Chuck Amato says he doesn't hold a grudge about the way things turned out for him at N.C. State. But he also said he isn't going to take any blame for the current state of the program, either.

Amato, who is in his second season back at Florida State as a defensive assistant, will visit Carter-Finley Stadium on Thursday for the first time since he was fired in November 2006.

State has been handicapped in the second year of the Tom O'Brien regime by an injury-driven shortage of scholarship players. But Amato said -- with a full dose of classic Amato bombast -- any shortage of talent isn't his fault.

"We were on our way to having our best recruiting class ever," Amato said. "You're seeing them now. You're seeing a middle linebacker who was already there who we redshirted [Nate Irving]. You're seeing a quarterback in Russell Wilson who we were extremely high on.

"That recruiting class could have been probably the best we ever had, and I don't have to tell you people how many players we put in the NFL, and they're still playing in the NFL."

Amato was let go after a 3-9 season in 2006 left him with 15 wins in three seasons without Philip Rivers. O'Brien, meanwhile, went 5-7 in his first year with the Wolfpack. State is 2-3 this season going into Thursday's game.

"There was more skill on that football team last year in my opinion, and I'm not just saying that because I'm here, than there was in Tallahassee," Amato said.

That's certainly one way to look at it.

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