Earlier this week, N.C. State quarterback Harrison Beck reminisced about his "Welcome to College Football" moment.
It happened at Nebraska, where Beck played before transferring to N.C. State. Starting quarterback Zac Taylor couldn't find anybody open and decided to tuck it an run. Taylor was not the fastest quarterback Nebraska's ever had.
"He gets destroyed by a linebacker from Kansas State, and he's knocked out," Beck said.
Enter Beck, an 18-year-old freshman.
"This is Nebraska now, and 88,000 people are screaming," Beck said. "It's a different situation from now. Everybody wanted to see me play. I was a freshman and I was actually going to play."
Coach Bill Callahan called a play called Trey Right 72, a go route to the X wide receiver. Callahan said he didn't care if the receiver was open. He just wanted Beck to throw it as far as he could.
"I think it went into the stands," Beck said.
Now a junior, Beck will be asked to throw more accurately Saturday as N.C. State's starter against South Florida. One thing that hasn't changed much is that the fans still would like to see the freshman. Only this time it's Russell Wilson, who led the Wolfpack to a win over East Carolina last week but is listed as doubtful with an injury.
Beck also is playing for a coach, Tom O'Brien, who probably isn't his best friend forever.
"I think it’s fine," O'Brien said Thursday when asked to describe their relationship. "It’s professional, I would say. I would guess. . . .It’s a player-coach relationship. We have talks. We have discussions. I talk. And he listens."
In fairness, O'Brien was looking out for Beck's best interests by offering to help him transfer when he was one of the odd men out of the quarterback race during the preseason.
But it's not often you see a quarterback start for a team that offered him a chance to leave.
"I have a good foundation here in Raleigh," he said. "I’m fixing to be engaged soon (to an N.C. State student). I’m about to graduate. I have good relationships with (teammates) Dan and Andrew Evans, and I want to continue to keep building, more importantly, for years down the road. That’s what’s going to be important. Not whatever happened here."
Comments
i love reading all of the
Mon, 09/29/2008 - 02:23 — Anonymous (not verified)i love reading all of the comments...people were actually somewhat classy in the comments below..as opposed to how they usually are..the fact of the matter is...they both do handle the tension with class..but the real deal is that...Obrien did NOT give Beck ANY indication that he would not be playing with enough time to transfer somewhere else..he told beck and the other guy that ended up leaving..about 2 weeks before the season started...he also has threatened Beck over petty things like...when Beck's step father posted a before-the-game prediction of the score on some site..where his step-dad said that NC state Would win 14-7 against South Carolina...Obrien threatened to pull beck's scholarship if anyone in his family posted a comment again..is that even allowed to threaten for that? dont think so...all i have to say about Nc state is that..Wilson and Beck could both be GREAT qbs..if there was any recieving talent on that team....not to mention structure..the defense was absolutely disgusting on saturday and no matter what the offense did..it wouldnt have mattered..it doesnt take one man to bring a team down....everyone jumps to Beck to blame him..why dont u look at the offensive line and the fact that GROTHE (usfs QB) had all the time in the world to make decisions while everytime Beck was up..he had arms in his face and was rushed within 2 seconds....not to mention there were quite a few balls that could have been caught..NC state players HAVE NO PASSION AT ALL...Nate Irving did before he got hurt...Harrison Beck kept trying to make something happen...everything was lost in translation cause the O-Line SUCKS ASS and there was ZERO running game..which is needed to have a balanced offensive approach....It was the coach's fault for what happened saturday..there was no organization, penalities left and right, and no structure..nothing changed after halftime...Obrien has no charisma and no attachment to his players...he doesnt excite them or relate to them he stands back and lets them fail..and then he turns around and takes no blame for anything..he talks about how great the other team was....he'll be fired in two years..he sucks and so do the rest of the coaches..Dana Bible couldnt call an effective play if his life depended on it...They were gonna get their asses rocked against Boston College..and everyone who thinks russel wilson is so great..will bite their tongue when he gets killed.
Beck a quarterback? For the defense, yes
Sun, 09/28/2008 - 15:09 — Anonymous (not verified)Harrison Beck and Daniel Evans have both probably been the biggest let-downs in recent years for N.C. State. I am a die-hard pack fan but Beck has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns and has very little control of offense when he is on the field. As far as any conflict between Beck and O'Brien, who cares? Niether is doing their job to the best of thier ability. My best advice is to scrap the quarterback, hire a new offensive and defensive coordinator, and fire up that team because they play with their heads down, like they have already lost.
There is one thing that was
Fri, 09/26/2008 - 21:04 — Anonymous (not verified)There is one thing that was left out in that game in Nebraska. The Temp had dropped by 20 degrees when Beck came in.The winds were blowing at 40 mph and tore the flag from a crane. This same front hit Chicago the next day. The Bears kicker tried to kick a field goal. The kick went up then ball stopped and took a 90 degree turn into the stands.
It is not that there is an
Fri, 09/26/2008 - 13:03 — Anonymous (not verified)It is not that there is an idea that there "should be friction between TOB and Beck". The point is that there IS friction between Beck and TOB and pretty much everyone knows it.
Kudos to both of them for handling whatever their differences as maturely as they both do.
i'm sure you and JPD are
Fri, 09/26/2008 - 21:40 — gvillegatri'm sure you and JPD are both right. truth always lies in the middle. we're privvy to nothing unless we know someone.
TOB is Beck's best friend
Fri, 09/26/2008 - 12:32 — JPDOhioI listened to Harrison Beck's interview yesterday and found him to be articulate and mature. This idea that there should be friction between Beck and O'Brien as a result of a coaching decision is ridiculous.
O'Brien informed Harrison of the decision early enough for Harrison to look at his options. O'Brien also offered to help Harrison transfer, if that is what he chose to do. TOB had no obligation to make that offer, but it was a classy thing to do. I think O'Brien handled the situation extremely well.
Harrison also has handled his situation with class. He obviously weighed his options and decided to stay for reasons that went beyond football. In the meantime, he has worked to be ready to help the team if called upon, which is exactly what is happening now.
Harrison clearly will not be playing on Sunday's when his career at State is over, but I would bet he will succeed in whatever career path he follows.
considering Beck is from the
Fri, 09/26/2008 - 21:38 — gvillegatrconsidering Beck is from the home of HOOTERS, he ought to be a respectful young man! speaking of Clearwater, there is a great raw bar on the beach that serves rum runners that are out of this world! i just wish I could remember the name of the bar. aaaahhhhh the ACC basketball tourney brings back the memories! cant wait to go back!