Latest Pack player out for God knows how long: Alan-Michael Cash

Tom O'Brien must've run over God's cat.

I'm about out of reasons or ideas as to why God continues to smite us on a weekly basis. It's like his latest hobby.

Also, Curtis Crouch and Geron James are out for the ECU game, as well, according to ACCNow.

So, Lord...please show us mercy from here on out. I beg of you.

Otherwise we run the risk of relying on the Evans brothers to block for Russell Wilson.

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Some staggering statistics, and also, alliteration

Via the fine folks at StateFansNation, here're some sobering statistics regarding the state of Tom O'Brien's rebuilding project from Rob Daniels' article in today's News and Record:

The program O'Brien inherited from Chuck Amato in December 2006 was on shaky numerical ground. Of the 41 players State signed in 2005 and 2006, 17 are already gone. That 41 percent attrition rate far exceeds the personnel losses sustained by the other three ACC programs that changed administrations at the same time. (North Carolina's is at 18 percent; Miami has lost nine of 37 players from those classes or 24 percent; and Boston College, which O'Brien left to come to Raleigh, has seen six of 35 signees or 17 percent head elsewhere.)

You can expect to lose some guys whenever there's a coaching change, but damn. Out of two full recruiting classes, only 24 players remain, which is about the average size of one recruiting class. In other words, we're about a year behind schedule.

It's no wonder we're still well short of filling out our full 85-scholarship roster.

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Willie Young questionable for William & Mary

When you can't cry, laugh. This is unreal.

Just as folks still remember the season under Herb Sendek where it seemed our entire starting five broke a bone in their foot (Damon Thornton, Ron Kelley and Ron Anderson were among the wounded that year, I believe), this season will not soon be forgotten by Pack fans.



Edit: I changed the title from "doubtful" to "questionable" to match the injury report. I can't say I feel there's much of a difference between the two terms, but in the world of injury reports, it's a difference nonetheless.

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Anthony Hill out for W&M

The football team released their updated depth chart today and TE Anthony Hill is missing from it; he will sit the game out with a chest injury.

Depth Chart

(Continues)

On the surface it feels like just another example of "when it rains it pours," but ultimately this may be just TOB taking it ultra-conservative heading into what should be a sure win against ol' Bill & Mare'. Better to keep him on the shelf if he's at all dinged up to get ready for the bloodletting against Clemson the following week. We're going to need all the troops we can throw at them.

Daniel Evans is your starter at this point, which is understandable despite how poorly he played against the Gamecocks. He was in the final two with Wilson for the job, and when your only other option is Harrison Beck, well, you just suck it up and go with Evans. All you can do is hope to contain the bleeding until Wilson can return (win the gimme game against W&M, escape Death Valley with as few injuries as possible, maybe get lucky against ECU at home and pray Wilson returns before South Florida).

As bad as things appear and feel right now, I have to keep reminding myself that the season is only one game along at this point. The defense showed some positives at times, and well, God can't keep hating us much longer...Notre Dame's season starts this weekend, after all.

And Daniel has pulled a horseshoe out of his rear end before (twice, actually). If we can get through the next three games with two wins (W&M, ECU) before Russell's return, then who knows what can happen heading into the bulk of the conference schedule.

Wolfpack Pride = Eternal, sometimes blind, optimism.

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Hey kids! More bad news!

Just when you thought a broken record couldn't get any more broken:

- Starting tailback Jamelle Eugene is out for the USC game with an ankle injury;
- Strong safety Javon Walker's knee injury is season-ending;
- Coach O'Brien is keeping OL Curtis Crouch out of the USC for undisclosed reasons;
- Thomas Barnes and Kyle Linney are both transferring out of the program;
- OL recruit Sam Jones will not join the team until January, at the earliest

Just the kind of news you love to hear heading into the SC game, right?

Hey, if you're a State fan, you're kind of used to this stuff by now. I don't know who, but someone, somewhere, at some time in history must've done some pretty nasty stuff on State's behalf because apparently we're still operating in a tremendous Karma deficit (that has seemingly been in effect for the last century or so).

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Can you say "Snake Bit?" Bowens out for the year.

Welcome to, well, every single year.

The Pack's notorious injury bug strikes again, this time claiming top wide receiver Donald Bowens.

It's the same ol' story year in and year out, it seems. Last season was the year of the tailback...losing Toney Baker early in the year and Andre Brown shortly thereafter. Jamelle Eugene would've been a virtual nobody were it not for decimating injuries in the Pack's backfield in 2007.

Now Bowens goes down with a hairline fracture in his spine to join junior college transfer Clem Johnson on the bench for the year. Johnson suffered a broken jaw. Baker is out of practice, still recovering from his knee injury a year ago.

We can only hope that this will be it for the year for major injuries, but if history is any indication, expect more down the road.

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