RALEIGH There was more thinking than doing on Saturday and more mistakes than big plays, but after his first Kay Yow spring game, new N.C. State coach Dave Doeren kept his wits about him.

"Well, we won," Doeren said on the field in his post-game interview.

Officially, the Red beat the White, 20-10 in a game played at Carter-Finley Stadium before a crowd of 27,500.

N.C. State sophomore Rashard Smith has a new position.

Given the Wolfpack’s surplus of defensive backs and shallow receiving corps, coach Tom O’Brien called it a “logical” decision to give Smith, one of the team’s best athletes, a chance to get on the field as a wide receiver.

N.C. State's struggling defense suffered a significant blow Tuesday with the announcement that freshman cornerback Rashard Smith is out for the season with a knee injury.

Smith had just bounced back from an ankle injury to return to the starting lineup on Saturday at Boston College. Coach Tom O'Brien had considered Smith to be part of the solution to N.C. State's defensive problems.