DURHAM — Tom O'Brien lamented the loss of N.C. State's top receivers and all-star linebacker Nate Irving during the Triangle Pigskin Kickoff on Thursday in Durham. The Wolfpack coach also expressed his concerns about the special teams.

One name O'Brien did not mention in his comments during the annual luncheon was Russell Wilson, the two-time All-ACC quarterback who transferred to Wisconsin.

A day after N.C. State announced it has released him from his scholarship, former Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson said he didn’t want to leave the school.

“I really want the fans, N.C. State alumni and most of all my teammates to know if I had been given an equal opportunity to compete for the starting job, I would not have asked for my release,” Wilson said Saturday in a telephone interview. “I am a competitor.”

Wilson, a three-year starter, is playing minor league baseball for the Asheville Tourists in the Colorado Rockies organization this summer. He said he wanted to come back to N.C. State this fall and attempt to lead the Wolfpack to an ACC championship.

In retrospect, given the personalities involved, this was inevitable.

Russell Wilson, driven and focused, was unwilling to give up even the mere possibility that he might play football this fall, still dreaming about the NFL even as he pursued a baseball career.

Tom O’Brien, the former Marine, had no interest in hitching the future of his football team to whether or not a 22-year-old could hit a curveball, especially when he had a blue-chip recruit cooling his heels in the wings.

Neither was willing to give up any control. Neither was willing to budge.

RALEIGH – There will be no quarterback controversy at N.C. State in the fall.

Junior Mike Glennon’s status as the Wolfpack’s starter was cemented at 5 p.m. Friday when coach Tom O’Brien issued a stunning announcement that Russell Wilson has been granted his release to play football for another school in 2011 if he so chooses.

According to the terms of the release, Wilson cannot transfer to another ACC school or a school on N.C. State’s schedule.

RALEIGH - At the beginning of his speech at the Wolfpack Club caravan Thursday night, N.C. State football coach Tom O’Brien was asked a simple question:

As head coach at N.C. State, what’s it like to lose to North Carolina?

“I don’t know,” O’Brien said.

“Don’t intend to find out, either.”

RALEIGH -- The connection between N.C. State’s new quarterback and N.C. State’s largely new corps of receivers remains a work in progress, Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien said Saturday after the team’s second spring scrimmage.

“It’s still a process. They were better today,” O’Brien said. “The key is, are they going to be better on Tuesday? That’s what we have to do. We have to keep getting better at that. We can’t take a step backward at all. Hopefully they’ll look at this tape and get some confidence. I think we were in our spots a lot better, and that’s helped them to catch the ball when they’re where they’re supposed to be.”

After holding N.C. State's first spring scrimmage on a blustery afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium, coach Tom O'Brien fielded questions from a select few, brave reporters who weren't afraid to take their finger off the pulse of the Wolfpack's basketball coaching search for a few hours.

O'Brien talked about N.C. State's linebackers, offensive line and wide receivers. Here are excerpts from his post-scrimmage interview:

On a windy day it was probably natural that a running back would step forward and post the most impressive statistics in N.C. State’s first football spring scrimmage.

Sophomore running back Mustafa Greene, who was the Wolfpack’s leading rusher in 2010, carried seven times for 61 yards and a touchdown and added one reception for 10 yards.

Coach Tom O’Brien said the Wolfpack’s veterans – the team returns eight defensive starters and six starters on offense – demonstrated that they have benefited from their experience.

N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien has a quarterback who's performing well, a couple linebackers adjusting to position changes and two talented defensive backs returning from significant injuries in spring practice.

Here's a sampling of what O'Brien had to say to reporters after this morning's session:

ORLANDO - The Champs Sports Bowl news conference of West Virginia coach Bill Stewart today had an awkward feeling to it, as if everybody was walking on eggshells.

Stewart has coached West Virginia to a 9-3 record this season heading into Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. bowl game against N.C. State. He is 28-11 after three full seasons with the Mountaineers, but his time with the team will end after the 2011 season.

Dana Holgorsen is leaving Oklahoma State to be Stewart’s offensive coordinator in 2011, and then will replace Stewart as head coach in 2012. Other staffing changes also are coming for 2011.