RALEIGH -- N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson's numbers looked good Saturday night, but coach Tom O'Brien didn't like everything he saw.
Wilson missed spring practice while he played for the Wolfpack baseball team and spent the summer as a minor-league second baseman in the Colorado Rockies' farm system.
In a 48-7, season-opening win over Western Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium, Wilson threw four touchdown passes - one short of his career high. He finished the night 21-for-31 for 306 yards without an interception.
But Western Carolina is a Football Championship Subdivision foe that was ranked eighth in the Southern Conference preseason poll. So it wasn't difficult for Wilson to post strong numbers.
And O'Brien had some concerns about Wilson, who made first-team All-ACC in 2008 and led the ACC in touchdown passes in 2009. N.C. State had 12 players in the huddle on one play, and Wilson didn't recognize it.
At the end of the first half, N.C. State's two-minute drill didn't run as smoothly as O'Brien would like. Even though N.C. State led 31-7 at halftime, O'Brien played Wilson for two series in the third quarter because he needed the work.
"Just getting back into playing and the rhythm of the game, he's not anywhere close to where he was at the end of last year," O'Brien said.
Mike Glennon, Wilson's backup, also had a disappointment as he tried to scramble with 10 minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the game. Glennon was caught from behind at the sideline and suffered what initially was ruled a bruised left knee. Further information about his status wasn't immediately available.
The best news for N.C. State was the play of junior wide receiver T.J. Graham. He posted career highs of six catches, 96 receiving yards and two touchdowns as N.C. State passed for 351 yards despite Wilson's need for improvement.
"There are a few more completions out there that I could have had," Wilson said. " ... I've got to keep getting better. Try to stay in rhythm and stay on time and keep playing the game."
N.C. State's defense and rushing game, which both were question marks entering the season, were merely adequate. Western Carolina took the opening kickoff and marched 87 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Zack Jaynes to Deja Alexander.
N.C. State middle linebacker Nate Irving, who has returned as a team captain and defensive leader after missing all of 2009 with injuries suffered in a car crash, wasn't credited with a tackle.
"I just had to settle down and play," Irving said. " ... I'm here now. I'm just ready to play. But the way their offense schemed against us, it worked against me."
Nonetheless, after that shaky first drive, the defense did settle down to hold Western Carolina scoreless for the rest of the game. N.C. State's running game, featuring redshirt freshman starter Dean Haynes, didn't gain more than 4 yards on any of its six first-quarter carries.
But Haynes became more aggressive as the game went on. He finished with 69 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.
"Of course the first couple of carries I was getting used to everything," Haynes said. "I mean, it was my first game. But after that, getting used to where the holes were fitting up and stuff I was able just to go and not have to look for the holes."
N.C. State's competition gets stronger Saturday, as it visits Central Florida, which defeated the Wolfpack in 2007 in Raleigh in O'Brien's debut at the school. With the running game and defense appearing a bit shaky, N.C. State needs to rely on Wilson and the passing game.
Wilson sounded up to the challenge.
"I definitely felt comfortable out there," he said. "It was definitely good to get out there again. I've been trying to find my comfort zone and get better at it, and just continue to get better and be in rhythm with the game. I've got to make an improvement next week as well."
