Derek Medlin
Derek Medlin is a WRAL.com web editor and contributor to WRALSportsFan.com. Medlin, a North Carolina State graduate, has grown up covering Triangle sports.
By Derek Medlin
May 9, 2013
North Carolina State running back Ted Brown waited a while, but on Tuesday, was announced as part of the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame Class.
Bill, coupon book, bill, magazine, College Football Hall of Fame football emblazoned with Ted Brown, bill.
Wait, WHAT?!
Two days after being selected to enter the College Football Hall of Fame with the 2013 class, former North Carolina State running back Ted Brown is still getting used to the news. In fact, he's still a bit shocked at how he found out.
"I thought I would get a call, but I got the news a little bit differently," Brown told Mark Thomas and Mike Maniscalco Thursday morning on 620 The Buzz. "I got a letter and a football, and it had 'Ted Brown, North Carolina State University, Class of 2013' on it. I almost fell over. I dropped the box and told my wife. It was very, very exciting."
At the risk of speaking for Brown, I'd imagine the excitement over being selected won't soon wear off. The memories of his career with the Wolfpack surely haven't.
Brown was dominant from 1975-78, averaging 5.9 yards per carry on his way to 4,602 yards, an Atlantic Coast Conference record that still stands. He scored in 31 consecutive games, left NC State as the conference's leader in touchdowns with 53 (49 rushing) and finished his career fourth on the NCAA all-time rushing list behind Tony Dorsett, Archie Griffin and Ed Marinaro.
Even now, almost 30 years later, Brown's numbers stand
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Feb 26, 2013
Carolina Hurricanes left wing Alexander Semin (28) during the Hurricanes vs Winnipeg Jets game on February 21, 2013 in Raleigh North Carolina. (Photos By Anthony Barham)
Compared to other professional sports, where athletes don’t hesitate to air grievances through the media or call teammates out on Twitter, hockey is a bit of an outlier.
Most players and teams go about their business in between games and handle any smoldering beef on the ice.
Based on the comments he made about Hurricanes forward Alexander Semin Monday morning, it appears Washington Capitals right wing Troy Brouwer did not get the memo.
“All in all, I think we’ve been doing well without him…some nights you didn’t know if he was going to come to the rink,” Brouwer, a teammate of Semin’s last season, said. “It’s tough to play alongside guys like those, because you don’t know what you’re going to get out of ‘em.”
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Dec 1, 2012
Despite being perceived as a viable candidate throughout the duration of NC State's six-day coaching search, Dave Doeren wasn't the focus for many Wolfpack fans and media members.
That attention, for the most part, went to Louisiana Tech head man Sonny Dykes, the offensive guru who quickly became the person at the top of "wish lists" across the Triangle.
But given Yow's comments on Sunday about wanting an "energetic, assertive" recruiter and an "overachiever," Doeren's hire should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. At 40, the Northern Illinois head coach and former recruiting coordinator at Wisconsin and Kansas pretty much fits that mold.
Doeren led Northern Illinois to back-to-back Mid-American Conference titles in his two seasons there, capping the second Friday night with a 44-37 double overtime victory over Kent State. Depending on how other games play out this weekend, the 21st-ranked Huskies have an outside chance to crash the BCS party. In two years, Doeren's record is 23-4.
If that's not overachieving, I don't know what is.
So what does Doeren bring to Raleigh, where he'll be expected – according to Yow – to turn NC State into a perennial top-25 program?
First, he brings an understanding of the importance of recruiting, something that ended up being a major reason Tom O'Brien was let go after six seasons. Scheme matters, sure, but players matter more, and Doeren's history as a recruiter
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Oct 15, 2012
North Carolina Tar Heels running back Giovani Bernard #26 picks up another first down.North Carolina defeats East Carolina 27-6 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill North Carolina.
Extra Point is a sometimes serious, always sarcastic Monday morning recap of what you missed from ACC football action over the weekend.
The Triangle Trifecta was off the table this week thanks to NC State's bye week, but it didn't mean Duke and North Carolina couldn't keep the good times rolling. Yeah, about that.
Blue Devils throttled following epic first quarter
Two days later, it's still hard to process exactly what happened to Duke at some point late in the first quarter Saturday against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. For those who don't know, process is the new spelling for "accept."
The Blue Devils were rolling early, amassing a 20-0 lead in the first 12 minutes thanks to a Sean Renfree-to-Jamison Crowder bomb, two field goals and an absurd pick-six by Jordan Byas. Twitter was perilously close to breaking across the Triangle, and Duke seemed poised to become bowl eligible for the first time in 18 years, in Week 7 no less. Essentially, all was right with the world.
