The Black team dominated the White squad at N.C . State’s annual Kay Yow spring football game.
The Black side, wearing the black-and-pink uniforms from last season’s Central Michigan game, defeated the White team led by senior quarterback Mike Glennon . Despite his statistics on the day (12-20, 153 yards, 1 INT ), Glennon struggled to get into the rhythm of the game.
“I need to just keep on throwing and improve on my mechanics, my footwork, my accuracy and everything will be fine,” Glennon said.
Glennon’s struggles were evident early on in one of the first plays of the game. The W hite offense ran a flea-flicker play to perfection. Senior wide receiver Tobias Palmer was wide open for an easy touchdown on the 10-yard line, but Glennon shockingly underthrew the 40-yard pass. Palmer had to turn around and track back to try to make the catch, but by then senior safety Brandon Bishop was on the scene and broke up the pass.
Almost half of Glennon’s yards came on one play. Playing from the shotgun, Glennon threw a quick screen pass to junior tight end Asa Watson, who was lined up in the slot with the wide receivers. After the catch, great up-field blocking and remarkable speed from Watson led to a 74-yard gain. It would’ve been a touchdown if not for junior All-American cornerback David Amerson , who chased down Watson and tackled him at the 1-yard line.
Apart from that play, the White offense was unable to move the ball downfield against the Black defense, which featured Amerson , senior cornerback Earl Wolff and senior linebacker Sterling Lucas. Lucas led the team in tackles with five on the day, while Wolff had four tackles and a pick-six after intercepting backup quarterback Brian Taylor’s pass.
Amerson also provided some excitement for the 24,000-plus in attendance. As Glennon dropped back and chucked the ball to Palmer, Palmer slipped while making the cut on his out route. Amerson was on the scene immediately, acrobatically diving head first over the downed Palmer to snatch Glennon’s pass. Amerson , the nation’s leader in interceptions last year, held on to the ball through his tuck-and-roll routine after the catch to give the Black team one more chance to score before halftime.
“I think the game went real good,” Amerson said. “We were all out there competing. I think everybody got better and we got better as a football team and we’re looking forward to camp. This definitely gives [the defense] confidence.”
The star of the day was undoubtedly sophomore backup quarterback Tyler Brosius , playing for the Black team. Brosius was impressive as he consistently found his receivers, checked down in his progressions accordingly and hit his targets in stride to pick apart the White defense. He and sophomore running back Tony Creecy were key factors in consistently propelling the black offense downfield .
Brosius finished the day after going 15-27 for 184 yards, including a 54-yard connection with sophomore receiver Bryan Underwood, but Brosius’ most impressive throw on the day didn’t end in a completion.
Freshman wide receiver Hakeem Flowers ran a go route and got behind his defender. Brosius saw Flowers and threw a perfect 50-yard back-shoulder strike, the only place the defender couldn’t get to the ball, to hit Flowers running in stride on the sideline. Even though Flowers was unable to haul in the catch, Brosius put the crowd on notice that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.
“As I say with Tyler, I’m excited. He’s starting to look like a quarterback,” head coach Tom O’Brien said. “That’s what we want to see. I think he really had a good spring and I think it showed today with all the work he’s done.”
Other stars of the game included the members of the Wolfpack secondary, whose experience and athleticism made for a frustrating afternoon for Glennon .
After their summer camp concludes, the Wolfpack’s first game is the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game against Tennessee on August 31 in Atlanta, Ga. It is also the first college football game of the 2012 season.
