
The more unsung story of the N.C. State offense has been quarterback Jamie Barnette. Lost in the shuffle of the talent-laden quarterback spot in the ACC this year, Barnette has quietly gone about becoming the Wolfpack's fifth all-time leading passer entering his junior year. Despite having only recently begun playing again following offseason knee surgery, O'Cain has been pleased with his quarterback's progress.
"[Barnette's] biggest improvement is the knowledge and command of the offense," he said. "He's played in 18 Division I games and has more experience. That's the biggest factor, not so much physical but mental improvement.
"I'd like to see improvement in two areas-when the pocket breaks down to become a runner sooner [and] to continually improve throwing the long ball. We need to be able to throw deep."
Hardest hit by offseason losses is the backfield. Both tailback Treymane Stephens, the ACC's leading rusher last season, and fullback Carlos King, a receiving and rushing threat, graduated. Filling the void at tailback will be Rahshon Spikes, who for the last two years has played the role of understudy to Stephens. A solid spring effort has earned him the initial starting nod.
After Spikes, however, the depth chart runs thin. An injury to senior Theo Chavis will hold him out for the season, leaving position journeyman Jawan Clark as the second tailback.
"He is an athlete," O'Cain said of Clark, who has also played wide receiver and defensive back for the Wolfpack. "He had a good spring; he had an awful lot to learn."
The defensive side of the ball features several key spots left vacant by graduation, none bigger than the linebacker spot departed by Morocco Brown.
"One of the concerns coming out of spring was our linebackers," O'Cain said. "We didn't have anybody step up and take over Morocco Brown's spot as one of the outside linebackers, and that's a concern. We have a couple of young players who have the ability to do it, but haven't.
"Tramayne Simmons and Derek Roberts at this point in time [are starting], but we need for them to step up and play well or we have a couple of freshmen to go in at linebacker."
Filling the shoes of Brown, the only player in the history of N.C. State to lead the team in tackles three consecutive years, won't be easy. But O'Cain was confident about improving upon a defense that last year consistently ranked in the middle of the ACC.
"We've got more talent, but we're not quite as experienced," O'Cain said. "We have depth, it's just a little on the inexperienced side."
With the pressure off O'Cain for the moment, and with the focus no longer on individual players but team performance, O'Cain realizes that with a couple of breaks this team, much like his surprising 9-3 squad of 1994, could prove to defy all expectations.
"You just don't know," O'Cain said. "We could be a very good football team and lose a couple of key players and be average very quickly. Again, you can put [the ACC teams] all in a hat, and the team that stays healthy and doesn't get penalized [is going to come out on top].
"I see a lot of teams that can beat each other, and if you don't go out there every week ready to play then you'll get beat. I don't care who you are, if you're not ready to play this year, you're going to get beat."
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