The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546417
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 ■ 39 the booth, learning parts of a different career in sports. And now it's paying off, putting the degree in communications he earned in just three years at NC State to good use. He's already been analyzing the teams and players who, until just last season, he was playing with and against. He's got curly hair, a well-trimmed beard and new designer eyeglasses, and he's already been on the set of "NFL Today" remembering his great career while also making predictions about the coming season. "Russell was so driven to play pro- fessional football and professional baseball, I don't even remember him talking about going into broadcast- ing," recalled Avent, who first recruited Wilson to Raleigh and shared him with football coaches Chuck Amato and Tom O'Brien. "There's no doubt, however, that he was born to do that. "He's such an eloquent speaker, so well versed in so many things." NC State fans — even those who hold a grudge against Wilson for spending his final college football season at Wis- consin — would never doubt that Wil- son could be successful at whatever en- deavor he pursued, a sentiment Amato and O'Brien often repeated. Yet there was a rift between Wilson's football and baseball pursuits while at State, forcing him to play his final sea- son elsewhere. Does it all need to be repeated? Probably not. "In an era when players bound around from team to team to team, I think it's absolutely silly that anyone would hold that against Russell," Avent said. "This is a guy who gave everything to NC State and because one sport was going to interfere with another, he chose to go in a different direction. He was kind of forced into making that decision for himself. "I will always focus on the posi- tive things Russell did for NC State Uni- versity. He will forever be one of those athletes that I am proud to say I coached during my time here." Proving Them Wrong Told time after time that at 5-foot- 105/8, he was too short to have any real Wilson, a Richmond, Va., native, started 36 games in his three seasons with the Wolfpack, throwing for 8,545 yards and 76 touchdowns before spending his final year at Wisconsin. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN " There will be moments in life when people tell you that you are too small, too different or just simply not enough. Don't let others cast their fears of greatness on you. Keep your faith strong, keep your heart strong, wake up every day believing you can do great things. Because greatness is always within you." Wilson