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It has been a while since I have posted and even when I did it was definitely infrequent! I do have a reason for posting now, Why does it seem R.W. is promoting Badgers more than the WolfPack? If it wasn’t for NCSU and our amazing fan base sometimes “fanatical” he would have never been in the NFL. He would have been a decent baseball player and from what I know (absolutely subjective!) his departure was a combination of baseball contracts, love for football but not showing up to practice! We were lucky enough to have another NFL quarterback waiting to play and T.O.B. had no choice. I know plenty of people will have different perspectives but at the very least I believe R.W. Should at least recognize what opportunity NCSU gave him and the appreciation/support that we have for him. I know I have a R.W. Seattle jersey and as a season ticket holder for WolfPack and Carolina Panthers I always wear his jersey when appropriate! If I am out of line I apologize but I would Love some feed back to see if it’s just me or if others believe the same!
My impression has been that RW goes out of his way to recognize both schools/fan bases, such as tonite’s alma mater pronouncement, “Pack of Badgers”.
As much as I hate to say this, it’s really the media that makes it seem like Rus was only a Badger.
And if they do acknowledge he played at State, it’s with the caveat, “but they didn’t want him back for his senior season”
^yes, Al said it tonight. Refuse to argue, RW graduated and decided to pursue baseball. Glennon was a highly rated recruit that sacrificed 2 years of eligibility waiting his turn. They would have ripped us a new one if G had transferred and had major success at another university.
I appreciate the feedback. I did not hear “Pack of Badgers”. It’s still a little disappointing that Wisconsin gets credit for having Russell. If anything He saved that season for them but in all honesty I believe Glennon could have done the same in similar circumstances! Again I would like to reiterate that we were very lucky to have 2 NFL caliber QB’s at one time but darn if it wasn’t a little off in timing! But than again so was Torry Holt and Philip Rivers!
He has always said…”A Whole Pack Of Badgers”. Yes it’s unfortunate Wisconsin gets any credit but our coach ran him off.
When it comes up in conversation, I ask where did Russell graduate from and say he was a grad student at Wisconsin.
Cameron,
Maybe I have misunderstood your post but Tom DID NOT RUN HIM OFF! It was definitely Russell’s decision. Nobody (Including T.O.B.) lets him go unless that guy is facing baseball contract disputes, life decisions and overall stress! We had a VERY GOOD QB sitting and wanting/needing to transfer if T.O.B. Stuck with Wilson. NCSU has 3 starting QB’s in the NFL at one time currently, Unreal! Does any other college have those credentials? Hell No! We also have one of the best kickers in the NFL and a Helluva lot of Defensive players currently,not to mention Linesmen! (SWEEZY!) WootWoot! We have a silent reputation but we have ALOT of talent in the NFL! Somehow we gotta get that recognized and hopefully D.D. Can make it grow.Somehow we gotta get that recognized
Simple. Win. It really is sad how marginal we have been with such talent.
If guys transferred in college for whatever reason, and then they make the league, the media will always say that they are from the last school they attended. Case in point. Troy Aikman is always from UCLA. You never hear that he is from Oklahoma. He transferred from Oklahoma to UCLA.
I know it is a little different since Wilson graduated from State, but still.
If Alex Johnson, Ralston Turner, Trevor Lacey, etc. makes it to the NBA, you will hear the media say that he is from NC State, both Cal State-Baskerfield, LSU, or Alabama, respectively.
I appreciate Wilson acknowledging his time with the Wolfpack and he is a fine representative of the school.
Must be football season as the eternal disagreement returns. I agree with Wulf that the answer for recognition is simple in concept – win.
This whole “TOB ran him off” crap is a pet peeve of mine. I hate criticizing our fans…but this topic really shows how some people can just just choose to be ignorant instead of diving deeper & understanding the chain of events.
* Mike Glennon – a QB good enough to start a half dozen games in the NFL as a rookie – had GRADUATED before his junior year. So, he could transfer with ease without sitting out and getting play somewhere else immediately.
* Russell Wilson chose to play minor league baseball and did not participate in spring practice despite the coaches (reasonably) setting a parameter that whomever was going to be QB in the fall needed to be in spring practice and working out with the team in the summer.
* Not only was RW not committed to spring football practice at State…but he was NOT EVEN COMMITTED TO PLAY ANOTHER YEAR OF FOOTBALL ANYWHERE. Nobody even knew if he was going to ever play football again.
* RW didn’t even decided to play a final year of college football until the middle the summer before the season started. What the hell were we SUPPOSED to do?
If you take RW back for ONE YEAR then you lose Glennon for the next two years. How’d you like that quarterback play LAST YEAR, guys? Because that is EXACTLY what you would’ve gotten for at least 2 years after RW.
If the coaches had ‘held the spot’ for RW, the set of options in front of us INCLUDED a highly probably situation where RW NEVER PLAYED FOOTBALL AGAIN AND MIKE GLENNON TRANSFERRED. How would that have sat with all the people who criticize the decision in hindsight?
