In the voting for the preseason ACC football player of the year, Russell Wilson received only six votes.
One of those was mine.
Entering what probably will be his final season at N.C. State, the redshirt junior quarterback's football stock has taken a surprisingly steep slide - primarily as the result of a team that could do no better than 5-7 last season and 6-7 in 2008 with a collective six ACC wins during that period.
For reasons that don't compute on paper, Florida State's Christian Ponder has become the preseason toast of a league in which his team went 4-4 (7-6 overall) last season and 5-3 (9-4 overall) in 2008.
During those seasons, Ponder threw 20 interceptions and 28 touchdown passes.
Wilson, during the same two-season stretch, threw 48 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions, and that was after he missed all or most of four games with injuries.
Other than restating his desire to be the best quarterback in college ball and perhaps get a shot at the NFL, Wilson returned from his minor league baseball stint on Monday and immediately dismissed any direct comparisons with Ponder, Georgia Tech's Joshua Nesbitt, Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor, Clemson's Kyle Parker, Miami's Jacory Harris, North Carolina's T.J. Yates or any other ACC quarterback.
"You can't waste time being concerned with anything other than winning," Wilson said.
As the Wolfpack begins preseason drills today, Wilson still rates as the league's best playmaker on my chart.
He still doesn't have great size (5 feet 11, 208 pounds on the Pack roster) and probably does rate behind Ponder and Parker in terms of sheer arm strength. And although Wilson is plenty quick, he'd likely be an underdog if placed in a 100-yard dash against Nesbitt and Harris.
But when last seen on a football field, a victory over North Carolina at the end of 2009, Wilson threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions and completed 20 of 27 passes for 259 yards.
"And that was against what essentially was an NFL defensive unit," N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said recently. "That was as strong a performance as you'll see."
With lingering defensive question marks, the Wolfpack very well could have another disappointing season.
That's certainly the popular opinion. The preseason poll put the team at fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division, more than 100 voting points behind No. 3 pick Boston College and almost 300 voting points behind division favorite FSU.
But if Wilson stays healthy, N.C. State's potential upside is a great deal higher than fourth in its division.
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