The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1249704
32 ■ THE WOLFPACKER had a kid committed [Mike Paulus]. The head coach wouldn't let him offer another quarterback. "Jeff Mullen, who works for us now at National Preps, was on the offensive side at Wake Forest at the time. They loved him, too, but they already had a commitment." Trestman: "I remembered feeling like we didn't have any competition for him." Jamison: "I remembered his dad coming down after he got the offer to meet the staff and Coach Amato. Russell, his mom and his sister came with him. His sister's name was Anna. "Chuck was great with recruiting because he was a good closer. You didn't have to say, 'Chuck, go talk to him.' Chuck loved talking to recruits, and sales is about closing. "Russell went back with his family in Chuck's office, and I was the only one in the hallway with Anna. We played catch with a nerf ball for what seemed like two hours. I was thinking it was going to be a couple of minutes. It was like, 'Holy cow, I've been doing this for over an hour, waiting for them to be done.'" Wilson: "I never forget that moment and just the experience. I loved NC State. I loved the stadium. I loved what it looked like. I loved the energy there. I loved how they were great in baseball and great in football. "That was truly where I wanted to play. It felt like SEC football, the energy there. That's what I really loved about it. I loved being in downtown Raleigh, right in the middle of everything, and just thought it was a good location. "We went into Chuck's office, and he talks like this [imitating Amato's high- pitched voice]. The funny thing was … the first time I saw Chuck that day … he was actually in the weight room. He was doing bench press, working his chest muscles. "We ended up talking and talking … and I'm trying to make a decision on going there. After that — it probably felt like two hours — we go to the end of the hall to a middle area. Right in the middle of that building is this beautiful view [of the field at Carter-Finley Stadium]. I just remembered looking out there. "We went outside to talk, and I said, 'Dad, this is where I want to go.' "Sure enough, that was it. I let them know I was going to commit to NC State and play football and baseball. Chuck really wanted me to play baseball as well. Coach Avent had seen me in the Virginia all-star game as well, too. It was a no-brainer for me." The Business Of College Football Amato and the Wolfpack struggled through a 3-9 season in 2006, and a day after it ended, Amato was fired by then- director of athletics Lee Fowler. The coaching search would land on Tom O'Brien, a successful coach at Boston Col- lege. Amato would rejoin his old mentor Bobby Bowden at Florida State, where Jimbo Fisher, now the head coach at Texas A&M, was the Seminoles' head coach in waiting. Wilson was now faced with new deci- sions. He chose to take a late official visit to Duke, whose offensive coordinator was Bill O'Brien, now the head coach of the Houston Texans. Wilson almost took a visit to another ACC school in what would have been a reunion of sorts. Jamison: "[Tom] O'Brien's style of re- cruiting — right or wrong — was totally different from Chuck. "Chuck recruited Dade County and Miami for a lot of years, which is a whole different recruiting phenomenon in itself. Chuck was Chad Jamison (right) — who was the director of high school relations and oversaw the recruiting office at NC State — recalled how Wilson stood out to Wolfpack coaches during the recruiting process. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS " This farmer … in overalls looked at me and said, 'Boy, you think he's a good baseball player? You ought to see him throw a football.' I said, 'Really? He's that good?' He said, 'Best quarterback this state's ever had.'" NC State head baseball coach Elliott Avent PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP