N.C. State didn't have a player picked until in the first 200 spots, then had two in the next 13 in the NFL Draft on Saturday.

Wolfpack center Ted Larsen went to the New England Patriots in the sixth round
at the 205th pick. Eight spots later, defensive end Willie Young went in
the seventh round to the Detroit Lions. Young was the 213th overall
pick.

After a preseason of guarded comments from N.C. State players and coaches, senior defensive end Willie Young provided some explosive bulletin board material for South Carolina, which visits the Wolfpack in Thursday's 7:03 p.m. season opener.

During a meeting with reporters on campus Monday afternoon, Young was asked if Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier - who's renowned as one of the most innovative minds in college football - is an offensive genius and whether the way he commands his offense is impressive.

• From Sunday's college football notes

After dealing with seemingly every injury and bad break in the book his first two seasons at N.C. State, Wolfpack football coach Tom O'Brien has started Year 3 with a welcomed turn of good fortune.

The return of defensive end Willie Young, who chose a fifth season in Raleigh over a shot at the NFL, is one reason O'Brien thinks 2009 may prove better than the previous two snakebitten seasons.