Fall Means Football: Area football coaches speak about upcoming college season

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“It’s about time.” N.C. State University head football coach Tim O’Brien said it best at Thursday’s Pigskin Preview.

The Eighth Annual Bill Dooley Triangle/East Chapter Pigskin Preview presented by the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce was held at the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club in Durham. The head football coaches from all five Triangle/East Chapter teams — UNC, NCSU, Duke, NCCU and ECU — were there to answer questions about the upcoming season..

With all of the NCAA controversy surrounding many teams, including UNC, during the off season, the coaches were more than ready to put the focus back on the game. This marked the unofficial start to the college football season for these local teams and their leaders were ready for kickoff.

“I can’t wait for practice,” said NCCU coach Mose Rison. “I have to tell myself to hold my emotions back because I’m so excited.”

NCCU, while not among those being investigated by the NCAA, had an eventful offseason. The school was admitted into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on July 1. This has afforded the football team seven home games in the upcoming season. Rison, who became head coach at NCCU in 2007, believes his team is finally “reaping the benefits” of the last three years of growth for the program and has high hopes for this year.

“You’re going to see some good football,” said Rison.

Good football is something Duke head coach David Cutcliffe wants to see from his team as well. After turning down an offer for the head coach position at the University of Tennessee in the off season, he is looking forward to building off of last season’s five wins — the most for Duke Football this decade. This success will not come without challenges — like a roster made up of 54 underclassmen scholarship players — but Cutcliffe is up for the task. He even has a good sense of humor about his young team.

“It’s been a big, big summer in Durham for me. I finally got it, I got my Sam’s card and my gosh, they are selling diapers really cheap over there, and formula. We’ve got the youngest football team I’ve ever seen … so the diapers came in handy,” said Cutcliffe.

He added, “I want to make our program a better program every day and everything that we do I believe in my heart our players are committed to that. … The thing I want to see that continues is that enthusiasm and that growth and that energy that’s present with our entire football program.”

Cutcliffe is in good company when it comes to a young team. Ruffin McNeill begins his term as ECU’s head coach after the team lost 20 players last season.

“(We have a) young group of guys. This is an opportunity for them to step up,” said McNeill, who is also happy to be back in his home state.

While Duke and ECU are working toward continued growth this fall, N.C. State wants consistency.

“The key last year was that we had 10 different defensive teams in 12 games,” said O’Brien. “It was tough to provide consistency.”

In addition, five of O’Brien’s starters last season were freshmen. With one college season under their belts, he believes that having “had their brains beat in a little bit” will help in the upcoming season.

UNC’s Butch Davis was just as excited to talk football, but addressed the elephant in the room first.

“I know that a lot of you would love to have a lot of answers,” said Davis, alluding to the ongoing NCAA investigation of his team. “The NCAA has told us not to make any comments until this review is over with. … They are going work as fast and as quickly as possible to try and come to some kind of resolution.”

That was the extent of Davis’ commentary on the issue. He was much more open when the conversation returned the game, outlining what his staff believed to be “critically important” to UNC’s success this season. For one, he hopes to have a healthy team throughout the season. Thirteen players were sidelined throughout last season due to surgery. He plans to get the most out of each of the 29 allotted summer practices prior to kicking off what he admits to being the “most challenging schedule since I’ve been at UNC.”

Just as UNC’s season opener against LSU “has more than already set the tone,” according to Davis, the Pigskin Preview set one of excitement and enthusiasm for a highly anticipated college football season.