Then things got extremely normal, considering the recent history of the two teams. Logan Thomas found Marcus Davis for a 40-yard gain, setting up Virginia Tech's first score of the day, and the Hokies never looked back. By halftime, Duke's lead was just 20-17, although the game already looked and felt more like the final score.
David Cutcliffe was quick to point out following the 41-20
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Oct 8, 2012
David Amerson (1) grabs the upright to celebrate victory over Florida State on October 6, 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Extra Point is a sometimes serious, always sarcastic Monday morning recap of what you missed from ACC football action over the weekend.
It's not often that North Carolina, Duke and NC State all win home ACC games on the same weekend. OK, "not often" may be a bit of a misnomer. It's only happened four times since the schools started playing football.
Prior to this weekend, it hadn't happened since Oct. 15, 1994, a string of nearly 18 years. On that Saturday, Duke beat Clemson, UNC beat Maryland and NC State downed Wake Forest.
Go crazy Triangle football fans! Go crazy!
Bernard powers Heels past struggling Virginia Tech
There isn't a good way to explain why it happens, but every now and then, offensive coaching staffs seem to forget about their best players. In the opening minutes of North Carolina's game against Virginia Tech, someone forgot about running back Gio Bernard.
On their first three offensive possessions (not including Sean Tapley's kickoff return touchdown), the Tar Heels tried to attack the Hokies through the air, resulting in an underwhelming nine plays, 25 yards and three punts. The Twitter chatter at that point even included discussion of how Virginia Tech's defense was finally coming together.
Funny how quickly things change.
Four hours later, Bernard had tallied a career-best 267 yards on 23 carries
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Oct 1, 2012
Despite the defensive issues and the Wolfpack's six turnovers (four fumbles, two interceptions), NC State tied the game at 37 with 1:58 left on a 50-yard Niklas Sade field goal and had another chance to score about a minute later following a Miami punt. Mike Glennon's arm punt quickly ended any thoughts of a miraculous comeback while simultaneously setting the stage for Morris' heroics. Given how the first 59 minutes of the game went, it was a fitting end.
Five weeks in, it's still tough to know what NC State team is going to show up on any given Saturday. Like this weekend, for example, when the No. 3-ranked Florida State Seminoles come to town for an 8 p.m. kickoff. The Wolfpack should (and probably will) get dominated by the 'Noles, but wouldn't it be the most NC State thing ever for them to make a game of it?
Duke ends an incredible streak at Wake Forest
The march to bowl eligibility continues for the Blue Devils, who were efficient offensively and made just enough clutch plays Saturday to beat Wake Forest 34-27and end a dozen years of futility against the Demon Deacons.
Because Duke's losing streak to Wake was so painful, it's worth recapping. Since 2002, six of Duke's losses to the Demon Deacons were by a combined 18 points. The Blue Devils lost by one point in 2006 and 2011, two in 2004, three in 2008, five in 2007 and six in 2010.
Amazingly, Duke got the win Saturday despite injuries to several key defensive players and starting quarterback Sean Renfree. That fact alone highlights how far the program has come under Cutcliffe and proves that this iteration of the Blue Devils is his best team yet.
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Sep 24, 2012
North Carolina Tar Heels running back Giovani Bernard #26 picks up another first down.North Carolina defeats East Carolina 27-6 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill North Carolina.
Extra Point is a sometimes serious, always sarcastic Monday morning recap of what you missed from ACC football action over the weekend.
UNC gets defensive in win over ECU
The Tar Heels started slow for the second consecutive week, but luckily for them, East Carolina is no Louisville. A 10-6 edge at the break ballooned into a 27-6 win thanks to Bryn Renner's efficiency (320 yards, 2 TDs) and North Carolina's ability to keep the East Carolina offense from getting into any sort of rhythm. The Pirates tallied just 233 total yards and moved the chains only 13 times, and in the decisive second half ECU was only able to generate 71 yards of offense.
The other stat worth noting from Carolina's much-needed win was East Carolina's 5-of-16 effort on third down. When a defense is struggling, as North Carolina's has in the past two weeks, getting off the field on third down is a great way to turn things around.
North Carolina's offense was certainly helped by the return of Gio Bernard, who tallied 102 total yards on 24 touches (18 carries, 6 receptions) and scored twice after sitting the last two weeks with a lingering injury. There is little doubt Bernard is the most talented player on UNC's offense, but as Joe Ovies pointed out, it may take him a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things.
