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RALEIGH During N.C. State's first meeting of the preseason, coach Tom O'Brien laid out the cold facts for his players.
The next day, reporters would pepper O'Brien with questions about quarterbacks. But O'Brien's most important message to his team had little to do with that glamour position.
He told players N.C. State has to improve its rushing offense and rushing defense from a year ago.
The Wolfpack ranked 11th in the ACC in rushing and 12th in rushing defense in 2007. O'Brien wants to solve that problem on the line of scrimmage.
“That's going to have a lot of bearing on how we finish this year,” O'Brien said. “The line has a lot to do with that running (game), too.”
O'Brien is turning his attention to the offensive line, which has been his specialty throughout his career
He coached offensive linemen in 11 of his 15 years as a Virginia assistant coach. Over his 10 seasons coaching Boston College, 10 of his offensive linemen were picked in the NFL draft.
That background helped him land highly rated in-state offensive line prospects R.J. Mattes of Concord and Andrew Wallace of Charlotte in the 2008 recruiting class. But O'Brien inherited a thin offensive line from predecessor Chuck Amato.
During the spring, O'Brien moved two players from defense to provide veteran leadership on the offensive line. Senior John Bedics at left guard and junior Ted Larsen at center are projected to start the season opener Aug.28 at South Carolina.
“I was starting from scratch,” Bedics said. “I'd never played offensive line in my life.”
Theirs are two of many lineup changes that will have to work for N.C. State to surprise the prognosticators. After O'Brien debuted with a 5-7 effort last season, the media that cover the ACC picked the Wolfpack last in the Atlantic Division.
That's partly because N.C. State's lineup has shuffled. Antoine Holmes, who played part of last season at defensive end, is starting at defensive tackle.
Former safety Robbie Leonard is a starter in a linebacker corps that lost three starters. Kicker Josh Czajkowski has never played in a college game.
Top receiver Donald Bowens has been lost for the season to a spinal injury, and tailback Toney Baker is out at least a few more weeks after knee surgery.
Players seem confident they will be better after a year in O'Brien's system, but the schedule is stronger than last season's.
N.C. State's nonconference opponents include Steve Spurrier-coached South Carolina and 2007 bowl teams East Carolina and South Florida.
Larsen took a good look at the schedule during a preseason meeting because it was printed on a teammate's T-shirt.
He noticed the Wolfpack's longest road trips are to Clemson and Maryland, and the opposition is strong.
“They're definitely good teams,” Larsen said. “It gives us an opportunity to prove ourselves. Hopefully those teams will be doing well when we face them.
“That way we'll be able to show the nation what we can do.”
Larsen is studying lots of film so he will be confident setting blocking responsibilities before each play from the center spot. He and Bedics are learning new footwork and blocking techniques.
They are being tutored by Don Horton, the respected, soft-spoken assistant who years ago helped O'Brien coach the offensive line at Virginia.
Horton coached draftees Gosder Cherilus, James Marten, Josh Beekman, Jeremy Trueblood and Chris Snee at Boston College. Horton's offensive line philosophy is simple.
Above all, he wants players to be aggressive. He believes players can't do that until they are comfortable with their assignments and techniques.
Horton likes the aptitude for hitting that Larsen and Bedics developed on defense. But he said they need to learn fundamentals and master concepts before they can play physical football on offense.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Horton said early in fall camp. “A lot of work.”
Ken Tysiac: 919-829-8942
