NC State Wolfpack: Jacoby Brissett Aiming for 1st NFL Start?

Former NC State Wolfpack quarterback Jacoby Brissett is suddenly the most likely starter for the New England Patriots against the Houston Texans.

One thing that is different about the NC State Wolfpack this year is the guy behind center. Ryan Finley is the man at quarterback this year. It will be exciting for him in his first year as a starter, but things are about to get even more exciting for his predecessor. Jacoby Brissett may very well start his first NFL game when the New England Patriots play the Houston Texans Thursday Night.

How did we get here? The story starts oh so long ago in a playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts in early 2015. There was a question about the legality of the balls that the Patriots were using. Some were found to be underweight and so the league came after the Patriots and specifically quarterback Tom Brady for the issue.

Brady fought a long legal defense until an appeals court ruled against him this summer. Instead of taking the issue to the Supreme Court, Brady finally accepted the NFL’s four game ban which is taking place this season. It has been more than a year since the issue began.

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With Brady out of the picture, the Patriots moved on to Jimmy Garropolo. Garropolo is the current heir apparent to Brady, though Brady has expressed interest in playing into his forties. There have been heir apparents before (Matt Cassel, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett) and no guarantee that the man is yet on the roster.

Garoppolo became the starter in the preseason, and he even led the Patriots to victory over the Cardinals (no longer the strangest win of the season). He was in for most of the Patriots victory over the Dolphins when injury struck. A shoulder injury has put his appearance Thursday night in question. Brady is of course still suspended.

Enter Brissett. The NC State Wolfpack warrior had been drafted by the Patriots back in May. State used Brissett’s legs a bunch, but didn’t really unleash his arm. That was weird because Brissett was pretty efficient when he got to throw it. NFL scouts noted that Brissett had a pro body and good arm. Combine that with good decision making (few turnovers) and you can see why a precision offense like the Patriots were interested. After all, doesn’t that sound a little like Brady’s draft profile?

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Brissett may have been drafted as a project, but he became the number two guy due to Brady’s suspension. Now he may be tapped as the starter. We won’t know because Bill Belichick won’t tell us.

Brissett had limited action against Miami in relief of Garoppolo. He went six of nine for ninety-two yards. There was a lot of hand-offs, but Brissett was able to use that run focus to throw a couple of nice plays to Martellus Bennett. That may be a dress rehearsal as Brissett and Joe Thuney go face the Houston Texans.

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