The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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TRACKING THE PACK 16 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Scott Smith may not be the most recogniz- able name in the pantheon of accomplished NC State quarterbacks, but the productive op- tion runner from College Park, Ga., is the most recent signal-caller to lead the Wolfpack to an Atlantic Coast Conference championship. Smith, 68, died at his home in Roswell, Ga., on Sept. 19, according to family and teammates. He still carries an important distinction in school history: He's the only quarterback to lead his team to a league championship while leading the squad as the team's top scorer. As a senior in 1979, Smith set the program's single-season record for rushing touchdowns (13) by a quarterback for a hard-luck team that finished 7-4 overall and 5-1 in the ACC but did not play in a postseason bowl game. Smith threw only 5 touchdown passes for head coach Bo Rein's run-first offense, but finished with a then-school record of 18 touchdowns accounted for. While that no longer ranks in the top 25 of today's school marks, long passed by pass- oriented teams of the last 50 years, it was a big achievement for an offensive system that relied almost exclusively on running the ball throughout the 1970s under head coaches Earle Edwards, Al Michaels, Lou Holtz and Rein. "Scott was the perfect guy to come in after [predecessor] Johnny Evans [as a first-year starter in 1978]," said Jim Ritcher, the Outland Trophy-winning center and leader of one of the best offensive lines in school history. "Both of them were just fast, hard-nosed runners in the veer offense. He was a huge reason we won that championship in 1979." Smith was an undersized player in the Wolf- pack backfield, which had relied for four sea- sons on all-time leading rusher Ted Brown, who finished his career in 1978. Heading into the next season, Wolfpack fans wondered whether the team could replace Brown's pro- ductivity, which accounted for 41 percent of the team's total offense to help the Pack go 9-3 and defeat Pittsburgh in the Tangerine Bowl. Smith had two capable receivers, future NFL players Mike Quick at wideout and Lin Daw- son at tight end, and a bevy of running backs, including tailbacks Dwight Sullivan and Billy Ray Vickers, not to mention one of the best offensive lines in school history with Ritcher at center, guards Chris Dieterich and Chuck Stone and tackles Chris Koehne and Chris Carr. In just the second game of the season, Smith hit Quick on a 69-yard pass against Virginia for the first touchdown of the wide receiver's career. It was not, however, a hint at things to come. Smith completed 75 of just 138 passes on the year. Smith and his running back committee of Sullivan, Vickers and Wayne McLean actu- ally averaged more rushing yards per game (226.9) in 1979 than Brown and all of his understudies did the year before (224.6). "He was a smart kid, a good athlete and a real competitor," Ritcher said. "He had a good offensive line and some pretty good running backs, but he was still a big reason we won. I admired his toughness." After leaving NC State, Smith returned to his home state of Georgia, where he re- mained until his death. — Tim Peeler Remembering ACC Champion Quarterback Scott Smith Phil Spence, NC State's 1974 'Missing Piece' Smith led NC State to its most recent ACC football championship in 1979, rushing for 13 touchdowns — still the school's single-season record for a quarterback. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS Phil Spence was a rarity in the modern history of NC State men's basketball — a local player recruited by rival schools who opted to stay home to play and succeed for the Wolfpack. He followed in the footsteps of Tom Bur- leson and David Thompson as players re- cruited, among others, by North Carolina's Dean Smith who ultimately chose to play for Wolfpack head coach Norman Sloan instead. It was Smith, Spence said, who initially sug- gested that the Raleigh native and Broughton High School All-American attend Vincennes (Ind.) Junior College, the same institution where Tar Heel All-American Bob McAdoo got his academics in order and played two years before heading to Chapel Hill. Spence planned to follow the same path before he befriended Burleson, Thompson and Sloan at the tryouts for the 1973 World University Games in Buffalo, N.Y. It was just after the Wolfpack finished its perfect 27-0 season, and Sloan was looking for two junior college transfers to replace guard Joe Caf- ferky and forward Rick Holdt to go with the trio of Thompson, Burleson and point guard Monte Towe. He found one in junior college player Moe Rivers and the other in Spence. "They convinced me I was the missing piece they needed to win the championship," said Spence, who fit comfortably into the role of sixth man on a dominating team that went on to win the 1974 NCAA championship, providing strong defense and rebounding. "It was the best decision I ever made in my life. "Winning the NCAA championship, aside from getting married and becoming a father, was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Once you are a champion, no one can ever take that from you." In three seasons, Spence scored 986 points and grabbed 742 rebounds. After the 1973-74 championship season, State posted a 22-6 mark in 1974-75 and declined an NIT bid. Then, as the lone remaining member of the NCAA title team in 1975-76, Spence led the Pack back to the national spotlight with a 21-9 season that ended with a third-place finish in the NIT. Spence not only graduated from NC State with a degree in vocational industrial educa- tion, but he became a beloved coach at local high schools and NC Central University and a diehard participant in every reunion of the championship team until his death on Sept. 21 in his hometown. He was 72. Spence's funeral in Raleigh was a testament to his influence across multiple college and neigh- borhood communities. Thompson and Burle- son were there to pay respects to their former teammate, as were other members and family from the Wolfpack's championship squad. So were former North Carolina basketball star Phil Ford and former Tar Heel football star and NFL All-Pro defensive end Greg Ellis, who played basketball for Spence at East Wake High School. "Phil was such a wonderful person, wonder- ful husband, wonderful father and wonderful friend," said Towe, who played two seasons with Spence. "We will all miss him terribly. "He was such an impressive man who was good at so many things. Fortunately for Wolf- pack fans and his teammates, one of the things he was really good at was basketball." — Tim Peeler Spence provided key defense and rebounding off the bench for NC State's 1974 national champions. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS