The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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156 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ PACK PROS Former Wolfpackers In The NFL Name Pos. Years In NFL Current Team David Amerson CB 1 Washington Redskins Started eight times and played in every game with 48 tackles, two interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) and 10 passes broken up. Brandan Bishop S 1 Minnesota Vikings Spent his rookie year on the Vikings' practice squad. Andre Brown RB 4 Houston Texans Started all eight games he appeared in for the New York Giants and rushed for 492 yards and three touchdowns, and also made 20 catches for 103 yards. Audie Cole LB 2 Minnesota Vikings Started the final five games and appeared in 13 total, and logged 45 tackles with one sack. Jerricho Cotchery WR 10 Carolina Panthers Played in every game with six starts for Pittsburgh, logging 46 catches for 602 yards and a career-best 10 touchdowns. The catch and yardage totals were his best since 2009. Mike Glennon QB 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Started all 13 games he saw action in and finished 247-of-416 passing (59.4 percent) for 2,608 yards with 19 touchdowns against nine interceptions for a rating of 83.9. T.J. Graham WR 2 Buffalo Bills Set career highs with 361 receiving yards and two touchdowns, which came on 23 catches; he started six times in 16 appearances. Steven Hauschka K 6 Seattle Seahawks Shattered his previous career bests with 33 made field goals, a 94.3 percent success rate (which ranked second in the NFL), 44 extra points and a franchise-record 143 points scored. He had the fourth-most points in the regular season, and then was perfect on playoff field goals and extra points. Nate Irving LB 3 Denver Broncos Started four times and saw action in 15 games en route to totaling 41 tackles and a sack. He also started all three games in the playoffs, including the Super Bowl, and notched nine tackles with one pass broken up. Dontae Johnson CB R San Francisco 49ers Was selected with the 29th pick of the fourth round, 129th overall, by the 49ers and head coach Jim Harbaugh, who offered him a scholarship to Stanford coming out of high school. Markus Kuhn DT 2 New York Giants Returned from a torn ACL suffered in 2012 to play in five games and record one tackle. Ted Larsen OL 4 Arizona Cardinals Saw action in every game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and started four times along the interior. Name Pos. Years In NFL Current Team Manny Lawson LB 8 Buffalo Bills Started all 15 games he played in and finished with a career-best 73 tackles, in addition to four sacks, an interception and one forced fumble. Terrell Manning LB 2 New York Giants Signed with the Giants in June after bouncing around to a few teams during the offsea - son. He appeared in one game with San Diego in 2013. Philip Rivers QB 10 San Diego Chargers Had a vintage Rivers campaign, completing a career-high 69.5 percent of his passes for 4,478 yards with 32 touchdowns against 11 interceptions for a rating of 105.5. He was even better in the playoffs, when he threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns against no picks for a rating of 116.9. J.R. Sweezy G 2 Seattle Seahawks Started all 15 games he played in during the regular season and also opened all three playoff contests. Stephen Tulloch LB 8 Detroit Lions Set a career high with 135 tackles, including 93 solo stops, and also notched 3.5 sacks, his most ever for a single season. His tackle total was tied for eighth in the league. Mario Williams DE 8 Buffalo Bills Put up 13 sacks — his highest total since 2007 — to go along with 38 tackles, three passes broken up and a forced fumble in 16 starts. Adrian Wilson S 13 Chicago Bears Signed with the Bears in June after missing last season due to injury; he is one of four defensive backs in NFL history with at least 25 interceptions and more than 25 sacks. C.J. Wilson CB 1 Chicago Bears Saw action in a pair of games and logged one tackle, and also spent time on the Bears' practice squad. Russell Wilson QB 2 Seattle Seahawks Led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title, and finished the year 257-of-407 passing (63.1 percent) for 3,357 yards with 26 touchdowns against nine interceptions for a rating of 101.2. He also rushed for 539 yards and a score. He threw for 524 yards and three touchdowns in three playoff games for a passer rating of 101.6. Earl Wolff S 1 Philadelphia Eagles Played in 11 games with six starts before his season ended due to an injury. He notched 45 tackles, five passes defended and an interception as a rookie. Willie Young DE 4 Chicago Bears Enjoyed a career year — with 15 starts, 47 tackles, three sacks and five pass deflections — which led to his free agent deal with the Bears. What They're Saying What people around the NFL are saying about former Wolfpackers. • "That is a player who is quick, fast and explosive, and the Eagles only have a handful of those kinds of players on their defense. Wolff also showed that he can come up from his safety spot and deliver a pop. For Wolff, there are no questions about his physical ability. It's all about whether or not he can learn the nuances of the safety position at the NFL level … and whether or not he can stay healthy." — Philly.com writer Jimmy Kempski on why safety Earl Wolff is a breakout candidate for the Eagles' defense • "I think among the 31 NFL quarterbacks who don't throw me passes, Russell Wilson is the best. He's got all the tools; ability to keep the play alive, and he's very accurate with a strong arm. He exemplifies what it takes to be a winning QB in the NFL. If you asked me to choose based on record and experience, I'll take Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but in terms of right now, my pick is Wilson." — San Francisco 49ers' tight end Vernon Davis (MMQB.com) • "J.R. Sweezy is going to be a Hall of Famer, I re- ally believe that. I'm being serious even though I laugh and smirk when I say that, because I think about a guy who played defense his whole life and transitioned over to the offensive side of the ball, and he's protecting me. He's as good as it gets … I know when opponents play him, they truly believe he's one of the best guards there is. He's still learn- ing — that's the great part about it — and I'm still learning, too." — Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson on former college teammate and Seattle offensive lineman J.R. Sweezy (TheWolfpacker.com) • "He's very businesslike. He's very forward, if you talk with him and listen to him, in terms of telling you what he thinks. And he's got a lot of good leadership qualities that you look for. Watching him put his arm around the young guys and talking to them, that's been impres- sive." — Panthers head coach Ron Rivera on new wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery (The Charlotte Observer) • "Right now, we're going to lock him in and put him at corner, and let him go to work. Once again, with young guys, the more focused you can get them in one area, at least early on, the better chance they have of developing. … He's 6-2, 200, runs a 4.44. He's played safety, played corner, [he's] intelligent, a very smart football player and an A-plus-plus character guy." — San Francisco 49ers' general manager Trent Balke on rookie Dontae Johnson (NJ.com) • "He's got really good pursuit or on-the-hunt in- stincts to get around the ball and get involved in plays as both a pass rusher and a run defender. He's really an old-school player. He's a tough, physical player who has really learned to use his length." — Bears' general manager Phil Emery after the team signed defensive end Willie Young as a free agent (ChicagoBears.com) * Undrafted rookie free agents: DE Carlos Gray, Green Bay Packers; WR Quintin Payton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; and TE Asa Watson, New England Patriots 156-158.Pack Pros.indd 156 6/26/14 3:35 PM