The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1343401
MARCH/APRIL 2021 ■ 49 (421). Following in the footsteps of Gabriel and Erik Kramer, Rivers has set unbelievably high standards for every Wolfpack quarter- back who follows him under center. What gives him the edge over everyone else is his remarkable streak of 240 consecutive starts in regular-season games once he took over for Brees, plus 12 straight playoff starts. He fell short of Brett Favre's seemingly un- breakable NFL record of 297 straight regular- season appearances, plus 24 playoff contests, but Rivers finished his career tied for third all time with Minnesota center Mick Tingelhoff. There are no active players with more than 150 consecutive starts going into the 2021 sea- son, though Russell Wilson has 144 straight regular-season starts, plus 16 in the playoffs, for the Seattle Seahawks. 2. Wide Receiver Torry Holt St. Louis Rams, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2010) Overlooked for the second consecutive year from becoming the first former Wolfpack player to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, for his playing career, Holt will no doubt one day join former player Bill Cowher, who was elected last year for his coaching accomplishments. Holt left NC State on a high note following the 1998 season, was taken with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft and ended his rookie year with a Super Bowl ring as a member of the St. Louis Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf." Holt's steady hands and gnarled fingers allowed him to collect 13,382 receiving yards and 74 touchdowns in his career, play in seven Pro Bowls and earn 2003 first-team All-Pro honors, the season in which he led the NFL with 117 receptions, 1,696 receiving yards and 106.0 receiving yards per game. He retired as one of the top 20 receivers in every pertinent statistical category, and was included on the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team. Canton is still his ultimate destination. Even still, Holt remains dear to the hearts of NC State folk because the Gibsonville native returned to Raleigh after he retired, where he and younger brother Terrence started a construction business and grew the Holt Brothers Foundation to support the chil- dren of cancer patients. 3. Quarterback Roman Gabriel Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles (1962-77) Gabriel wasn't just a great player in the NFL, he was a Hollywood star, cashing in on his NFL fame for a television and movie side hustle. Several efforts to get him elected to the Hall of Fame have fallen short, but there has never been a question about whether Gabriel had the talent or sta- tistics to get there. The four-time Pro Bowler somehow didn't make a big enough impression on the people who hold the keys to Canton. There is no doubt, however, that Gabriel changed ACC football, where he set dozens of passing records and was twice named the league's Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. Like Rivers, he needed two years of NFL seasoning, along with the arrival of George Allen as the head coach of the Rams, before he got a real chance to play. He eventu- ally became the prototype of big, ranging quarterbacks the NFL desired throughout the 1970s and '80s. He was not only named the NFL MVP in 1969, but he also won the league's Comeback Player of the Year Award four seasons later. Even after he was traded to the Philadel- phia Eagles in 1972, Gabriel was a feared offensive weapon who finished his career with 29,444 passing yards and 201 touch- down throws, about half that of Rivers in a few less games and with a somewhat less- open offense. Gabriel should always be remembered as a true pioneer, in both college and profes- sional football. 4. Running Back Alex Webster New York Giants (1955-64) "Big Red" played in a hidden era of post- war college football at NC State for head coach Beattie Feathers, leading the South- ern Conference in scoring as a junior and earning all-conference honors as a senior. After being taken in the 11th round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Washington Red- skins, he chose to head north to play for two seasons for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1953-54. The Kearny, N.J., native then signed with the Giants and entrenched himself in the backfield, scoring 56 career touchdowns. Two of those scores were in the Giants' 47-7 victory over the Chicago Bears in the 1956 NFL Championship Game. In all, Webster played in six NFL title games, was twice selected for the Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro twice. Webster, like Cowher, enhanced his ré- sumé with a successful NFL coaching ca- reer, with his hometown Giants. 5. Center/Offensive Guard Jim Ritcher Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons (1980-95) A native of Ohio, Ritcher came to NC State to play defensive end for head coach Lou Holtz. Instead, he became one of the best centers in ACC and college football history, while playing in Bo Rein's version of the twin veer. Blocking in front of former all-time ACC rushing leader Ted Brown for three years, then earning the 1979 Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior blocker and first-team All-America honors as a senior, Ritcher was taken with the No. 16 overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft. He was moved again from center to left guard, then spent a remarkable 16 years blocking in the ever-growing NFL, includ- ing four starts with the Bills in the Super Bowl. The two-time Pro Bowl selection is a member of the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame and the NC State Athletics Hall of Fame. ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ ncsu.edu. Roman Gabriel was named the NFL MVP in 1969 and four years later won the league's Comeback Player of the Year Award. PHOTO COURTESY ROMAN GABRIEL