Wilson perfect fit with Pack

Passed over by several schools, N.C. State's QB proves he belongs in the ACC

Russell Wilson traveled plenty of miles to get the attention of college coaches when he was a high school quarterback in Richmond, Va.

He attended camp at North Carolina's four ACC schools, plus Virginia and Ohio State. He visited Alabama.

Coaches from schools from all over the nation watched him perform at Scout.com's All-American combine in Louisville, Ky.

Now that Wilson has clearly emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC -- as a redshirt freshman at N.C. State -- it's also clear that many coaches missed on him.

They watched him play, met him and worked with him, but were reluctant to offer a scholarship to him as a quarterback.

Wilson might be the most prominent example in the ACC of why recruiting is such an inexact science. Despite his obvious skills, he had two factors working against him.

First, he wasn't 6 feet tall.

"These days everybody is afraid to take a chance on a 5-11 quarterback," said N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien.

Wilson also was a highly regarded baseball prospect.

"What hurt him in a lot of people's eyes was, he's such a great baseball player," said Scout.com analyst Miller Safrit. "What if he goes pro in that? At quarterback, more than any other position, you need to have guys that can stick around for four or five years."

Quick impact

It didn't take Wilson four or five years to make an impact at N.C. State.

Entering today's noon rivalry game at North Carolina, Wilson ranks second in the ACC in passing efficiency. He has 12 touchdown passes and only one interception. He is five passes away from breaking Jamie Barnette's school record of 179 consecutive passes without an interception.

He ranks fourth among ACC quarterbacks with 234 rushing yards. And along with Virginia Tech running back Darren Evans, Wilson is a leading candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year and will get strong consideration as the first-team All-ACC quarterback.

Some college coaches who got to know him in high school aren't surprised, even though they didn't offer him a scholarship.

"We really liked him," said Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer.

"We were very impressed with him," said Virginia's Al Groh.

"He's one of my favorite guys of all time in recruiting," said Frank Cignetti, who met Wilson as North Carolina's offensive coordinator under former coach John Bunting.

In addition to Wilson's height and baseball skills, the quirky nature of the quarterback position worked against him in recruiting.

Some coaches are reluctant to sign more than one quarterback in any class.

"Unless you're playing both of them, one of them is going to be unhappy," Beamer said.

Wake Forest's Jim Grobe, who also liked Wilson but signed Skylar Jones, has current juniors Riley Skinner and Brett Hodges in the same class and considers both to be excellent quarterbacks.

Skinner is the starter, and Hodges might never get to start. That sort of situation is why some coaches will only sign one quarterback in a class.

Three years ago, some ACC schools that Wilson was trying to impress signed other, more highly-regarded quarterbacks.

Tyrod Taylor (Virginia Tech), Peter Lalich (Virginia) and Mike Paulus (North Carolina) all committed before Wilson. All three were in Scout.com's top 20.

Wilson was not, but has been more effective than the others.

Lalich was dismissed from Virginia's team in September after reportedly violating terms of his probation after an alcohol related arrest.

Paulus struggled against Virginia Tech and Miami after replacing injured T.J. Yates earlier this season, and was replaced by Cameron Sexton. Through a team spokesman, Paulus declined to be interviewed for this story.