The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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26 ■ THE WOLFPACKER kind," Steve Rivers said during an inter- view early in Philip's college career. "It has certainly been good to me. When I went to college, I thought, what else is there for me to do, except to try to work in athletics somehow?" Philip Rivers grew up on the football field, sitting in on his father's coaches and team meetings. Steve didn't allow Philip, the oldest of his three children, to play youth football until the seventh grade, figuring his son would learn more about the game being at his high school practices. "He didn't go home and play hide-and- go-seek," Steve Rivers said. "He came to football practice. He would watch a differ- ent coach. After practice, he would come home and mimic what he saw and how the coach told the players to do it. He had a keen eye for watching. "By the time he was 7, 8 years old, he was doing the job of a manager. He was mixing Gatorade and helping with equip- ment. We had to turn him loose. "[The players] took him under their wings. I am sure he heard some things we would have rather him not hear, but there was a lot more good than there was bad." It was always a teaching atmosphere in the Rivers family. When Philip was a sophomore, he was Athens High's best quarterback, but he never started a game there. Steve Rivers had a senior quarterback who had earned the starting job, so he turned Philip into a hard-hitting starting linebacker. That experi- ence helped improve the defensive reads and understanding for Philip the quarterback. He became an all-state quarterback by his senior year, one that drew no interest from Alabama, some interest as a safety from Au- burn and some interest as a quarterback from then-Mississippi coach David Cutcliffe. Instead, Rivers came to NC State, the school that had recruited him hardest, thanks to the personal relationship between Steve Rivers and Wolfpack assistant coach Joe Pate. For good measure, Rivers brought his parents, siblings and, eventually, his high-school sweetheart with him. "He grew up at his father's knee, learn- ing about the game," said Chuck Amato, Rivers' head coach at NC State. "That is an intangible that you can't measure, you can't weigh and you can't count. Those are the things that make some players special." Amato offered a quick assessment of Riv- ers becoming a coach. "He's nuts," the retired coach said with a laugh. Stepping Down To The Most Important Level Wolfpack fans all watched Rivers play for four years at NC State and 17 years in the NFL. He's clearly one of the best quarter- backs in college football and NFL history. He left college football ranked second all time in passing yards (13,484) and tied for fifth in touchdown passes (95). He leaves the NFL ranked No. 5 in passing yards (63,440) and touchdown passes (421). And it was all a thrill, from the non-profane trash talk to the smooth passes to the awk- ward attempts at downfield blocking. Sure, there was lots of talk about his large family, his Catholic faith and the pictures of Rivers showing off old-school fashion trends like his Texabama bolo ties and cowboy boots. There's not a single NFL defender who wasn't happy about his retirement, and many players from every team paid him their re- spect for his talent and accomplishments. Among the best tributes was that from former Houston defensive end J.J. Watt, Rivers was named the ACC's overall Male Athlete of the Year as a senior, prior to being selected fourth overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN