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Toney Baker's long road back just got longer.

"Toney Baker has had surgery to clear out some things from his knee," said N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien after practice on Tuesday. "So he's on the shelf for a while until he comes back from that."

At the start of preseason practice, the former Ragsdale standout had expressed optimism about his recovery from a knee injury that sidelined him for all but the first game of the 2007 season.

"I'm good," Baker said back then. "It's all just getting back into the routine now."

But O'Brien had been more cautious in his outlook. In the summer, O'Brien announced that the starting running back position was a battle between Andre Brown and Jamelle Eugene, conspicuously leaving out Baker. Then, when the Wolfpack opened training camp, O'Brien stated he "didn't have any great expectations" for Baker in the practice.

Baker was held out of several drills during that practice for precautionary reasons and was not allowed to play in any of the Wolfpack's preseason scrimmages.

O'Brien did not say how long Baker's recovery time from the surgery would be.

The State coach delivered several other updates on Tuesday. Quarterbacks Justin Burke and Harrison Beck are out of the competition for the starting spot. That narrows the field to senior Daniel Evans, redshirt freshman Russell Wilson and true freshman Mike Glennon.

The Pack also lost junior safety Clem Johnson for the season. He broke his jaw during Sunday's scrimmage.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jim.young@news-record.com