The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/672211
78 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER P hilip Rivers has made a family, a career and a life in Southern California, now having spent more time in San Diego than any place he's ever lived. It was sure nice, however, to see him come home to Raleigh in April for the annual Kay Yow Spring Game and the popular for- mer players' reunion that precedes it. He's been back surprisingly few times to the place where he became a football hero. Well, maybe not so surprisingly given that the person who originally recruited him, Mike O'Cain, was three head football coaches, a dozen offensive coordinators and some 500 football players ago. Still, in the minds of Wolfpack fans old and young, the 12-year veteran NFL quarterback will always be the exceed- ingly mature young kid who showed up with the new millennium in January 2000, exactly at a time when the pro- gram needed leadership and excitement. He then proceeded to start an NCAA-re- cord 51 consecutive games under center for head coach Chuck Amato, leading the Wolf- pack to four consecutive bowl games. He, Amato and teammates, like favorite target Jer- richo Cotchery, energized the fan base and fi- nally brought about the long-needed improve- ments to Carter-Finley Stadium. Over the last 15 years, the stadium has had more than $200 million in additions, renovations and enhancements, from the Murphy Center, the Dail Family Practice Fields, Vaughn Towers to the recently completed King-Close Indoor Practice Facility that opened last summer. "It still feels like home," Rivers said the day the day before the spring game. And it should. Raleigh is the place where he went to school, earned a degree, got mar- ried and had his first child. Seven more kids later, he's rooted in San Diego, but he'll al- ways be from Alabama and NC State. With eight children, Rivers doesn't travel much outside the football season. But this year's family spring break vacation in Florida happened to coincide with the annual spring game and the reunion festivities that began under Tom O'Brien in 2007. It was the first time since Chuck Amato — the coach who maintained O'Cain's original offer to Rivers, thanks to the diligent recruitment of assistant Joe Pate — was let go that Rivers could get back to his alma mater for the reunion. "I was so close, and I couldn't pass on getting up here," Rivers said. "I haven't been around much, but I'm always pulling for the Pack. NC State will always be a special place for me and my family." Only his oldest daughter, Hallie, has spent much time in Raleigh. She came with him in 2012 when he delivered the spring com- mencement address at PNC Arena. But it's his oldest son, Gunner, who knows all about the Wolfpack and how his dad became a first- round pick in the NFL Draft here in Raleigh. "All 51 games and those four years … gosh, I wouldn't have traded it for anything," Rivers said. Rivers spent time with the team, giving a fiery pregame speech in the locker room, not far from where he used to don his now-retired No. 17 jersey. He threw in a couple of pro- longed "Daaaad-gums," a couple more "Gos- hes," but his message was full of as much passion as non-profanity would allow. "At NC State, you play hard, you play tough, you play together," Rivers told them. "You gotta be tough. The Wolfpack ain't for soft people. "Can I play today coach? Dad-gum, it just gets me fired up to be here." It was the first time Rivers met fourth-year head coach Dave Doeren in person. They have chatted on the phone, and the coach makes sure Rivers is well supplied with the latest in Wolfpack gear. "I think he's doing a good job," Rivers said. "I'm so far out there, and our seasons are the same. … His track record and what he's done at places before here has been really good. "He seems to fit the mold of what a NC State guy is all about." Rivers, trim and tanned, looked like he should be in the seats listening to some older player telling him to appreciate his opportuni- ties instead of being the guy who was saying it. But reality hit home pretty hard when he remembered that two of his former NCSU teammates, Clayton White and Danto- nio Burnette, are now part of the Wolf- pack staff, as safeties coach/co-special teams coordinator and head strength and conditioning coach, respectively. "Gosh, it just shows how time flies," Rivers said. At the age of 34, the six-time Pro Bowl selection might not have long be- fore he hits the two-minute warning of his career. He's been exceptional even though the Chargers have advanced no farther than the AFC Championship Game in five playoff appearances with Rivers at the helm. Still, his overall numbers are better than first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. Like Torry Holt, Rivers could be- come the first former Wolfpack player to be enshrined at the Canton, Ohio, hall. Prior to the 2015 season, Rivers signed an $84 million contract extension through the 2019 season. By then, he'll be the same age as Peyton Man- ning was when he announced his retirement following the 2016 Super Bowl. When his NFL days finally do end, maybe Rivers won't be a stranger at alumni reunions or at Wolfpack football games. He'll finally have a chance to be officially inducted into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame, to which he was elected several years ago but has been unable to attend an induction ceremony. The new home for that hall of fame will open this fall when renovations at Reynolds Coliseum are completed. For now, though, Rivers is back in Southern California. Who knows if the Chargers — who are exploring the possibilities of a new home up the coast in Los Angeles — will still be in San Diego when his career is over? But it would be remarkable if college football's most du- rable quarterback could finish out his career by playing for the same team. And then he can come home more of- ten. ■ ■ PACK PERSPECTIVE A Happy Homecoming Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker. You may contact him at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. 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 Former NC State quarterback Philip Rivers (gray shirt) was able to attend the former players' reunion and Kay Yow Spring Game. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN