News & Observer | newsobserver.com | 2008 NCAA Men's Bracket

Coach Tom O’Brien said Wednesday that it would have taken a career-ending or long-term injury to Russell Wilson for N.C. State to seriously consider removing freshman quarterback Mike Glennon from the redshirt list.

Wilson, who suffered a Grade 3 concussion in Thursday’s loss at South Carolina, already has returned to limited duty in practice.

“After the evaluation and [Wilson’s] release after that evening back here, it doesn’t look like it’s a career-ending injury for Russell, so we have no intention of un-redshirting Mike Glennon,” O’Brien said Wednesday on the weekly ACC coaches’ teleconference.

O’Brien said he hasn’t thought about whether Wilson will return to the starting position when he is cleared to play. Senior Daniel Evans has taken Wilson's place and will start Saturday against William & Mary.

“I’m just worried about getting him back and healthy,” O’Brien said.

Other O’Brien nuggets from the teleconference:

・There has not been talk of moving Saturday’s game from its 6 p.m. start despite Tropical Storm Hanna’s expected trek through the area. “Hopefully it will be out of here [by Saturday night],” O’Brien said.

・O’Brien said reserve offensive guard Curtis Crouch’s playing time will be based on the commitment he shows to the team. “He’s back and practicing now, and you earn your way on the football field sometimes by doing what you’re supposed to be doing off the field,” O’Brien said. Crouch did not travel with the team to South Carolina, serving what turned out to be a one-game suspension.

・Returning All-Colonial Athletic Association quarterback Jake Phillips might be O’Brien’s biggest concern with William & Mary coming to town. “He’s an excellent decision maker,” O’Brien said. “He doesn’t turn the football over, which is what you want, and he gets his team in the end zone.”