The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/535299
112 ■ THE WOLFPACKER WOLFPACK FOOTBALL 6-5, 280-pound defensive tackle for the Wolfpack. "I've put on a whole lot of weight and gotten stronger," Culler said. "I was just eating and lifting and listening to the strength and conditioning coaches and nu- tritionists here. I switched positions but Coach [Ryan] Nielsen is a good D-line coach and has put me in good position to make plays. "I've had a couple of people mention J.R. Sweezy to me. Coach Nielsen has men- tioned his name to me. I've kept that in mind. I've been watching some of his stuff." Culler entered NCSU at 241 pounds, and played middle linebacker on the scout team last fall. "The toughest adjustment at defensive tackle has been moving around with the extra weight," Culler said. "I've also been learning the technique since it's a position I haven't played before." Culler's father played both offensive tackle and defensive tackle at Clemson in the 1970s, and has been giving him advice on the position change. "He has been giving me pointers and showing me some stuff," Culler said. "It has been good. He just says to work hard and shows me some technique. He had mentioned to me it could happen. I'd put on weight and go home, and every time I came home, I was 10 pounds heavier." Culler does miss a few things from his middle linebacker days. "I miss not seeing the whole entire play," Culler said. "I thought I was going to be fine playing linebacker [with the extra weight], but then when I hit 270, I knew. At 250 and 260, I figured I could still move. When 270 came, I knew I had to put the hand in the dirt." NC State was thin on the defensive line this past spring due to injuries, and Culler earned extra reps. "It's a lot better than redshirting last year and just sitting and watching," Culler said. "It has been great and I'm excited about playing. It was hard just watching other people do stuff." — Jacey Zembal Magazines Like NC State's Potential Stassen.com took the preseason pro- jected finishes of seven different media entities (Athlon, Lindy's, McIllece Sports, ESPN, Sporting News, Harris and Phil Steele) for the ACC and combined them to form a consensus. The result was three clear divides in the ACC Atlantic Division. At the top is Florida State and Clemson, with the Noles slightly gaining the edge for Atlantic favorite status. Then the next best are Louisville and NC State. All seven outlets had both the Cards and Pack third or fourth in some order in the Atlantic. When the consensus was collected, Louisville had a slight edge for third. Then there is the bottom third of the Atlantic, although Boston College was pro- jected fifth by everyone but ESPN, which picked them last in the division. Syracuse and Wake Forest were sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Atlantic. Here is a more in-depth breakdown of thoughts on the Pack from the Athlon, Lin- dy's and Sporting News preseason annuals. Sporting News NC State was picked fourth in the Atlan- tic by Sporting News, which stated that the Pack's soft non-conference slate should al- low for the Wolfpack to go bowling again. While the magazine does not believe the Pack has enough in the arsenal to contend for an Atlantic title, there was this addi- tional comment: "NC State might have an upset in it this year." Sporting News was especially bullish on junior running back Matt Dayes, listing him as the Pack's difference maker and labeling him an all-purpose dynamo. The projections, written by Chris Lang of the Lynchburg News and Advance and Patrick Stevens from the Syracuse Post- Standard, have NC State playing in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. Athlon Athlon has a more appealing postseason picture for NC State, penciling the Pack in Charlotte for the Belk Bowl against tradi- tional SEC power Florida. Like in Sporting News, NC State is picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Division. Athlon seems to like NCSU's potential on offense provided that the receiving corps can come together. In the magazine's unit rankings for the ACC, the NC State quarterback, running back and offensive line positions were all rated fifth-best in the conference, but the receivers/tight ends were ranked 10th. The quarterbacks were also rated the 21st best in the country, and fifth-year se- nior guard Joe Thuney appeared on the preseason All-ACC second-team as well. The key for NC State, Athlon believes, is replacing key parts to the lines on both sides of the ball, but the magazine also believes that, led by fifth-year senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett, NC State has "an opportunity to at least push At- lantic Division powers Florida State and Clemson." Overall, NC State is ranked No. 39 in the country. Lindy's Lindy's rating of all the teams lists NC State No. 33 nationally, stating that Brissett is the reason why the team would improve on last year's 3-5 ACC record. Brissett is ranked as the No. 22 quarterback in the country. The magazine projects NC State to finish third in the Atlantic Division. Thuney and Dayes (all-purpose) made the preseason second-team All-ACC list, while fifth-year senior defensive end Mike Rose is listed on the third-team defense. Among the ACC spotlight games this season, Lindy's highlighted NCSU's home games against Clemson (Oct. 31) and UNC (Nov. 28), and road dates at Virginia Tech (Oct. 9) and Florida State (Nov. 14). In recruiting, the magazine compli- mented the Pack for inking four top-10 players in the state of North Carolina's 2015 class (running backs Johnny Fra- sier and Nyheim Hines, offensive tackle Emanuel McGirt and defensive end Darian Roseboro) as the "No. 1 signing coups." The magazine rated Frasier as the team's top newcomer. — Matt Carter Culler, a redshirt freshman who arrived on campus as a 241-pound middle linebacker, has transformed himself into a 280-pound defensive tackle for the Wolfpack. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN