R.J. Mattes has played all over NC State's line since arriving on campus; now he's moving to left guard in order to accommodate Rob Crisp's move to left tackle. Mattes says moving from tackle to guard is easier than going from guard tot tackle, and he certainly would know. He also bluntly assessed the OL's performance in 2011.
Mattes said the offensive line group would love to have a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time since T.A. McLendon in 2002 (1,101 yards). The Wolfpack have had just three 1,000-yard rushers since 1984. Cutting down on 33 sacks allowed and increasing the 104.8 rushing yards per game are two other goals for the veteran unit.
"Every year, and last year we barely missed it, to get a 1,000-yard rusher," Mattes said. "We have to work on the sacks things because we sucked last year, and the rushing yards per game was awful too."
Kinda hard to believe it's been a decade since NC State last had a 1,000-yard rusher, too.