As quarterback Russell Wilson walked into the N.C. State sports information office today, he ran into a familiar former coach.
Chuck Amato, the former Wolfpack coach to whom Wilson first committed before Amato was replaced by Tom O'Brien, was visiting campus. Amato hugged Wilson and told him that not long ago, he was talking to Bobby Bowden about Wilson.
Bowden and Amato decided that he reminded them of former Florida State Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Charlie Ward, with a stronger arm. Amato marveled at a desperation pass Wilson threw at the end of the game at Florida State last season while being tackled; Wilson estimated that it traveled 65 yards.
Amato is out of coaching this season. He wasn't retained at Florida State after Jimbo Fisher took over for Bowden. Amato also has undergone successful treatment for throat and neck cancer during the offseason.
He said being out of coaching this fall is driving him crazy, but otherwise seems in good health and high spirits. He'd come to campus to visit with friends today when he happened upon Wilson, who arrived at the sports information office for an interview with a reporter.
Amato congratulated Wilson on his success and said he is eager to watch him play more.
"It's always good to see him," Wilson said. "He's a great coach and a great man in general. I got to see him when I was getting recruited, and I see him every once in a while. I saw him at Florida State and all that kind of stuff. He's been a great asset to this program in the past, obviously, and he helped me get here along with Coach O'Brien as well."
Comments
Chuck
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 07:04 — YAR8packGood to hear Chuck's finished with his treatments and is now recovering well. Cancer is one opponent everyone of us here at ACC Now has been confronted by and surely wants to beat more than any of our rivals on the court or field.
Wonder what Chuck was doing in Raleigh. Perhaps he dropped off an application to be a recruiting assistant? Okay, okay. Just trying to make light of all the recruiting worry in Raleighwood.
I think
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 08:19 — willncsu34He still has his house here on Ebenezer Church road. I would have no problem with him coming back as DC.
Wouldn't mesh
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 11:19 — Heels20Chuck isn't a disciplinarian. O'Brien sits you for the season if you take your helmet off after scoring a TD. The two just wouldn't work together.
Chuck as State's DC
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 09:27 — JPDOhioWouldn't work. Chuck can only work for a head coach that has a larger ego than his. There may be only a handful of them, but I am hard-pressed to think of one.
TOB ...
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 12:39 — gvillegatrhas a pretty big ego IMO. Afterall, he's called his team the best in the state and jab's UNC every chance he gets. Not to mention that smug look on his face.
The guy just knows how to camoflauge his real identity. lol.
Tom vs. Chuck
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 13:23 — JPDOhioGatr, you are on to something there. If Chuck were a coach under TOB, you could sell tickets to each practice and watch the Irresistible Force meet an Unmovable Object.
Better yet, make it a new reality show on Bravo or ESPN. Who needs MTV's Jersey Shore? They could build a brand new, state-of-the-art football stadium with the money they would make.
Funny
Sat, 08/21/2010 - 11:50 — SurferA. vs P., but which is which?
Thanks for stating the point YA8
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 07:09 — unc098Glad to see Mr. Amato back in the saddle and getting the upper hand in his battle with cancer.
On Chuck...
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 20:07 — JPDOhioGood to see that his recovery is going well.
And
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 16:51 — unc098Commenting on Amato the other day and here he is.
I had forgotten that he recruited Wilson. My comments about O'Brien's recruiting need to be revisited.
Wilson
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 20:00 — JPDOhioIf I remember correctly, RW was not a hot commodity as a QB coming out of high school. I think many head coaches were concerned about his size, even though offensive coordinators were intrigued by his skill.
I don't think anyone ever questioned Chuck's ability to recruit. It is what he did with those recruits that was the problem. More to the point, what he didn't do, which is instill any sense of discipline whatsoever.
Actually, UNC's offensive
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 00:16 — TDiddytActually, UNC's offensive coordinator at the time, one of the Cignetti boys, deperately wanted the 2-star rated Wilson. Cignetti saw Wilson for what he would become.
If I remember correctly, Wilson was a Carolina fan (of course, that was before he went away to college and got a proper education) and would have probably signed with UNC had they offered and allowed him to play baseball. But Bunting didn't offer Wilson. Why? Well, in the words of one of UNC's own, Bob Lee (http://tinyurl.com/2ewqggs):
Russell Wilson is THE Total Package of athletic ability, leadership, character, academics and every other admirable character known to mankind.... Guess why John Bunting backed off?
Because Mike Paulus' daddy said his son would not come to UNC if he had to compete against another QB in his class.
Imagine Wilson teamed up with UNC's skill players on 'O' and paired with that defense... Wow! A national championship would be a very realistic possibility. Hmmmm... for you UNC fans just learning this, I wonder now which Paulus boy you despise the most?... Greg, Mike, or Papa?
