In a game almost as unpredictable as the tornado-stricken weather Saturday afternoon, the Red team beat the White team 13-3 in the 3rd annual Kay Yow Spring Football Game at Carter-Finley Stadium, which ended prematurely due to the impending thunderstorms.

“We questioned the weather all day yesterday and all day today,” coach Tom O’Brien said. “I want to thank the fans for showing up. It was a great effort on their part.”

The 13,139 fans that did attend the game witnessed a defensive battle.

Featuring the first-team defense, the Red squad gave new starting quarterback Mike Glennon and the first-team offense fits, as it tipped six passes at the line of scrimmage, two resulting in interceptions.

Sophomore D.J. Green, who is making the transition from safety to linebacker this season, got his hands on the first of those passes, knocking Glennon’s attempt in the air allowing junior linebacker Terrell Manning to scamper 53 yards to the end zone for the game’s first score.

Three plays later, senior linebacker Audie Cole made an interception after another Glennon pass was tipped. Cole returned it five yards before junior offensive guard R.J. Mattes stopped him dead in his tracks with a big lick. 

O’Brien was pleased with the performance of the linebacking corps and said they have been gaining more and more confidence as spring practice has progressed.

“The play Terrell made was a great play,” O’Brien said. “He couldn’t have made that play a year ago, but he can make it now because of that confidence. Audie [Cole] looks a lot better in day 15 and D.J. [Green] is going to make a lot of mistakes, but he has the athletic ability to make up for some of those.” 

The reshuffling of the linebackers was just one of the many storylines entering the game, but they appeared to be in mid-season form. Cole, who finished with a team-high 97 tackles a year ago, has been making the transition from strongside to middle linebacker, filling the void left by Nate Irving. The native of Monroe, Mich. admitted that learning a new position took time to get used to initially, but said he now feels comfortable.

“It took me a couple of practices to get comfortable and now I’m just trying to limit my mistakes and get better at making plays,” Cole said.

Cole also said Green’s performance in the spring game was promising because the sophomore has been thrusted into a starting role after playing predominantly on special teams last season.

“I thought D.J did really well today,” Cole said. “The thing with D.J. is that he’s going through a position change, but it’s also only his second season. So he’s still learning.

Just like last year’s edition of the spring game, Glennon commanded the first-team offense, but this time, as the Wolfpack’s starting quarterback. The Pack has decided to move on without Russell Wilson, who is currently batting .161 with 15 strikeouts for the Asheville Tourists, and hand the keys to the offense over to Glennon.

“Last year, I was in the same position with Russell not being here and the competition was up in the air,” Glennon said, who finished with 182 yards and two interceptions. “But coach [O’Brien] has told me that they are going with me so it gives me confidence that I can come out here and lead this team to victory.”

After only seeing the field three times a last season as Wilson’s backup, the Centreville, Va. Native said playing in Saturday’s game-like environment was highly beneficial because it will be his only chance before the Pack’s season-opening game against Liberty on Sept. 3.

“I have plenty of experience out on the practice field, I just don’t have a lot of experience out on the game field,” Glennon said. “[Playing in the spring game] is the closest I am going to get to game time experience until the first game of the season, so I think it’s beneficial for me to play in this type of environment.” 

O’Brien said the offensive woes can be easily corrected and expects another successful season following a victory over West Virginia in the Champs Sports Bowl to finish 9-4 last year.

“We still have some things to work out on offense, but we can solve those problems,” O’Brien said. “It looks we have a chance to be a really competitive team again next year.”