The heat may be causing me to think delusional thoughts this summer however I see positive steps for the programs on Tobacco Road this fall. NC State has to improve in year two of Dave Doeren’s tenure and Duke and UNC both are coming off successful seasons looking to improve the reputation that Tobacco Road is a player before October in the ACC.
North Carolina coach Larry Fedora will have to make a difficult decision in selecting who will lead North Carolina from the quarterback position this fall. Not only are both quarterbacks fairly even in the race the fans are divided on who should start which can tear a football team’s chemistry. I think this team has the offensive weapons to win right now and the question is can the team overcome the growth and mistakes that come with a redshirt freshman or do you go with the veteran who started the last six games in 2013. You have to look at Williams experience and winning helping UNC become bowl eligible as a factor in the decision however everyone knows the schedule was a lot easier down the stretch. The area that concerns me with Williams is accuracy. In the offense UNC runs the differences between a TJ Thorpe or Ryan Switzer touchdown could be where the ball is placed especially on quick screens. Trubisky is simply better in this area and Williams has to improve this facet of the game to move to the next level of quarterback play. No matter who wins the QB battle this controversy is going to continue to be a twitter war throughout the year.
NC State’s offense was stagnant and atrocious last fall. It is fitting they to the swamp to try and ignite some life into this offense with Florida Gator transfer Jacoby Brissett. Brissett is a duel quarterback that fits the plans Dave Doeren has for his offense. After watching Florida QB Jeff Driskell last season you have to wonder how good is Brissett. Two legitimate questions that will be answered this fall: Was the style Will Muschamp was implementing just a bad fit for Brissett or after watching Jeff Driskell last fall season how good is Brissett if he couldn’t win that spot. Both are fair questions however after going winless in the ACC Brissett will bring consistency to the position and the Wolfpack can only go up.
Ryan Switzer was named preseason all american as a punt return. Unfortunately for the ACC most coaches will try and turn him into a true Switzerland allowing him zero impact on the game by kicking it out of bounds. As we saw against Pitt the phrase “fair catch” is not in the speedy sophomore’s vocabulary.
NC State has dropped the slogan “Our State” from it’s marketing department. Now if we can get that section to stop the “Move the Chains” chant the world will be back to normal. At least that is what the Bald Clapper says.
