Mark Thomas
Mark Thomas played football for N.C. State and Smithfield-Selma High School before playing in the NFL. He is the co-host of "The Insiders" from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays on 620 The Buzz.
By Mark Thomas
May 2, 2013
UNC tailback Gio Bernard (26) runs in for a touchdown during the University of North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech NCAA football game, Saturday, November 10, 2012 in Chapel Hill, NC.
Many college players from this area either got drafted or signed free agent contracts with NFL teams. For those players, it’s a dream come true. You’re going to have an opportunity to suit up and get paid a king’s ransom to play a kids game.
However, the road to the first week of the NFL season is a long one, paved with twists and turns that are sure to work on your emotions. My best advice is to enjoy every second of it. As much as possible.
Just understand, rookie, that you are in a business now that requires a daily pursuit of perfection in an imperfect game. The NFL is a cutthroat business that is looking for men that can withstand the pressure at the highest level of completion.
NFL Draft 2013
There are players from
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By Mark Thomas
Apr 10, 2013
Manny Stocker (16) only needs one shoe to find the endzone during the NC State Kay Yow 2012 Spring Football Game in Raleigh, NC on April 21, 2012.
Spring practice is coming to an end for college football teams across the Triangle.
For the Wolfpack, there is an anticipated build-up to the Kay Yow Spring Game with new head coach Dave Doeren and his staff. So many questions have to be answered, and I believe some of them will be revealed by the game.
Two of the biggest questions are at quarterback and linebacker. Who is going to be the guy to replace Mike Glennon? Linebacker play was the weak point of the Wolfpack last year. Who are the coaches planning to use to tackle people, and how are they going to get those players to do it?
Let’s attempt to answer the first. There are the two top guys at quarterback heading into the spring game, Manny Stocker and Pete Thomas. Right now, Thomas seems to be the leader in the clubhouse, but I believe there is a reason for that. It’s spring practice. Nobody hits the quarterback in the spring.
Passing quarterbacks look better than those guys that can run. Doeren utilized a spread, shotgun, running-quarterback offense last season at Northern Illinois. One would think that would play to the advantage of Stocker, who is a better runner. But without the ability to bring the quarterback to the ground, Stocker has to continue improving on his understanding of the offense and completing passes.
Offensive coordinator Matt Canada is going to utilize the “pistol” offensive set. The quarterback will be 3 yards behind the center. No fullback. The ability
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Mar 27, 2013
Scott Wood (15) talks to Coach Mark Gottfried during the Florida State vs. NC State game on February 19, 2013 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The 2012-13 NC State Wolfpack basketball team finished the season before they wanted to.
After losing to Temple in their first game of the NCAA Tournament, Mark Gottfried is getting prepared for next season. It ends and begins just that fast for a college basketball coach. But before we take a look at next season, let’s take a look at what the Wolfpack was able to accomplish this season.
When Gottfried’s squad had their names called on Selection Sunday, he became only the third coach in ACC history to take his team to the NCAA tournament in his first two years on the job. (The two others were both at UNC: Bill Guthridge and Roy Williams).
2012-2013 Wolfpack individual stats
He lead the Pack to 24 wins,
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By Mark Thomas
Mar 21, 2013
Scott Wood (15) takes a shot during semifinal action of the 2013 ACC Men's Basketball Conference Tournament between NC State and Miami at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 16, 2013 in Greensboro, NC.
The NCAA Tournament can drastically change people’s opinions of teams with one or two wins. As the Wolfpack was preparing for its first round game against Temple, the coaches were busy preparing game plans, scouting reports, and the most important: the self-scouting report.
The self-scouting report can be the one thing that helps an athlete truly realize the things that keep his team from winning. Statistics in losses verses those in victories can paint the picture more clearly.
There are statistical keys to victory for the Pack to make a run to another Sweet 16. And as good as the freshman TJ Warren, Rodney Purvis, and Tyler Lewis are, winning will have to be driven by the upper classmen.