Before the 2-2 Tar Heels move back into conference play, the winless Idaho Vandals --
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Sep 17, 2012
The presence of recuperating Blue Devil Blair Holliday stole the show during Duke's game against in-town rival North Carolina Central on Saturday, September 15, 2012 in Durham, NC (photo by Jack Morton).
Extra Point is a sometimes serious, always sarcastic Monday morning recap of what you missed from ACC football action over the weekend.
Tar Heels rally following horrible start
The discussion and analysis of North Carolina's sluggish start Saturday against Louisville could go on for hours, but it's probably a pretty simple explanation – sometimes teams just aren't ready to play football when the ball is teed up.
In UNC's case, perhaps the end of the Wake Forest game lingered throughout the week before the Tar Heels traveled to Kentucky? We do know, without a doubt, that it wasn't a head issue.
Regardless, the part of the 39-34 loss worth discussing is the second half comeback, when North Carolina outscored the Cardinals 27-3 and gave itself a chance to win with a drive in the final minutes. No, Erik Highsmith couldn't come up with Bryn Renner's pass on fourth and goal to give the Heels the win, but good grief, the fact that Renner's pass was even relevant deserves a slow clap.
Plenty have mentioned that Louisville could have – and maybe did – quit playing in the second half, but couldn't the Tar Heels have done the same thing down 36-7 at the break?
Another positive came in the form of A.J. Blue and Romar Morris, who continued to show that North Carolina's jailbreak offense can work just fine with or without injured Gio Bernard.
Motivating a 1-2 football team shouldn't be tough, but Saturday's
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Sep 10, 2012
Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback Tanner Price (10) drops back to pass.
Extra Point is a sometimes serious, always sarcastic Monday morning recap of what you missed from ACC football action over the weekend.
Offensive line woes continue for Wolfpack
A win is a win is a win, as Joe Ovies pointed out in his Talking Points column, but good grief, NC State's 10-7 escape job at UConn Saturday afternoon was ugly. NC State's offense, a week removed from its stop-and-start 21-point output against Tennesee, was uninspired and unimaginative, barely totaling 10 points against the Huskies.
A quick peek at the box score makes the result look even worse than it did on television. The Wolfpack tallied just 12 first downs and averaged a putrid 1.3 yards per rush on 41 attempts. While that average was heavily impacted by Mike Glennon's -23 yards (the result of six UConn sacks), even Mustafa Greene, NC State's starter, could only muster 2.8 yards per rush and a long run of nine yards.
Although we're only two weeks into a long season, it's time to put NC State's offensive line on the hot seat. The unit was hurt Saturday by Rob Crisp's absence, but the loss of one player is no excuse for being awful. At some point, Tom O'Brien's "history" with offensive line play has to actually become reality in Raleigh. Otherwise, a 6-year-old talking point needs to be adjusted, or even scrapped.
Luckily for NC State, the Wolfpack defense did come to play against the Huskies. Interceptions
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
By Derek Medlin
Sep 4, 2012
Duke receiver Conner Vernon has been the go-to guy for the Blue Devils offense. (Photo by Jack Morton).
Extra Point is a sometimes serious, always sarcastic Monday morning recap of what you missed from ACC football action over the weekend.
NC State off to another, well, start
Another season opener against an SEC opponent – the third in five years for Tom O'Brien and Co. – ends in disappointment for the Wolfpack, who did their level best to stay close to an improved Tennessee squad despite repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot.
Whether it was the four Mike Glennon interceptions, two of which were all on the senior quarterback, or the minute-long blooper real at the end of the first quarter that turned a 7-6 (almost 14-6) State lead into a 22-7 edge for the Vols, the Wolfpack did themselves no favors in Friday night's Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic.
And after all that, NC State was still in the game in the fourth quarter.
After pulling to within 11 points and stopping the Vols, the Wolfpack took over with 10:04 to play, plenty of time to score, get another stop and theoretically make things interesting in the orange-dominated Georgia Dome.
Three plays later, Eric Gordon stepped in front of Tobais Palmer and intercepted Glennon, effectively putting the nail in the coffin. The story was too familiar to O'Brien.
Moving forward, NC State has to figure out how to pressure opposing quarterbacks, who will all look like senior Tyler Bray if they're allowed to sit in the pocket and knit Derek Dooley-style orange pants.
…
Click here to read the rest of the post
