Twitter says...Wilson for two TDs

For reasons coach Tom O'Brien hasn't explained, he isn't releasing individual statistics for offense to the media after N.C. State's scrimmages.

After Thursday's scrimmage, for example, O'Brien said quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon combined to go 23-for-40 for 198 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception.

The state secrets are out, though, on N.C. State's twitter page: twitter.com/packfootball.

Chad Jamison, N.C. State's director of high school relations, sends out the "tweets" for N.C. State's twitter page. He is allowed into the Wolfpack's scrimmages, whereas members of the media are not.

Two of Jamison's tweets Thursday were:

"Russell Wilson throw to Darrell Davis into the endzone for a diving TD catch."
"and then Wilson takes advantage with another TD throw to Spencer."

(That's Owen Spencer, of course).

So the mystery of N.C. State's touchdown passes, at least, has been solved.

N.C. State sports information director Annabelle Myers said O'Brien isn't releasing individual statistics because they can falsely inflate expectations for players if they're good and create unnecessary pressure on players if they're bad.

Statistics also can be misleading because they're sometimes situational. For instance, a back's rushing numbers can be seriously deflated (and his touchdowns inflated) if he spends half of his carries working in a goal line situation where he can gain 1 yard at the most.

"Scrimmage stats don't tell the whole story," Myers said.

Myers said she thinks O'Brien also likes to keep some things secret in order to generate more interest. How well is Toney Baker doing? Are Spencer and Davis catching all the passes, or is T.J. Graham making big plays, too?

O'Brien might just prefer that fans (and perhaps opposing coaches) don't find out until the Sept. 3 opener against South Carolina.

"I think he enjoys getting everybody's appetite whetted," Myers said.

The extra information on the twitter page removes just a bit of that mystery.