The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1190316
88 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ PACK PROS NC State Boasted Four NFL Starting QBs Simultaneously — Again BY RYAN TICE O nly three schools have ever had four former quarterbacks start in the same NFL week — Southern California (in 2009), Michigan State (in 2014) and NC State, which accomplished the feat in 2017 and threatened to do it for the second time in the last three seasons this fall, though injuries and byes got in the way of it of- ficially happening. Even if there wasn't a week where the quartet all took snaps as starters, the Wolf- pack could boast that it had four former quarterbacks atop their respective teams' depth charts for a three-week stretch in 2019. To put in perspective how rare of an ac- complishment that is for one college, only two other programs have ever had four for- mer players start under center in the same season — Miami (1993) and Michigan (2004). The Wolfpack will safely join that exclusive club once again in 2019. The first time the Wolfpack could lay claim to the honor was in 2017, after Ja- coby Brissett moved into the starting lineup for the Indianapolis Colts in week two to join week-one starters Mike Glennon, then of the Chicago Bears who opened the first four games for the team, and longtime stal- warts Russell Wilson of the Seattle Se- ahawks and Philip Rivers of the Los Ange- les Chargers. This fall, rookie Ryan Finley moved into the starting lineup for the Bengals in weeks 10-12, but Brissett missed week 10 with an injury, Wilson's Seahawks were on bye in week 11 and Rivers' Chargers had an off week the following weekend. By the time those three had all returned to the lineup with scheduled games, Finley had been banished back to the bench. Still, coupled with the fact that NC State boasts a league-high five quarterbacks on NFL rosters — Glennon has been the Raid- ers' No. 2 all year, though he has only ap- peared in two games and thrown 10 passes — it allows the Pack to retain the undis- puted "QB U" crown for another fall. Through the season's first 13 weeks, the five have combined to post collective num- bers unrivaled by any other program in the country, including 38 games started, 802 completions in 1,250 attempts (64.2 percent), 9,386 passing yards and 62 touch- down throws against just 27 interceptions. The group has also rushed for a combined 526 yards and six scores. It also doesn't hurt that one of those quarterbacks — Wilson — is a leading MVP candidate, and another in Brissett is among the league's biggest surprises. Entering week 14, Pro Football Focus deemed Wilson the best quarterback in the league based on its grading system that evaluates every player on every snap in every game. While they note Wilson has consistently ranked among the top five to eight quarter- backs over the last few years, "he's taken his game to a new level this season." "He leads the league with 34 big-time throws while posting the lowest percentage of turnover-worthy plays, a combination that is reserved for the best of the best," PFF continued. "He has the third-highest grade on throws of 10-plus air yards and the No. 2 grade on passes thrown between one and nine air yards, showing that he is making plays to all levels of the field. Wil- son's combination of big-play ability, while still taking care of the football, has been unmatched so far this season." Though reports surfaced in early Decem- ber that the Chargers could bench Rivers after he tossed seven picks in weeks 10 and 11, head coach Anthony Lynn noted: "It's not just one guy why we're 4-7." PFF agreed that Rivers wasn't the team's main problem, ranking him the No. 15 QB Russell Wilson has been playing like an MVP candidate this year — through 13 weeks CBS Sports and NFL.com were among the media outlets whose experts listed him No. 2 for the award, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson. PHOTO COURTESY SEATTLE SEAHAWKS