The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1190316
JANUARY 2020 ■ 59 second-team All-ACC after making 76 hits, including 14.5 for loss and 5.5 sacks. He also intercepted three passes that year. Manning left early to turn pro and was picked in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers. LINEBACKER GERMAINE PRATT (2014-18) After starting his career at safety, Pratt redshirted in 2016 and made the move to linebacker. The change paid off. Pratt was on track to become the first NC State player since Levar Fisher in 2000 to lead the ACC in tackles until a late-season injury forced him to miss a contest at North Carolina. He still finished the year with 104 hits, including 10 for loss and six sacks. After being named first-team All-ACC in 2018, Pratt was a third-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019 and moved into the starting lineup as a rookie. CORNERBACK JACK TOCHO (2013-16) Tocho was another camp success story for NC State. He showed up on the Wolf- pack practice fields in the summer of 2012 without any major offers. After a display of athleticism and ball-hawking cover skills, the Charlotte native was tendered a scholar- ship and committed. He played as a true freshman and fin- ished his career with six picks and 26 passes broken up, the latter the 11th most in a school history. Tocho was picked in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. SAFETY BRANDAN BISHOP (2009-12) Bishop blew up as a senior at Boca Ra- ton (Fla.) High and that led to offers from NC State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. After picking NCSU, Bishop played as a true freshman and started eight games. He teamed with Earl Wolff to form one of the better safety tandems in school history. Bishop had 12 career interceptions, tied for fourth most in school history, and he was named second-team All-ACC in 2012. PUNTER A.J. COLE III (2015-18) After 220 punts, the third most in school history, Cole finished with an average of 42.2 yards per kick, third highest ever at NC State. He is the only punter in school history to average over 40 yards a punt in four separate seasons. His 9,288 career punting yards are the second most for the Pack. After going undrafted in 2019, Cole became just the second Wolfpack punter to make an NFL roster, when he won the starting job for the Oakland Raiders. ■ CORNERBACK DAVID AMERSON (2010-12) Amerson broke into the starting lineup during his true freshman year in 2010, and then he burst onto the na- tional spotlight as a sophomore when he picked off a then-NCAA record 13 passes, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He was named a first- team All-American by Walter Camp and ESPN, and he won the Jim Tatum Award as college football's best de- fensive back. A year later, Amerson led the ACC with five more picks. His 18 career interceptions and three pick-sixes re- main school records. Amerson turned pro after the 2012 campaign and was drafted in the sec- ond round by the Washington Red- skins before playing five seasons in the NFL. FILE PHOTO SAFETY EARL WOLFF (2009-12) Wolff was a first-team All-ACC choice in 2012 after he made 119 tackles and intercepted two passes. He finished his career fifth all time and tops among defensive backs with 400 career hits, and his eight forced fumbles are tied for the third most ever by a Pack player. Wolff was another unknown on the recruiting trail while at Hoke County High in Raeford, N.C., until he was discovered at State's camp in 2007. A fan favorite in Raleigh, Wolff was drafted in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN