NC State lands Jacoby Brissett
Former Florida quarterback Jacoby Brissett will be transferring to NC State with two years of eligibility remaining.
Brissett, which was first broken by Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post and confirmed by The Wolfpacker, picked the Wolfpack over West Virginia. The former West Palm Beach (Fla.) Dwyer High standout will have to sit out next season per NCAA rules.
Brissett visited NC State last Friday and Saturday, and then followed with a trip to West Virginia. New Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren previously recruited Brissett out of West Palm Beach (Fla.) Dwyer when he was an assistant coach at Wisconsin. Doeren eventually landed as the head coach at Northern Illinois in Dec. 2010, and Brissett picked Florida over Miami and Wisconsin, among others.
Florida landed Rivals.com four-star quarterbacks Brissett and Jeff Driskel in the class of 2011. Rivals.com ranked Brissett the No. 75 overall player in the country, No. 3 dual-threat quarterback and No. 18 overall in Florida in the class of 2011. Brissett, who also was a standout basketball player for Dwyer in the backcourt, earned a spot in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Rivals.com recruiting analyst Mike Farrell liked the long-term potential of Brissett, and believes he'll be a great pickup for the Wolfpack.
"I loved him and thought he was better than Driskel," Farrell said. "The problem with Jacoby was that he was a basketball player and football, and he played both, and he never concentrated on football in my opinion [at Dwyer]. He gave it up when he went to Florida, but he should have given up his sophomore year.
"I think his upside is outstanding. He is one of those guys at the Army game that he'd be next in line as a big rangy quarterback that could throw the ball or run the ball."
Farrell also felt Brissett would work well in the spread.
"He competed against a guy at Florida, who was even more athletic, but Driskel is not a good passer," Farrell said. "They had to pick one. I think Jacoby Brissett is a home run, potentially [for NC State]."
The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Brissett and Driskel competed as true freshmen to back up starter John Brantley in 2011. Brissett ended up going 18 of 39 for 206 yards and two touchdowns, while appearing in eight games.
Brissett made his first career start at then No. 1 LSU and at No. 24 Auburn in back-to-back weeks his freshman season, with his first career touchdown pass going 65 yards to Andre Debose vs. the Tigers.
Brantley moved on and Brissett and Driskel competed during the spring and fall, with the latter winning the job. Driskel went to pass for 1,646 yards and 12 touchdowns, and rushed for 408 yards four scores for the 11-2 Gators.
Brissett ended up going 23 of 35 for 249 yards and a touchdown, and rushed seven times for minus-four yards and a score this past fall.
Brissett earned the start against Jacksonville State on Nov. 17, and went 14 of 22 for 154 yards in a 23-0 victory. He appeared in three games for the Gators.
Brissett will be competing with current NC State redshirt junior quarterback Pete Thomas, who sat out this past season after transferring in from Colorado State, and freshman Manny Stocker. Thomas would be a senior and Stocker a junior when Brissett becomes eligible. The Wolfpack are also looking to add a quarterback in the class of 2013.