Jon Tenuta will have a new title and a bigger contract when N.C. State returns to the football field in 2012.

N.C. State named Tenuta the associate head coach for defense on Wednesday and gave him a new two-year contract, worth $400,000 a year. Tenuta has been the team's linebackers coach for the past two seasons and has helped the defense improve dramatically in winning back-to-back bowl games.

Jon Tenuta is staying at N.C. State.

A day after the University of Illinois announced it had hired the Wolfpack’s assistant football coach, the Big Ten school sent out another release Wednesday afternoon declaring Tenuta’s intention to stay at N.C. State.

Tenuta needs a new contract with the Wolfpack, but he’s expected to sign a new deal to stay in Raleigh. He has coached State’s linebackers the last two seasons and has helped improve the team’s defense and overall record.

N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien is confident in his team's maturity, pleased with the development of his linebackers and unconcerned about place-kicker Josh Czajkowski's struggles at Georgia Tech.

Here are excerpts from O'Brien's news conference Monday as the Wolfpack (4-0, 1-0 ACC) prepares for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game with Virginia Tech (2-2, 1-0) at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Q: I guess the next step is handling the success. How do you help your team in doing that and staying focused and do you sense this is a mature enough group to be able to do that?