As far as Amato's recruiting, he did pretty good exploiting his contacts in south Florida, however... There's a reason why NC State's recruiting fell flat and Florida's took off after Doc Holliday left State in 2004 to join Urban Meyer. Relatedly, see the drop off in Florida's recruiting since Holliday left UF in 2008 to return to WV for a year, before leaving for the HC position at Marshall in Dec 2009.
Yeah
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 09:02 — JPDOhioI think it was the Carolina connection that I recall reading about last year or the year before. That is why I look at those ratings by the recruiting sites with so many grains of salt. RW as a 2-star and Mike Paulus as a 4-star tells it all.
That's also why I am not as down on TOB's recruiting "failure" as others are. The rebuilding process continues and has been set back by numerous injuries. But he has a proven track record of finding and developing diamonds out of 2-star coal. And he did recognize Russell's talent and leadership early and wasted no time elevating him to the top of the depth chart. The rest is history still in the making. State will be fine under his direction.
One last comment on Chuck Amato, who I have mostly criticized. He did at least one thing right early on. Like TOB with RW, Chuck walked onto campus and found a freshman QB who many college coaches doubted could excel at the BCS level. He installed Philip Rivers as the starter in the spring and watched the kid blow past all expectations. Chuck was a lousy head coach, IMHO, but he got that one right.
For clarification, O'Cain
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 16:18 — TDiddytFor clarification, O'Cain recruited Rivers, Wilson was an Amato recruit.
It wasn't that difficult of a decision to start Rivers his freshman year. If I remember correctly, Rivers arrived a semester early (the spring prior to the 2000 season) and participated in spring practice. The only other scholarship QB's on the roster that spring were true sophomores Jatavis Sanders and Toki McCray, both of whom transferred after realizing the obvious.
JUCO transfer and rodeo'er Olin Hannum did arrive in fall camp via Snow College. Though a great athlete, it was still an obvious choice as to who should should start.
That was my point
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 19:04 — JPDOhioBoth coaches had the foresight to hand the reins over to QB's that other coaches dismissed. Maybe Amato's decision looked easy, but I am not sure anyone anticipated Rivers would be as good as he turned out to be. Many decisions look more obvious in retrospect.
As far as TOB and Wilson, eyebrows were raised when the decision was made to elevate Russell as early as TOB did. That decision obviously worked out real well.
Both coaches deserve credit for making decisions that were at least a little bit outside the box at the time they were made.
Rivers
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 16:29 — Heels20Rivers was an O'Cain recruit, but the first thing Amato did after he was hired by State was visit Rivers and his family. He sealed the commitment, recognizing his potential to be the future of NC State football. All the new facilities at NC State may have been funded by the money Rivers' success brought into Wolfpack athletics, but Amato did push as hard as he could for the upgrades to be made. I agree with many who believe Amato takes too much credit for the upgrades, but he is responsible for aggravating the athletic department to the point that they took Carter Finley's facilities to an elite level.
Right. But since you like
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 18:03 — TDiddytRight.
But...
O'Cain recruited him, or since we are being technically specific, it was Joe Pate who recruited Rivers as part of O'Cain's staff. It was Joe Pate that kept Rivers in the fold, after O'Cain was fired and before Amato was hired. Once Amato was hired, Rivers was indeed quickly visited by Amato.
Amato retaining Pate played no small role in Rivers honoring his committment to NC State. As did no established QB being on NC State's roster. Amato later landing Chow as OC certainly did not hurt dismissing any potential 2nd thoughts.
Not to mention
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 10:30 — YAR8packA lot of those recruit "rankings" are somewhat dependant on what and whose camps the kid attended and whether or not their name has been out "there" since kid left 8th grade--Jacory "most overrated QB in the ACC" Harris comes to mind.
I think rankings have been proven wrong more than they've been proven right, kinda like the NFL draft. What was Marcus Stone(d) ranked coming out of high school on his way to NC State? How about Paul "the sloth" Troth for ECU? Chris Johnson was a 2-star recruit when he came to ECU. How'd that work out?
Stars
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 19:17 — JPDOhioRecruiting service ratings are like a student's GPA. They indicate achievement in something, but should not be looked at in a vacuum.
When I consider hiring a recent college graduate, GPA is one factor of many that I will consider. Same thing applies to these high school recruits. The higher the ranking, the more likely they have what it takes to succeed. But success based on the ranking alone is not guaranteed, because there are some traits that can't be measured. And you can never be sure how a successful high school athlete is going to perform against the higher caliber competition he will face in college.
That's why predicting how players and teams will do is so difficult. And so much fun.
