The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/406183
110 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Wolfpack Has Long Tradition Of Top-Level Quarterbacks NC State football has sent five quarterbacks to the NFL and produced three other first-team and three other second-team All-ACC signal-callers. Ja- coby Brissett has two seasons to make his case to be among the top players at that position in school history. Only three of the 11 award-winning quarterbacks — Dave Buckey, Jamie Barnette and Philip Rivers — had four years in the lineup to make their marks. Roman Gabriel, Jim Rossi and Bruce Shaw com - peted when college players had only three years of eligibility. Buckey, a part-time starter for two years, played 44 career games, while Rivers set an NCAA record with 51 consecutive starts throughout his career. Erik Kramer, like Brissett, was a transfer into the program who had just two years of eligibility after arriving from Pierce College in Los Angeles. Shane Montgomery, Terry Jordan and Mike Glennon all bided their time before becoming the starting quar - terback as upperclassmen. Russell Wilson, of course, started as a redshirt freshman, earning first-team All-ACC honors, and played three seasons before going to Wisconsin. So, while Brissett's stay at NC State will be short, he does have time to make the most of a renewed opportunity. Here's a look at NC State's top quarterbacks and their path to success. NFL Quarterbacks Roman Gabriel — A two-time All-American when offenses were still mostly grounded, the burly Filipino-American from Wilmington became the modern standard for a passing quarterback, spend - ing 16 seasons in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. However, he played just 30 games in his three seasons at NC State and only once had a winning record with the Wolfpack, a 6-3-1 mark and a second-place finish in the ACC as a junior in 1960. He was named ACC Player of the Year in both 1960 and '61. Erik Kramer — Like Brissett, Kramer was a transfer into the program who had two years of eligibility. He played his first season under head coach Tom Reed, but became the 1986 ACC Player of the Year in his second season under first-year head coach Dick Sheridan. Kramer was not taken in the 1987 NFL Draft, but saw action with the Atlanta Falcons as a replacement player that season. In 13 NFL seasons, he played for the Falcons, Detroit Li - ons, Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers. He also spent three seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. Philip Rivers — Rivers never missed a start and was rarely ever out of the lineup during his four- year career under head coach Chuck Amato. He set school and ACC records for passing yards, comple- tion percentage and touchdown responsibility, and finished his career second on the NCAA all-time passing list. He's now in his 11th season with the San Diego Chargers and is having one of the best statisti- cal seasons of his NFL career. Russell Wilson — Wilson won a five-player com- "I kind of played all over the floor in basketball," Brissett said. "It helped me in seeing the whole court and seeing the whole field. I learned to anticipate things. Some- times you have to get the big man the ball and sometimes you have to get it to the shooter. "It's the same way on the football field. Sometime you need to get it to the tight end, and sometimes you have to get it to the slot receiver. And sometimes, in either sport, if it takes too long, I can just take it to the hole myself." Brissett hopes the Wolfpack can bounce back after its off week and put a success- ful spin to his first season as a starter. He's not going to try to do everything himself. He just wants to sit back and let the rest of the season develop while the team travels to Syracuse, hosts Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, and then ends the regular-season with a Thanksgiving weekend trip to North Carolina. "We have a great opportunity to end the season on the right foot," he said. "We had the chance to sit back and evaluate for a week, get some guys back after being banged up and to improve as a team. "No question that we've had some set- backs, but we have had some young players step up and get some experience they need to help us get through the season." And no one will have to make sure he doesn't sneak off from practice. "I'm playing hard to the end," Brissett said. ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker. You may contact him at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. TEAM MARY EDNA WILLIAMS Helping Wolfpackers Move For Over 28 Years Mary Edna Williams Class of 1978 • Broker Office: 919-256-4201 • Cell: 919-880-0071 410 Glenwood Ave., Ste. 310 Raleigh, NC 27603 maryednaw@remax.net www.maryednawilliams.com Each office independently owned and operated When Brissett transferred from Florida, he picked the Pack because he was familiar with newly named head coach Dave Doeren and thought his talents meshed well with the hurry-up offense Doeren planned to use at NC State. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN