The Wolfpacker has been enumerating its choices for the top 10 stories of the past decade that was in NC State athletics.
Related links:
No. 10 - The hiring of Kevin Keatts
No. 9 - Winning the rivalry in football
No. 8 - The renovation of Reynolds
No. 7 – The rise of women’s hoops
No. 6 – The 2014 class leads football
No. 5 - The rise of the non-revenues
No. 4 – Rise and fall of Mark Gottfried
No. 3 – The College World Series
The countdown continues with No. 2:
No. 2: Russell Wilson and QBU
While much of the world was watching the British royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on April 29, 2011, NC State football fans were watching the separation of Russell Wilson and the Pack.
That was the day that NC State sent out a press release announcing that Wilson had been granted his release from the Wolfpack.
Wilson was an unusual case. He was a star quarterback at NC State, becoming the first freshman in league history to be named first-team All-ACC and a potential threat for some of Philip Rivers’ vaunted school passing records.
But the reason Wilson came to NC State was the Wolfpack was the one program that offered the former two-star recruit a chance to play both football and baseball in college. Duke also recruited him in football, but those were his best options.
Wilson had mixed success on the diamond at NC State, but each year he was allowed to carve out a little more time to the sport. After having to defer to baseball in the spring of his redshirt freshman year, then-head coach Tom O’Brien allowed Wilson to split time between baseball and football the following year.
Then in the spring of 2010, O’Brien let Wilson focus solely on baseball. That following fall, NC State had its best team under O’Brien, needing a win at Maryland in the regular season finale to clinch a bid to the ACC title game. Instead, it lost to the Terps, but regrouped to beat a ranked West Virginia squad in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando and finish the year rated in the top 25.
Before the 2010 season began however, the Colorado Rockies threw a curveball into the equation when it chose Wilson in the fourth round of the MLB Draft. What happened between the bowl win and April 29 is truly only known between Wilson and O’Brien and a select few who know the entire story from both sides.
What is clear however is that O’Brien did not want Wilson playing minor league baseball that spring. When Wilson did so, O'Brien moved on to Mike Glennon as his new starter. Wilson’s stint with the Rockies did not go well, and he chose to pursue another year of college football. O'Brien chose to let Wilson walk, and Wilson landed at Wisconsin. He led the Badgers to the Rose Bowl and became a NFL superstar.
Who claims Wilson has become the subject of much debate. Wilson himself diplomatically says he’s from a “Whole Pack Of Badgers,” a reference to both the Wolfpack and Wisconsin.
NC State has since honored Wilson’s No. 16 and done everything it can to have Wilson a part of its history, and for good reason. Wilson’s success coincides with a banner period in NC State football as it established itself as a rightful claim to “QBU.” Glennon would go on to make the NFL himself, with Wilson and him joining Philip Rivers.
Then later in the decade, Jacoby Brissett and Ryan Finley graduated to the league. All five former Pack quarterbacks in the NFL have started multiple games.
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