The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/535299
160 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER S tanding on the scorching artificial field turf of the Dail Practice Fields adjacent to Carter-Finley Stadium, NC State fifth- year senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett was learning as much as he was teaching. As a counselor at the Russell Wilson Passing Academy for the second consecu- tive year, Brissett had a different take this time around than he did the first time. This year, he had a body of work that Wilson, soon to be one of the NFL's highest-paid players and the only former ACC quar- terback to ever win a Super Bowl, could evaluate and comment on. And that made Brissett beam. "He just told me that I've done some good things," Brissett said. "He said that you can never be too perfect on mechanics, to make sure I'm still going through all my fundamentals of being a quarterback. "For me, just to have a player of his magnitude say, 'I'm watching you,' is a blessing." That's one of the advantages of NC State having three former starting quarterbacks now playing in the NFL: the opportunity to learn from the best. Last year, in his first season under center for the Wolfpack, Brissett caught the atten- tion of plenty of folks, in Raleigh, around the ACC and all the way out in Seattle, San Diego and Tampa where Wilson, Philip Rivers and Mike Glennon now play. He brought his basketball size and foot- work to the backfield, showed off his mo- bility and passing strength, and guided the Wolfpack's offense in a turnaround season in which the team almost tripled its 2013 win total, won four of its last five games and defeated Central Florida in the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl. Brissett threw 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions. His 3,135 yards of to- tal offense was the seventh-best mark in school history and was third in the ACC. He set a school record for a quarterback with 167 rushing yards in a 35-7 win over North Carolina. In all, it was a good debut in red for the transfer from Florida and exactly what head coach Dave Doeren expected. Brissett's lessons mirrors a larger mes- sage for the entire Wolfpack team in 2015: last season was good, but attention to detail will be critical if it wants to improve on last year's 8-5 (3-5 ACC) finish, which matched the second-best improvement of any team in a Power Five conference last season. Expectations are different now, for both the quarterback and the team. After failing to win a conference game in Doeren's first year, when there was no reliable starter under center, the Pack won three contests against league opponents, including a pair of wins over two in-state rivals in the fi- nal two games of the regular season. That means the Wolfpack takes an ACC winning streak into the season. That's the kind of upward progress Do- eren wants. "I talked to the team right after the sea- son and told them, 'Look, I just want to be better than we were [last] year,'" Doeren said. "How much better? We'll see." The Wolfpack is not without question marks. It's still relatively young, with just 10 seniors. That will also limit the size of next year's recruiting class, Doeren's fourth, which means evaluation is critical. The receiving corps is depleted of vet- eran players, but well stocked with tal- ent. The defensive line has to replace three starters. Overall, though, the outlook is positive, a message Doeren enjoyed sharing during an intense weeklong tour of the state on the two-stops-a-day Wolfpack Club Caravan. "I feel a lot of excitement from the fans," Doeren said afterwards. "They are happy with what we did at the end of the season last year and looking forward to seeing where we move on from that." Doeren certainly got support in the off- season, with the recent completion of the Close-King Indoor Practice Facility, a raise and incentive-laden contract extension and a well-regarded recruiting class that should have an immediate impact on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Unlike last season, which the team en- tered carrying an eight-game losing streak, this year's group has positive momentum thanks to its strong finish. "We were better than we were a year ago, and that's kind of my deal, to keep improving as a program," Doeren said. "If we go from eight wins to nine or even to 10, that's progress." Like Wilson reviewing Brissett's num- bers and accomplishments, it's certainly a body of work to build on. ■ ■ PACK PERSPECTIVE Jacoby Brissett Helps Put Wolfpack On Upward Trajectory Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker. You may contact him at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. Brissett helped engineer the Pack's five-win improvement last season, the second-best turn- around of any team in a Power Five conference in 2014. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN The Wolfpacker is a publication of: Coman Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 2331, Durham, N.C. 27702. Offices are located at 324 Blackwell St., Ste. 1020, Durham, N.C. 27701. (919) 688-0218. The Wolfpacker (ISSN 0273-8945) is published bimonthly. A subscription is $39.95 for six issues. For advertising or subscription information, call (800) 421-7751 or write The Wolfpacker. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Wolfpacker, P.O. Box 2331, Durham, N.C. 27702. Periodical mail postage paid at Durham, N.C. 27702 and additional offices. First-class postage is $14 extra per year. E-mail: thewolfpacker@comanpub.com • Web site: www.thewolfpacker.com