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NC State OC Tim Beck knows what he wants in quarterback

New NC State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck understands what he’s looking for in a signal caller, whether it’s trying to find one for the Wolfpack this spring and summer, or recruiting the future leader of the offense.

NC State, who begins spring practice Thursday, will be installing a new offense under Beck, who know what he’s looking for in a quarterback, whether on the current roster or in the class of 2021.

"Great leader, tough, those are the biggest two [traits]," Beck said. "I talked to a lot of them today and yesterday [at NC State] about what I'm looking for. I said, 'What do you think I'm looking for? What do you think will be the starter coming out of the spring because of this?

"They were all wrong and none of them got it. The guy who wins the job is the guy the team rallies around and he can be the most consistent quarterback and the team plays for him."

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NC State Wolfpack offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck starts spring practice Thursday.
NC State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck starts spring practice Thursday. (Jacey Zembal/TheWolfpacker.com)

Beck has been around future NFL quarterbacks at Nebraska, Ohio State and Texas, but harkens back to a proverbial “sleeper” in one of his more unique recruitments. Beck arrived at Kansas in 2005 and believed in prep quarterback Todd Reesing from Lake Travis High in Austin, Texas, but he had to get others in the Jayhawks coaching food chain to believe in the class of 2006 prospect.

Rivals.com had him eventually ranked as the No. 16 dual-threat quarterback in the country and a three-star prospect. The 5-foot-11 Reesing went on to throw for 11,194 passing yards, 90 touchdowns and 33 interceptions while starting three of his four years at Kansas.

“That was a funny story on how we got Todd Reesing,” Beck said. “I was recruiting Texas and I saw his tape and I was like, ‘This guy is a really good player.’ I saw him and he wasn’t real big and he was at this little school outside Austin with dirt roads. There was nothing there.”

Beck went to the Kansas offensive coordinator, but the questions about his height lingered that summer. Reesing’s brother was playing baseball at Purdue and he stopped by Kansas while on a road trip for an unofficial visit.

“We hadn’t offered him,” said Beck about the timing of that trip. “I thought he was really dynamic. [KU head] Coach [Mark] Mangino happened to be in the office. He was like, ‘What are you doing here?” I told him I was waiting for this kid. I told him he was a quarterback from Texas. He goes, ‘Is he any good?’ I said, ‘I think so.’”

Mangino and Beck started watching the tape of Reesing, and the head coach started to get excited but he wanted to size up the prospect. The goal for the unofficial visit was for Mangino to see Reesing stand up and gauge his height.

“Mangino goes, ‘If he is tall enough, I’m offering,’” Mangino said. “The rest is history. The funny part is that Todd comes in with his family and they sit down and we are all talking. Coach Mangino walks in. I’m just thinking, ‘Stand up, so he can see you. How can I get him to stand up.’ All of a sudden Mangino offers him without him standing up.”

Beck grew to love Reesing’s competitive spirit. Reesing would put up video game numbers his senior year at Lake Travis High, but lament the one or two mistakes he thought he made in the prep games.

Beck always had a reminder of the impact Reesing had made in his coaching career, including a visual reminder the last years he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas. The job of his quarterbacks is simply get the ball out quickly and distribute the football.

“Now, when I was at Texas, I lived across the street from his school,” Beck said. “It just circles back and somehow you cross paths with everything.”

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