It would’ve been one of the dumbest things in the history of the world to have taken that risk.
State Fans there are many things I disliked about TOB (and many I liked as well) but here as you post he made the best decision given the options he had. I’ll bash TOB for other things but not this decision.
Don’t kid yourself. O’Brien closed the book on Wilson, at the final tick of the Champs Bowl game.
Quote: “I don’t know why he’d want to come back. He has nothing left to prove, here.”
OTOH…If Wilson had been hitting .300 and change by the middle of June, Colorado would have moved him up to at least high A,and there would have been no release from his contract, hence no Wisco.
However, to broadly state that NCSU didn’t want him back is false. TOB having no plans for him is a more valid statement.
The way Michaels blurbed last night, chapped me a bit.
This whole “some people can just just choose to be ignorant instead of diving deeper & understanding the chain of events.
I think you will find that some people choose the interpretation that makes somebody wrong — that cuts them down. Case in point DD asking fans to be back in their seats at the start of the 3rd quarter saying that the team needed us. The truth is a long way from what DD is regularly accused of saying by people who know better.
I know, I get it…but we win more games with Russell under center his senior year than Glennon. Russell’s play clearly showed he did not miss a beat missing spring practice. He did pretty damn good at Wisconsin without spring practice. No TOB did not run him off, but when you have a talent like we did….well you just about welcome him back under any circumstances. think Tom O’Brien every time you hear someone from Wisconsin claim Russell. enjoy
Nothing like stating assumptions and presumptions as ‘fact’.
Here are just a few actual facts:
Wilson was PROMISED he could play both football AND baseball when he was recruited. It was a deciding factor on why he chose NC State. u*nc’s OC (Cignetti, brother was on NC State staff) was pushing Bunting to offer RW, and RW wanted to attend u*nc. [The rest of this paragraph obviously stays from pure fact and includes my subjective color analysis] Luckily for us, u*nc had a meathead for a head coach at the time and he was busy kissing Mike Paulus’s and his daddy’s collective ass. That ass kissing included limitations on recruiting other QB’s. Bunting would not agree to the baseball/football deal to accommodate a no name, undersized, 2 star QB recruit, let alone risk hurting daddy Paulus’s feelings. Bunting likes to paint it differently now, but that’s how it went down. Amato, to his credit (as was his ‘knack’), saw the talent and agreed with Avent, to the baseball/football deal.
Without getting into why, Wilson stopped by my house before heading to Asheville to play minor league ball. When I asked him a few questions about his future, he told me was coming back to play football, that it was his goal to play professional baseball AND in the NFL. He was going to pursue both and trust in the Lord as to how, when, and where, and which path to follow if/when a decision had to be made. He would just plug away, making himself the best he could be. Things would work themselves out (hindsight appears to show that is exactly what happened). He then signed a few footballs for a few of my friends and I wished him well. I never asked for him to sign one for me (I didn’t like to impose upon his ‘celebrity’ for myself, now I wish I had) but I did get him to agree to owe me tickets when he “made it, big time”.
Wilson made no commitments to the Rockies that he would not play football.
Glennon had stated he would transfer if he was not the QB in 2011 (I do not blame him for this).
Glennon was TOB’s first big time recruit, some would say his ‘prized’ recruit. How many times did the staff compare him to Matt Ryan and refer to Glennon as an analogous cog to the NC State program?
RW paid back the balance due on his signing bonus to the Rockies.
When first rebuffed by TOB about coming to fall camp in 2011, RW requested only a chance to compete for the starting QB job.
TOB told RW he was not welcome in fall camp in 2011.
Opinions/assumptions/unprovable fact:
RW had become a headache to TOB, a fly in the ointment to his mapped out plans (for both QB and program) when he recruited and signed Glennon. Promises were made to a family savy to football recruitment and college football. One that had already experienced unexpected ‘detours’ along the road to college QB football glory.
If RW had not gone to UW, he would not be a starting QB in the NFL. UW provided an opportunity for him to showcase his ability when playing behind an NFL sized OL, as well as his intangibles (most notably, intelligence, focus, work ethic, and leadership). The publicity and stage provided him at UW is what got him drafted in the 3rd round to Seattle. Seattle was the perfect team for him. No established QB, a strong run game, a strong defense, but most importantly, and open minded, free thinking coach.
Had he stayed at NC State, he does not get nearly the level of publicity. He likely goes in the late rounds or signs as a free agent and is currently a backup.
Trusting in the Lord to provide his path and show him the way seema to have worked out ok for RW.
A bird in the hand beats two in the bush.