Jacory Harris = bad example.
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 16:20 — TDiddytJacory Harris = bad example.
nutso
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 11:20 — gvillegatrif you think Jacory Harris is the most over rated QB in the ACC. the guy had a hurt hand when he went into the dumps last season. He had zero choice but to contniue on b/c the U had the worse depth in all of college football when it came to the QB spot.
If you recall, Alonzo Highsmith's son was the only other listed QB at Miami last year after two guys left the program days before the season started. The kid was simply an emergency QB if the 1st, 2nd and 3rd string went down.
So unless Jacory was dead (almost happpened in the OU game) he was going to QB that team.
Choice of Words
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 13:27 — YAR8packMaybe not overrated, but certainly overhyped. There's no disputing that. Ponder and Wilson are miles and miles better than Jacory.
I'm sure the "Jacoraaaaay/J-12 for Heisman" bandwagon will fire up as soon as Miami beats OSU.
A couple things
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 01:53 — Heels20You know some of the info, but here's some more. Wilson looked at VT. They wanted Tyrod Taylor. RW came to UNC and John Bunting said he had an amazing workout, but was too small to make it on the D1-A/FBS level. RW checked out NCSU. Elliott Aent essentially strangled Marc Trestman until he recruited Russell because his arm was so accurate. Trestman scouted, Amato took the chance, and State fell back into a pile of success before they even knew it. Wilson is the best QB in the conference. Pack fans just have to hope that the O-line is good enough to allow Wilson to display his versatile ability. If he does, then O'Brien has pretty much handled a QB situation in an intellgient way. If not, State's biggest worries have to do with whether or not the program can remain remotely respectable enough to allow O'Brien to keep his job and for the football program to grow.
Success
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 11:37 — SurferAll good points, except the "pile of success" you referred to. I am not too sure what you are eluding to in that case.
True
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 14:48 — Heels20I guess I should rephrase to "QB success." After all, it was a tremendous upgrade from Davis, Stone, Evans and Beck. In a way, Wilson is a scarier player than Philip Rivers was.
Wow
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 07:07 — unc098Interesting stuff. Imagine Wilson on this team ( UNC ) The sky would be the limit. As for Mike Paulus. He may or may not get a chance to show his stuff when W&M comes to town in Sept. I suspect he will not usurp the starting QB ( Mike Callahan I believe ) who lead them to a really good season last year. Just like his brother the dude was overhyped.
RW wearing Carolina blue
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 09:03 — JPDOhioI'll pass on that mental picture, thank you. I have enough nightmares to deal with as it is.
One more thing
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 11:22 — Heels20Something I forgot to mention (at 2:53 AM) was that Wilson also was interested in UVA. UVA went for Peter Lalich instead. I'm sure a couple of you Wolfpackers remember that guy and I'm sure Willie Young does as well.
Peter Lalich? You must be
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 16:31 — TDiddytPeter Lalich?
You must be confused about something... I certainly did not remember him doing anything against the Wolfpack, so I looked up his stats. His career stats line vs NC State is: 2 of 8 passing for 15 yards, 3 rushing attempts for -20 yards.
Certainly nothing for Wolfpackers, Willie Young included, to remember.
Perhaps you are confusing his talents to pass the bottle with those of passing the pigskin?
And passing the bottle
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 16:33 — Heels20Lalich wasn't a drunk, just a pothead.
Haha
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 16:32 — Heels20You obviously misinterpreted my comment and must not have watched the game.
First of all, Wilson checked out UVa, but Lalich committed to the Hoos over Lloyd Carr's Michigan Wolverines. Kind of similar to the Paulus situation, in that they didn't want to offer a kid that could cause them to lose their "prized" recruit.
Lalich came in against State in '07 when Jameel Sewell got hurt. He was rattled from the first second and Willie Young tore him to pieces. He only took a few snaps and had one of the dirtiest uniforms on the field.
Gotcha... Right after I
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 16:36 — TDiddytGotcha...
Right after I posted I began thinking, perhaps you meant Willie should remember him for the big plays he provided for the NC State defense. The 3 rushes for - 20 yards shoulda been a clue.
Apologies sir.
It's all good
Sun, 08/22/2010 - 16:39 — Heels20Easy mistake to make.
Wilson...
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 16:20 — Heels20...seems to always know the right answer. Not a bad trait to have when the media is just waiting for you to screw up.
Not only that....
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 20:06 — JPDOhioHe seems to be very sincere and well-balanced. His parents did one heck of a job raising him. When you consider how he has handled the dramatic changes in his life this year, it shows uncommon maturity for such a young man.
Agree I think Wilson is a
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 20:29 — unc098Agree
I think Wilson is a class act.