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Associated Press

Head coach Tom O'Brien and the N.C. State Wolfpack finished 6-7 overall last season.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Tom O'Brien graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and spent nine years in the Marines. Little wonder, the guy knows a little something about righting a sinking ship.

Few would contest that O'Brien has done just that in his first two seasons as head football coach at North Carolina State.

Since succeeding Chuck Amato, a man whose coaching and communication skills could never match his phenomenal recruiting ability, the no-nonsense O'Brien has firmly taken command of a program that appeared lost at sea in 2006. The Wolfpack lost its final seven games to finish 3-9 that fall, the school's worst season since 1959.

"You know exactly where you stand with Coach O'Brien," said senior defensive end Willie Young, speaking at the recent ACC Football Kickoff preseason media gig.

"The man is a straight-shooter, no doubt about that. When he talks, we all listen, believe me."

After a successful 10-year run at Boston College, where his last eight teams were a combined 67-31 and won a bowl game every year, O'Brien has restored legitimacy at State. The Wolfpack won four of its final six games to finish 5-7 in 2007, then won the last four regular season games last season before losing to Rutgers in the Papajohns.com Bowl.

Led by talented Russell Wilson, who last season became the first freshman in the ACC's 57-year history to be named the conference's first-team all-league quarterback, the 'Pack should continue to rise this fall. O'Brien, the stern taskmaster, has plans to keep raising the bar in Raleigh.

"We're going into our third year and we should be better," O'Brien said matter-of-factly. "Last year, we had all those position changes, guys in different spots, and I didn't know how they were going to react. You kind of hope, you think, you know what they're going to do. Now we've got guys who played in football games, so we should be a more competitive team."

A schedule that includes eight home games certainly won't hurt. Enthusiasm is running rampant in Raleigh as the 'Pack gears up for its Sept. 3 season opener -- a Thursday night nationally televised date with visiting South Carolina. The Wolfpack lost 34-0 to Steve Spurrier's club in last season's opener in Columbia, S.C.

A possible measuring stick right off the bat?

"No, because we're a different team and so are they," O'Brien said. "Last year, we had a center and a quarterback who never had touched the ball.

"We don't need measuring sticks, we need wins."

With an offense that figures to rank among the ACC's best, an eight or nine-win campaign is not out of the question for O'Brien & Co. Wilson, a Richmond, Va., native, took over the starting job in the second game last season and was phenomenal, throwing 17 touchdown passes, with only one interception, and paced the ACC in total offense.

Wilson's backup will be redshirt freshman Mike Glennon, the younger brother of former Virginia Tech QB Sean Glennon.

"Glennon is going to play ... he's going to go in the [South Carolina] game somewhere in the first half," O'Brien promised.

"If Russell goes down, you don't want somebody going into the game who hasn't played."

Totally prepared for everything and anything. It's the military man's way.