The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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Football 2013 N By Jacey Zembal C State redshirt junior quarterback Pete Thomas has every right to feel a little snakebitten about his college career, but has never shown such emotions. The 6-6, 234-pound Thomas is well versed on coaching changes. He verbally committed to Arizona State, but the Sun Devils changed offensive coordinators, causing him to look elsewhere. The former El Cajon (Calif.) Valhalla High standout enrolled early at Colorado State in the spring of 2010, and he was thrown into the fire right away. He started 21 games in two years — passing for 4,269 yards and 18 touchdowns — but the Rams went 6-18 during that time, and head coach Steve Fairchild was let go. Both areas were improved through recruiting. Doeren ultimately brought in three new quarterbacks and picked up a commitment from class of 2014 prep quarterback Jalan McClendon. NC State signed Florida transfer Jacoby Brissett, who will sit out next year and then have two years of eligibility, and also inked Jefferson (Ga.) High quarterback Bryant Shirreffs in the class of 2013. To ensure that competition for the quarterback job remained high, Arkansas graduate transfer Brandon Mitchell was added during the spring to compete with Thomas and sophomore Manny Stocker. Thomas hopes the hard work pays off in his battle with Mitchell, but has come to enjoy living in Raleigh. The Wait Is Over Former Colorado State Quarterback Pete Thomas Enters The Fall Competing For The Pack's Starting Job Thomas was recruited by NC State out of high school, but the Wolfpack subsequently went with Waynesville (N.C.) Tuscola Senior High quarterback Tyler Brosius, who decommitted from Virginia and headed to Raleigh. Brosius didn't pan out and ended up transferring to a junior college to play baseball, and Thomas then filled that void when he transferred to NCSU. Thomas enrolled in the summer of 2012, eager to learn from starting quarterback Mike Glennon and offensive coordinator Dana Bible. Thomas made strides of improvement during his year on the scout team, but then more bad news came his way. NC State fired head coach Tom O'Brien and the majority of his staff, including Bible, and Thomas was put in the same position all over again. Ironically, both Fairchild and O'Brien ended up at Virginia under Cavaliers head coach Mike London. Thomas isn't the type of mobile quarterback new offensive coordinator Matt Canada and head coach Dave Doeren have utilized in the past, and depth at the position was low. Thomas, who started 21 games in two years at Colorado State, completed 15 of 26 passes for 168 yards in the Kay Yow Spring Game in April. photo by ken martin "I'm excited to be here and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," Thomas said. "I really like these coaches and I'm excited to finally get started." Thomas watched the Mid-American Conference title game between Northern Illinois and Kent State during the coaching search, with both head coaches rumored to be in the mix for the Wolfpack job. Doeren and the Huskies defeated Darrell Hazell and Kent State 44-37 to win the MAC championship. Purdue eventually hired Hazell. Thomas also added that he watched Wisconsin play last year, not knowing he'd be learning from Canada. "I watched [NIU] and they were fun to watch and a good team last year," Thomas said. "Obviously, we didn't know at the time, but once Coach Doeren got announced, we all were pretty excited." Canada has a long history of building his offense around whoever the quarterback is. Canada will use the Wildcat if he has a less than mobile quarterback for instance, which Wisconsin ran last year. Mitchell and Stocker bring a running dimension, whereas Thomas has 21 starts under his belt. "I like Coach Canada a lot because he's young, energetic, and knows his stuff," Thomas said. "It's a different kind of offense, but we are all excited. They adapt to what their players can do. Different quarterbacks and players bring something different to the table. "Running is not my strength, but I'm definitely trying to improve on that. Coach Canada's system is proven that it works. It worked at Indiana and two different places [NIU and Wisconsin]." Thomas embraced the leadership responsibilities this spring. He hasn't played a game yet with his new teammates, but showed good command of the offense and a capable right arm during the Kay Yow Spring Game. He went 15-of-26 passing for 168 yards. "I think all quarterbacks should be leaders and it's a leadership position," Thomas said. "I think we've all done a pretty good job of being a leader in the offseason." The NC State coaches praised Thomas for getting better each week of spring practice. "We take pride in having guys come in [and learn it]," Canada said. "We aren't trying to trick anybody with our system. We want to trick the people we play. We are very systematic with what we do. "I think Pete picked it up very well. Certainly, we are building to his strengths. This spring was about, 'Here are the plays we think we are going to run. Here are the things we think we are going to do.'" Thomas essentially did a 180 within a year's time from the spring of 2012 to 2013. Thomas spent his second semester of his sophomore year in 2012 working out with quarterback guru George Whitfield, before he arrived at NC State. "I was living at home and just training and not taking classes," Thomas said. "I got better, but it's nice to be around the guys and in the locker room with them and at meetings." Thomas returned to live action in the fall of 2012, but could only watch on game day. He tried to learn what he was capable of achieving while playing against the Wolfpack's first-team defense. Thomas' favorite team to emulate in practice also runs an offense similar to what the new staff has brought in. "Clemson's offense was pretty cool, with being Tajh Boyd at quarterback," Thomas said. "It was a lot of fun, but you can work on yourself to get better. You can play around with different reads and see what works against different defenses." Thomas is now looking forward to running NC State's system next fall. "All the base stuff is the same, but it's just different terminology," Thomas said in comparing the new system to the previous two he learned. "You can tell when this offense is working and quarterbacks are throwing in rhythm, it can be a very successful offense." ■ July 2013 ■ 47 46-47.Pete Thomas.indd 47 7/1/13 9:30 AM