I understand the logic between the trading 2 year of Glennon for 1 year of Wilson, but it’s a dumb ass argument. You don’t sacrifice a known commodity of the caliber and talent of RW for a developing unknown 2 years away. I was saying this at the time. Myself and CD are the only ones I specifically remember, but I think there were one or two others that agreed. TOB was essentially admitting he had not recruited effectively, and had no plans to do so in the following year. I don’t care what was said to Glennon, players compete for playing time, period. If you can’t beat out the player ahead of you, tough cookies, that’s the way it goes. A third string LB wants to play just as much as a top QB recruit expecting playing time.
Like many fans on this site who were calling for Russell to move on so Glennon could have his turn, TOB did not appreciate what he had while he had it.
Now everyone likes to rewrite the story to fit their view. Some blame TOB, some blame RW, very few blame Glennon. I ‘blame’ none, it was just a confluence of situations. I’ve wondered why those who blame RW for supposedly not ‘committing’ to the team by not participating in spring ball in 2011 do not hold a similar opinion of Glennon for saying he’d bail on his teammates if he’s not made the starter. How would that go over if a CB, LB, OL, or WR made that pronouncement?
If a preponderance of the blame lies anywhere, it’s with TOB. A promise, a commitment, a deal was made with RW when he signed with NC State. TOB agreed to abide by it, then he did not. IMO, it was used as an excuse to remove Wilson so he could promote Glennon, as was his original plan when Glennon was the star of his recruiting class. TOB had an established blueprint to follow, and crusty TOB did not like to change his ways. RW was in the way.
Look. A guy like Wilson wants to play for a year and you let him. There is no doubt he was better than Glennon. You are 60 something years old having coached you whole life without a championship. Here’s your chance and you stick to your guns like an old fool. Ridiculous and unexcusable. Who gives a flip about Glennon and his feelings. This is not girl scouts and you are not entitled to start because you have waited. What BS!
… oops. I wasn’t finished.
TOB had to prove HIS QB, HIS ways, HIS plans, and his methods were superior to the QB he randomly lucked into, by accident, left to him by a failed coaching staff… One for which he had to change his strategy and classic offense.
TOB was stubborn that way. Trust me, I know stubborn.
Plain as day to me.
* Not only was RW not committed to spring football practice at State…but he was NOT EVEN COMMITTED TO PLAY ANOTHER YEAR OF FOOTBALL ANYWHERE. Nobody even knew if he was going to ever play football again.
* RW didn’t even decided to play a final year of college football until the middle the summer before the season started. What the hell were we SUPPOSED to do?
Statefans, if those statements were 100% accurate, my opinions would be completely different. I acknowledge your statements are what was publicly reported in the press, and not refuted.
Let’s just say RW was a class act through all of this. He showed more class, more restraint, more respect, and turned more cheeks than I think I would’ve been able to do.
LOVE the first hand knowledge and information from tjfoose!! Thank you so much!! Always want to most specific & accurate information out there and always want to know as much of the truth as I can find.
I know, I get it…but we win more games with Russell under center his senior year than Glennon
And, to be fair, we also win a lot more games with Glennon under center for the TWO YEARS that he was eligible to start than we would’ve in Russell’s one remaining year plus whomever would’ve been QB after Russell left (as it wouldn’t have been Glennon).
And, to be fair, we also win a lot more games with Glennon under center for the TWO YEARS that he was eligible to start than we would’ve in Russell’s one remaining year plus whomever would’ve been QB after Russell left (as it wouldn’t have been Glennon).
Ah… but that’s the rub, assuming this was all occurring in a vacuum.
Was TOB too lazy to recruit other QBs? What QBs did we not recruit because TOB was counting on Glennon in 2011 and 2012? What QBs did not commit because Glennon was on the roster in 2011 and 2012? What other players did we not sign because of a ripple effect? What players did we sign in their stead?
What players that signed elsewhere would have been attracted to NC State by a Wilson lead 2011 Wolfpack team? How many of those would have signed on with the Wolfpack? Would it have mattered, given that staff’s recruiting ‘vigor’?
Too many variables. Take the bird in the hand and go from there.
Legit question because I don’t know how it worked. Did RW fully participate in spring drills before his sophomore and junior seasons or was it limited, or none due to baseball practice and games? RW had to declare for the 2011 draft by 1/15/11 so TOB should have known that if he didn’t declare by that date, RW was going to play football somewhere. Right? At what point in time did RW tell TOB that he wanted to play one more year but I’m not participating in Spring practice at all? It sounds like this all occurred in January of 2011. So the announcers might not be wrong.
I don’t have a problem with how it worked out. RW is always complimentary of his time at NC STATE. There will always be what ifs? One of my major what ifs during those five years is how would RW and G’s stats and wins look like if so many catchable passes had not been dropped. It reminds me of then recently retired Tiki Barber ripping into Eli Manning about his inability to be a leader, (during the Giants run to the first Eli super bowl win, no less) when statistically the Giant receivers had one of the highest level of dropped passes in the league during Tiki’s last year.
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