Lorenzo Brown
No player is more important to the Wolfpack this season than point guard Lorenzo Brown. With him out of the lineup the Pack picked up two of their 10 losses - a third if you count the limited minutes against Virginia. Brown is as healthy as he has been all year. He has to stay in control of the offense and let the game come to him. In the seven full games that were losses, Brown averaged 4.5 turnovers verses 3.5 in the wins. When the Pack wins with Brown in the lineup he shoots 44 percent from the field, but in the losses he struggles shooting just 32 percent. Gottfried likes to see Brown take his man to the paint early to get an easier shot and see one go in. It gets his mindset right and his offense tends to take off from there.
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Mar 12, 2013
C.J. Leslie (5) after dunking during the Wake Forest vs. NC State game on March 6, 2013 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In Mark Gottfried’s second year, the “state” of the North Carolina State University basketball program is on everyone's mind. Simply put: Is Wolfpack basketball improving?
Last season, the Pack made a Sweet Sixteen run that inspired the hearts and minds of their fans. Now after Gottfried has finished up his second regular season coaching the Pack, we can take a look at the year-to-year progress and consider the Wolfpack’s chances in the upcoming ACC Tournament in Greensboro.
Tournament play a given for improved Pack
This season NC State has compiled a 22-9 overall record as opposed to 20-11 a season ago. In ACC play, State went from 9-7 to 11-7. In Gottfried's two seasons, the team finished as the ACC No. 5 seed, slated to play Thursday at the ACC Tournament.
There’s a more positive feeling this season heading into the postseason. The Pack won six of their last eight, notched regular season wins over both Duke and North Carolina and are a lock for the tournament.
Last year, the Pack struggled down the stretch, winning only five of their last 11. They didn’t have a win over a ranked opponent and needed to beat Virginia in the second round of the ACC Tournament to slide in on the NCAA bubble.
Overall, the record shows State has seen improvement. Their position for postseason play has improved as well, however many will point out the power of ACC teams is down from a year ago.
Gone from last year's team are
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By Mark Thomas
Feb 16, 2013
David Amerson (1) and Earl Wolff (27) celebrate a defensive stand during the Florida State vs. NC State game on October 6, 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Fifteen years ago, I got an invitation from the NFL to attend their combine in Indianapolis. It was an exciting time. I had been watching the NFL my entire life, and now they wanted me - at least they wanted me to come and work out for them.
I went with four of my teammates. Five of our seniors off our team the NFL identified as prospects.
This year’s NFL combine will welcome 333 prospects to Lucas Oil Stadium Feb. 23-26. It’s become a spectacle now that the NFL Network will cover everything from the bench press to the 40-yard dash. Of those 333, 12 will be coming from RDU.
Duke will send two guys, quarterback Sean Renfree and wide out Conner Vernon. NC State is sending four: guard Zach Allen, corner back David Amerson, safety Earl Wolff and quarterback Mike Glennon – one of the prospects at the position. North Carolina has the most with six: guards Travis Bond and Jonathan Cooper, linebacker Kevin Reddick, tackle Brennan Williams, and Giovani Bernard – one of the top running back prospects.
Over the past 10 drafts 99.8 percent of the players taken were invited to the NFL combine but going to the combine doesn’t mean that a player is going to get drafted or that he is NFL quality. It does mean however that these are the players where the NFL will begin its evaluations of prospects.
Most college fans lose their minds over the “star” ratings of recruiting classes. But in reality, this list of players is a better
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By Mark Thomas
Feb 8, 2013
NC State's Rodney Purvis during the Wolfpack's 98-85 loss at Duke on Thursday, February 7, 2013 in Durham, NC (Photo by Jack Morton).
If you would've told me at the beginning of the year that NC State would be 5-5 through 10 games of the ACC schedule, I would've said,'Well something is up.'
To be quite frank, I wasn't exactly sure they were the top team in the ACC, even when most media members picked them. I felt like Duke had the best shot of winning the ACC regular season, and I had State picked second.
