Raleigh native to transfer home from Penn State

Tom O’Brien strikes first!

It makes total sense for this kind of kid to end up in TOB’s program while simultaneously getting back home.

NC State head football coach Tom O’Brien has announced that safety Tim Buckley has joined the Wolfpack football program. The Cardinal Gibbons High School graduate, who red-shirted last season at Penn State, will begin practice at the team’s first workout on Tuesday afternoon.

“I am excited to be a member of the NC State Wolfpack,” said Buckley. “The opportunity to come here and play at my state university, so close to home, was something that I couldn’t pass up.”

Buckley, who will be eligible to compete in 2012, will be listed as a redshirt freshman and will have four years to play. He finished 2012 spring practice listed as the backup at free safety on the Nittany Lion depth chart.

Buckley is the first official transfer away from the Penn State program since the NCAA announced players would be able to transfer freely following a child abuse scandal at the university.

At Cardinal Gibbons, he was the Carolina 3-A Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2010 and played running back, linebacker and safety during his prep career. He rushed for almost 1,800 yards, scoring 36 touchdowns as a senior, helping lead the Crusaders to an 11-3 record as a senior and a 12-2 mark as a junior.

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8 Responses to Raleigh native to transfer home from Penn State

  1. DC_wolf 07/31/2012 at 11:21 AM #

    Welcome home, bro!

    Maybe you can convince some of your former linemen (on both sides of the ball) to join you in Raleigh? Just kidding… we should be fine on both sides… (fingers crossed).

  2. wolfonthehill 07/31/2012 at 1:10 PM #

    Any way he’s big enough to play LB here?

  3. WTNY 07/31/2012 at 1:17 PM #

    According to the June 5th Penn State Depth Chart:

    http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/psu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/depth_chart_non_event/PSU_DepthRevised_June5.pdf

    He is 6 feet and 202 pounds.

  4. DividedWeFall 07/31/2012 at 3:36 PM #

    I love how (good)white RBs become S/DBs, FBs, or LBs… why can’t good players play their natural position, regardless of skin tone?

  5. tjfoose1 07/31/2012 at 4:44 PM #

    ^ No idea how good an RB the kid was at Cardinal Gibbons, but 1,800 yards against their opponents doesn’t mean he’d make a good college back.

  6. PackFanInLA 07/31/2012 at 6:09 PM #

    ^^I don’t think anyone is holding anyone back from playing a given position because of their skin tone. It is more the reverse – A lot of very athletic kids (regardless of skin tone) are pushed into RB and QB roles in high school, just because they are the best raw athlete on the team… doesn’t mean that is the best college position for them.

  7. SuperStuff 07/31/2012 at 10:01 PM #

    Exactly. Lots of kid play QB & RB in high school and don’t end up playing those positions in college.

  8. Prowling Woofie 08/01/2012 at 7:25 AM #

    When I was growing up, Woody Hayes at OSU never signed a DB out of high school – he was always converting QBs.

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