The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1137844
160 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER W hen you own the brand of Quarter- back U, as NC State has for the last few years because of its ability to send signal-callers to the NFL, there comes a time every few years when the question "What comes next?" is the biggest priority. That's where seventh-year head coach Dave Doeren is this year, having to replace Ryan Finley, who earlier this spring became the second quarterback Doeren has sent to the NFL when he was taken in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Bengals, following in the footsteps of Jacoby Brissett. Those two, of course, followed the trails blazed by Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon, all of whom are still on active NFL rosters heading into the 2019 season, giving the Wolfpack a league-lead- ing five alumni handing off and throwing passes to the best players in professional football. But that doesn't exactly help the home team, which needs to fill the most critical position on the field as soon as possible after fall drills begin. So the answer during the interminable time between Finley's departure this spring and the season opener against East Carolina Aug. 31 lies somewhere between Jeff Gold- blum's "Nature finds a way" in Jurassic Park and Chicken Little's "The sky is fall- ing" from your favorite fairy tale collection. For the record, nobody has any insight on who will be NC State's next starting signal- caller, much less its next NFL quarterback. All we know for sure is that someone new will be under center this season, whether it is redshirt sophomore Matthew McKay, who saw limited action last year; redshirt fresh- man Devin Leary, who did not play at all last year while sitting out after being named the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year; Florida State transfer Bailey Hockman, who enrolled in January but has not yet played collegiately; or Ty Evans, who also enrolled in January after being named the Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year. But I can say this, NC State has found it easier to replace good quarterbacks with better ones through the years than you might think. Granted, there was no real replacement for the pioneering Roman Gabriel when he was a top pick of both the AFL and the NFL in 1962, but the 1960s saw a collection of different quarterbacks leading the Wolfpack to a total of four ACC championships. In the 1970s, when Lou Holtz and Bo Rein used option-style quarterbacks to run their twin veer offense, they always had an answer to turn to from Bruce Shaw to Dave Buckey to Johnny Evans to Scott Smith to Tol Avery. And both coaches won titles, in 1973 and '79. Each of those quar- terbacks filled the need of a run-oriented offense that Holtz and Rein wanted, and maintained when defensive-minded Monte Kiffin was in charge for three years. The first true passing era was introduced at NC State under Tom Reed and his quarter- back coach Dana Bible, as they brought in a pair of junior college throwers, Tim Gillespie and Erik Kramer, to establish their offense. While Rein, Kiffin and Reed lasted no more than four years each, Dick Sheridan arrived in 1986, and established a more bal- anced passing and running attack. That re- sulted in Kramer being named the 1986 ACC Offensive Player of the Year in his final year. Three-year starter Shane Montgomery was next in line, then Sheridan juggled Terry Jordan, Geoff Bender and Charles Davenport in his last three seasons, but his successor Mike O'Cain had the luxuries of three-year starter Terry Harvey and four- year starter Jamie Barnette. When Barnette ended his career as the school's all-time leading passer, fans won- dered who could ever take his place. The answer was Rivers, who started 51 games from 2000-03 and is still playing in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. He was perhaps the toughest quarterback of all to replace, and neither Jay Davis nor Marcus Stone were ever completely com- fortable in filling those legendary shoes in those final defensive-dominated years of head coach Chuck Amato. When Tom O'Brien came in, he needed two years to find the kind of quarterback he wanted for his program, but it wasn't until after a preseason training camp that is eerily similar to Doeren's situation this fall. O'Brien had five possibilities but no cer- tainties at the position as his team prepared for a splashy opening game at South Caro- lina. He had two veterans, fifth-year senior Daniel Evans and junior Harrison Beck, both of whom started games in O'Brien's inaugural season. There was also sopho- more Justin Burke and a pair of freshmen, redshirt Wilson and newcomer Glennon. In the end, Wilson won the starting job over Glennon in a competition between the two future NFL starters that fans still talk about today. Wilson put together a breakout performance, becoming the first freshman in ACC football history to win first-team All-ACC honors and setting himself on course to eventually become a Super Bowl- winning star for the Seattle Seahawks. Doeren had his own struggles in his first season, with a patchwork option of Pete Thomas and Brandon Mitchell as the pri- mary leaders among a half-dozen quarter- backs he used that year. But Brissett was on the sidelines sitting out his redshirt season after transferring from Florida. Finley, though little was known about him after transferring from Boise State, was next in line and proved himself by leading the Wolfpack to 25 wins and three bowl games, twice earning All-ACC honors. While we don't know who the next starter will be, based on past experiences it is safer to assume that nature will find a way to produce the Pack's next NFL quarterback rather than believing the sky will fall on the heads of fans at Carter-Finley Stadium. ■ ■ PACK PERSPECTIVE Next Quarterback Up At QB U Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker. and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. The Wolfpacker is a publication of: Coman Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 2331, Durham, N.C. 27702. Offices are located at 905 West Main St., Ste. 24F, Durham, N.C. 27701. (919) 688-0218. The Wolfpacker (ISSN 0273-8945) is published bimonthly. A subscription is $39.95 for six issues. For advertising or subscription information, call (800) 421-7751 or write The Wolfpacker. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Wolfpacker, P.O. Box 2331, Durham, N.C. 27702. Periodical mail postage paid at Durham, N.C. 27702 and additional offices. First-class postage is $14 extra per year. E-mail: thewolfpacker@comanpub.com • Web site: www.thewolfpacker.com Ryan Finley is the latest in the Wolfpack's factory line of NFL quarterbacks. However, the program has more often than not successfully found a way to replace each of his predeces- sors who went on to play in the league. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN