Year one of the Tom O'Brien era started on a down note, as the Wolfpack struggled to a 1-5 record after six games. Four wins in five games later, State had rebounded enough that it had a bowl bid on the line against Maryland in its regular-season finale.

But a disheartening 37-0 home loss left the Pack with a 5-7 record, and a premature end to its season. Five months later, O'Brien is hoping his team is making progress in its quest to make sure that 2008 doesn't end before the postseason begins.

To do that, he'll need to find a quarterback. The good news is that he has plenty of options to choose from. Returning starter Daniel Evans is joined by Harrison Beck, Russell Wilson and Justin Burke, with the highly touted Mike Glennon arriving in the fall. The bad news is that at this point, it's anyone's guess as to where each of the five ranks in the pecking order, since Evans missed the spring with an injured shoulder and none of the other veterans did poorly enough to drop out of the competition or well enough to truly take charge.

The passing attack will need to improve in order to help revive a running attack that was 11th out of 12 teams in the ACC in terms of its average yards per game. Defensive tackles John Bedics and Ted Larson were moved to the offensive side of the ball in hopes of shoring up what was an inconsistent group of blockers a year ago.

The defense spent the early part of the offseason in the weight room, looking to get stronger and in better shape in 2008. At times, the unit starred a year ago, but it also showed a tendency to wear down in key spots.

O'Brien took over a Wolfpack team that was undisciplined and underachieving, and promised to make major attitude changes upon his hiring. The results have been mixed thus far, but the closing surge of last season has the team looking for progress in the coach's second season on campus.

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