No no no...I said *HAYNES*. Dean Haynes.
Tom O’Brien, probably more so than any other coach in the area, loves to tweak folks on the opposition, in the media and in the public through his information dissemination.
He typically won’t release a depth chart until the last possible moment. He usually, when pressed by folks in the media for hints or clues as to who to expect to play in a given week, will openly state he won’t give that info out because he isn’t required to.
So it’s not all that surprising that State’s depth chart released yesterday afternoon might be a little quirky. It is somewhat surprising where the “quirk” is, though: starting tailback.
In fact, BOTH tailbacks on the two-deep are surprises. Neither Curtis Underwood nor James Washington–the only two backs with any experience–make an appearance here. Rather, your starting tailback is one Dean Haynes, backed up by Mustafa Greene.
Huh?
Redshirt freshman Dean Haynes, who began the preseason as N.C. State’s starter at boundary cornerback, will start at running back at 6 p.m. Saturday in the season-opener against Western Carolina.
Coach Tom O’Brien said Monday night on his weekly radio show that he was disappointed with the performance of NC State’s running backs after the team’s third preseason scrimmage.
Junior Curtis Underwood and sophomore James Washington, respectively, began the preseason as the first- and second-team backs, but O’Brien was unimpressed with their production after the third scrimmage.
Haynes had caught O’Brien’s eye running the ball on the scout team last season.
“He opened a lot of eyes, especially on the defensive staff, so I had that in the back of my mind,” O’Brien said on his radio show. (He refused to talk to reporters before and after the show.)
O’Brien felt comfortable enough with NC State’s secondary to move Haynes to running back. As a senior at Northwest Whitfield County High in Georgia, Haynes played quarterback and running back, rushing for 878 yards and 18 touchdowns.
His announcement as the running back starter came as a surprise because O’Brien hadn’t told reporters that Haynes had moved to running back. O’Brien said last week that he had made some position moves that the staff was evaluating, but he did not elaborate.
So… are we to assume that Haynes is the man from here on out? I’m inclined to believe not…that this is a move to light a fire under Washington and Underwood.
But perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps O’Brien truly believes Haynes has earned the #1 TB spot and we expect to see him in that role from here on out.
A surprising move by O’Brien putting Haynes and Greene on the two deep, but then again, this is TOB we’re talking about here.
