NC State Wolfpack: Wilson Was Told to Quit Football
Former NC State Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson made some new revelations in his commencement speech to the Wisconsin graduates.
The NC State Wolfpack has a strange relationship with Russell Wilson. On one side he appears on ACC commercials and represents the most successful team quarterback that the school has produced in the Super Bowl era. On the other side he spoke at the Wisconsin commencement ceremony.
It was at that ceremony that Wilson discussed his exit from NC State in slightly new terms. Everybody knows the basic story now. Coach Tom O’Brien had promised Mike Glennon that he would play when he recruited him. Glennon was entering his junior year and was still behind Wilson. Wilson was flirting with minor league baseball and speculation was that was where he would end up.
Except it wasn’t. Then three year starter and three time Tar Heel conqueror Russell Wilson got the Rockies camp out of his system and wanted to play his final year of football at State. The old story was that O’Brien told him no because he was going with Glennon and Wilson would not have been the starter.
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Wilson revealed a new element to the story in his commencement address. He said that O’Brien had not only chosen Glennon, but he would not let Wilson on the team at all. According to Wilson, O’Brien told him that he would never make it in pro ball because he was too small. He went further saying that the coach added he should just give it up.
It shouldn’t take much to show that Wilson went on to win a Super Bowl and play in another. So clearly that analysis was wrong.
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As far as how this treats O’Brien, I am not sure it does anything different. O’Brien had clearly moved on from Wilson. He knew he could not bring Wilson back because Wilson would win the job or there would be a divided locker room. So he cut the cord as hard as he could in a way there would be no coming back from.
What I don’t get is O’Brien’s alleged attack on Wilson’s abilities. That went too far for me. He could easily have told him no without the ‘you’ll never play at the next level’ dig. In some ways it would have been a more honest conversation.
In the end, I will never understand the Wilson split with State. I thought football was about winning games and Wilson won games. His identity as the last of the Amato recruits should not have mattered. As it happens, Mike Glennon is a NFL quality backup but he has no rings and plays behind Jameis Winston.
Next: Nate McMillan to become Pacer Coach?
It will be a better day when the hatchet gets buried.