So for them to be in the middle of the pack of the ACC, it's definitely not what many – including me – perceived them to be. But looking at this State team, they are a lot better then their record.
After the 98-85 loss last night to Duke, I was reminded of the Bill Parcells line, "you are what your record says you are."
State is a .500 team.
Many people don't know the second part of that statement. Tom Coughlin, a Parcells disciple, uses it all the time: "However, it doesn't define what you can become."
With the return of Lorenzo Brown, State is on the verge of a strong second half ACC run.
Mark Gottfried's squad has had to figure out how to play without their best player, but in doing so they may have found one.
In three consecutive losses, NC State has found improved play by their backup point guard Tyler Lewis. Against the best three defenders of the point guard position, Lewis has only one turnover.
And with Brown returning to the lineup, Gottfried now has options. Last season, Brown was asked to move from a shooting guard to a point
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By Mark Thomas
Feb 3, 2013
There are two nightmares that every NFL football player has.
One is that your college team has informed you that you still have eligibility. They ask you to come back to play for one more game, but it never works out. Either you can’t get your pads on or you can’t remember your plays.
The second is getting to play in the Super Bowl, but in this recurring dream, almost without fail, you’re running late. The players are running onto the field and your coaches are yelling at you to hurry up.
Both dreams have one common theme.
You work so hard day after day to prepare for a game, and for whatever reason, you’re not prepared. How can something like that happen? Football players are meticulous creatures of habit. And their worst fear is not being ready, not being on time, not being prepared.
There’s only one DAYdream that every NFL football player has on a consistent basis. And that is playing in a Super Bowl. On Sunday, the 49ers and the Ravens are going to get the opportunity to live out their dreams.
But before that happens, they have to endure the most frustrating time of their careers right now: THE WAIT.
That period of time from your pregame walk through on Saturday to Sunday at 6:30.
Every player in the NFL gets to buy two Super Bowl tickets, whether you’re playing in the game or not. After my first season in 1998, I went down to Miami to see my parents, who had just moved down there from Smithfield.
The
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By Mark Thomas
Dec 5, 2012
It just felt right. NC State playing in The Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden.
This March will be 20 years ago that the game’s namesake Jim Valvano stood in Madison Square Garden and inspired so many with his famous ESPY speech. It just felt right, though, for different reasons.
If State was to play in the special game against Connecticut and not play the way that they were supposed to, it would have been wrong. The special jerseys with the iconic net around the neck and the words “Don’t Ever Give Up” on the back added something to the night.
Head coach Mark Gottfried continued to embrace the tradition that Valvano brought to State basketball by having the team spend time with his family before and after the game. Gottfried has made a point of having former players get involved in so many ways with the current team. Gottfried wants his guys to know that NC State is a school where championship banners hang by putting them up in the Dail Practice Facility.
Understand, making the decision to play for the Wolfpack requires you to play a certain way. It’s playing the type of way where the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the one on the back. And that’s not to say that this year’s team can’t or won’t play that way. It’s that they haven’t. Well last night against UConn, they did.
Richard Howell and CJ Leslie combined for 29 points and 23 rebounds against UConn Tuesday night, leading the Pack
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By Mark Thomas
Nov 5, 2012
Maurice Canady (26) pulls down Quintin Payton (88) after a reception during the Virginia vs. NC State game on November 3, 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
With only two of the three Triangle schools in action Saturday, we take a look at two losses by NC State and Duke. The game film for both teams wasn’t pretty to watch. Actually some of it was down right pitiful.
1. Virginia 33 – NC State 6
There are times when it seems that everything you do on a football field turns out right. The ball bounces your way. You make a mistake, and somehow you get positive yardage.
Then there are times when just about everything you try turns out positive for the other team.
The latter was what the Wolfpack saw this weekend against the Cavaliers. It’s tough.
Cavs dump NC State, 33-6
Virginia was very prepared for
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