Tudor's Take: Offense built for Wilson

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien’s decision to start Russell Wilson over Harrison Beck at quarterback on Saturday in Clemson likely will be debated by many Wolfpack fans right up to game time and possibly after the closing bell.

It should be, too. Based on Beck’s performance in last weekend’s win over William & Mary, there’s a legitimate argument for sticking with him. And if there’s ever been a fan base deserving of a voice, it’s the Wolfpackers. Their loyalty — in football and basketball — is far beyond the call of duty.

But from O’Brien’s perspective, going back to Wilson is the percentage play now that we understand what really took place in the team’s practice sessions last spring and during preseason camp.

Amid serious secrecy, State’s offensive staff made radical schematic changes from its previous tactics by installing a full-blown option package that obviously revolved around the speedy Wilson’s ability to make defensive reads while on his feet and in the fact of defensive pressure.

The move, no doubt, reflected great reservation about the offensive line’s chances to adequately protect a traditional passing game and execute basic I-formation rushing plays.

Due to Wilson’s early-game head injury at South Carolina and running back Jamille Eugene’s ongoing injury problems, there’s still no way to actually determine whether the offense is functional. That still could be the case after the Clemson game, too.

But O’Brien invested a lot of time in developing the strategy, and he simply has to know if the system will work. The longer he waits, the less likely the chance that the season can be salvaged. Up next are games against East Carolina and South Florida, both of which have defenses good enough to victimize an offense in flux.

The upside for the Pack is that there’s a reasonably viable Plan-B with Beck and Daniel Evans should Wilson sustain another injury and the option series has to be ditched. While neither is the ideal alternative, both at least have experience in the offense of ‘07.

All of this amounts to one of the biggest gambles in recent State history. From the day Bo Rein left to take the LSU job after the 1979 season, the Pack basically operated in an I-formation design.
At times and with good quarterbacking, the “I” worked fine. It’s the formation that O’Brien probably will go back to next season when Mike Glennon serves out his redshirt sentence.

But for now, the coach and his staff have little choice except to play out the schedule as far as possible with their original intent.

What O’Brien really had in mind for ‘08 was buying time with an offense that few of his opponents were expecting. It may not work. Odds are, it won’t. Clemson is favored by 18 points either way. But O’Brien made the decision to go optional last spring, and you can’t blame him for trying to find out if the 180 was worth it.