No. 17 Breaks Records With His Unorthodox Throwing Motion

Philip Rivers is possibly the most underrated quarterback in the NFL, and he is my choice for the best athlete to wear number seventeen.

I understand this will be a very unpopular pick with Basketball Hall of Framer John Havlicek, Pro Football Hall of Framer Red Badgro, and Former Pitcher Dizzy Dean all wearing the number seventeen.

Philip Rivers was arguably the best quarterback in North Carolina State history, demolishing almost every NC State and ACC passing record.

He also set a new benchmark for consistency in college football quarterbacks, setting a collegiate record 51 starts.

Under River’s leadership the Wolfpack went to four consecutive bowl games, winning three of them, including my favorite a New Year’s Day victory over the Norte Dame in the 2003 Gator Bowl.

He won many awards while at NC State including ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Athlete of the Year, MVP of Two Tangerine Bowls, and MVP of the 2003 Gator Bowl.

Rivers finished his career with 13,484 passing yards (4th all-time among Division 1-A quarterbacks, he was 2nd at the end of his collegiate career) and 95 touchdown passes, which ties him for eighth all-time with Kliff Kingsbury and Brady Quinn.

Coming into the 2004 NFL Draft, Rivers was projected to be an early first round draft pick in a quarterback class that included Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.

After many questions about his arm strength and unorthodox throwing motion, the pre-draft consensus was that Rivers could be selected with the 11th pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Then Eli Manning said that if picked by the San Diego Chargers he would not sign with them, he was then traded to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers and draft picks that would be used on Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding.

Rivers sent most of the 2004 and 2005 NFL seasons on the bench watching Drew Brees lead the Chargers into NFL supremacy, but after a dislocated shoulder to Brees the Chargers choose not to re-sign him and named Rivers the starter for the 2006 season.

Coming into the 2006 season Rivers had only five NFL starts, but that didn’t stop him from becoming an elite quarterback by throwing for over 3,000 yards with 22 touchdowns and only 9 interceptions that season.

Philip Rivers has only looked better since that season throwing a combined 55 touchdowns and 7,161 yards in the 2007 and 2008 NFL seasons.

In 2009 he throw for 4,254 yards and 28 touchdowns, making this season his second consecutive season with at least 4,000 passing yards.

Philip Rivers’ future is looking brighter every game, and he also has some of the most talented receivers, backs, and tight ends in the NFL to help with his success.

Rivers shows excellent pocket presence and has a quick release, so for Philip Rivers the sky is the limit.

North Carolina State Wolfpack Football: 2010 Top Recruits

The NC State Football program is coming off a very disappointing season where they won only fives game and lost seven.

Tom O’Brien’s team failed to earn a bid to a bowl game mainly because they failed to stop opposing offenses and they also struggled to protect Russell Wilson. That is very uncharacteristic of a team coached by Tom O’Brien.

O’Brien has seemed to what to improve these issues as four of his top five recruits are offensive lineman or defensive players

• Robert Crisp is an offensive tackle out of Chapel Hill, N.C. and he is 6′7″, 302 lbs.

Crisp is a talented offensive lineman that will probably start out as a right tackle at N.C. State.

He has incredible height and athleticism, and his weight gives him a huge advantage especially in pass protection, where he is very consistent at leading with the hands and striking the defender first.

He possesses upper body strength and is impossible to power rush in drop back protection. And his huge wingspan keeps defenders from getting to his frame.

Crisp does a good job of locking out the pass rusher that comes straight ahead and setting back with quickness from both the three and two-point stance.

Though he anchors down in good leverage position, he sometimes still gets beat on the edge by speed rushers.

He gets caught flat footed and can’t recover, and needs to narrow his base once anchored in order to shuffle and change direction.

Currently more consistent in quick set than deep drop protection, he demonstrates good foot agility in the run game.

He gets good knock-back off the line of scrimmage when pads stay down and is powerful enough to drive defenders to the second level.

He is still inconsistent at finishing blocks but, at times, completely dominates the opponent.

His athleticism shows in pulls and traps, and he displays good knee bend when delivering a blow at the second level or down field.

Crisp has the potential to be an outstanding offensive lineman once he gets more consistent in the passing game.

He has very sound fundamentals and good quickness for such a large man.

• Fre’Shad Hunter is a defensive lineman out of Cary High School in Cary, North Carolina.

He is 6′4″, 250 pounds, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 4.93 seconds.

Hunter is a versatile defensive lineman, he played both defensive tackle and defensive end while in high school.

He has good size, he has shown good strength, and many scouts say he has “more room to grow.”

Hunter has a good first step and when he rushes the passer he has a nice set of moves.

He does need to work on his hand movement and his flexibility, but besides that he has a ton of potential.

• Tony Creecy is a wide receiver/running back from Durham, North Carolina and he is 6′0″ tall, he weighs 195 pounds, and his 40-yard dash time is 4.45 seconds.

Creecy is the definition of a utility player and while in high school he played many positions but his two best ones are wide receiver and running back.

He has the hands of a receive, but he also has the lower body strength of a running back.

Many scouts believe he has field vision and toughness to be a 20-carry back, but he also has the smarts of a wide receiver.

His skill set makes him best suited as a slot receiver, that is best as NC State has an overload at running back.

• David Amerson is a free safety from Dudley High School in Dudley, North Carolina. He is 6′1″, 182 pounds, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

Amerson is tall and athletic, which is very impressive as he is a free safety.

He is a true “centerfielder” that understands route progression and anticipates the quarterbacks release of the football.

Amerson breaks quickly on the pass and is impressive at undercutting the receiver to defend the pass or to create an interception.

He says he can bench 275 pounds, squat 455 and claims a 36-inch vertical jump.

Amerson has stated that he would like to get bigger, to add about 20 pounds of muscle.

• Torian Box is a offensive guard from North Clayton High School in College Park, Georgia.

Box is 6′3″, 294 pounds, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 5.31 seconds.

Torian Box is a good offensive lineman and he projects as an offensive guard.

Box isn’t the tallest offensive lineman but he plays well for his size, he also has a strong upper body and has active feet.

Box at times plays a little high and needs to work on his flexibility, but other then that he should be a nice addition to Tom O’Brien’s team.

• Dontae Johnson is a safety from The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey.

Johnson is 6′3″, 180 pounder, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

Dontae is a big intimidating safety who could one day learn to become an outside linebacker.

Johnson is very physical safety and he like to make contact and is also very aggressive.

He calms to be able to bench 215 pounds and to have a vertical jump of 34 inches.

Johnson also is a forward for his AAU basketball team, that also is a good sign as it means he is very athletic.

• Tyler Brosius is Quarterback from Tuscola High School in Waynesville, NC. He is 6′3″, 232 pounder, and his 40 yard dash time is unknown.

Brosius is a really productive quarterback with very good overall size

He has good arm strength and the ability to make plays despite him lacking of consistent mechanics and fundamentals.

He is thickly built and tall enough to see the field, his only downfall is his riverboat gambler quarterbacking style.

• Thomas Teal is a defensive tackle from Malboro County High School in Bennettsville, South Carolina.

Teal is 6′1″, 330 pounder, and he runs a 40-yard dash in 5.50 seconds.

Teal is an interesting prospect, he is a big boy who carries a large amount of bulk for his build.

On film though he seems to carry his weight well for a kid well over 300 pounds.

He has played offensive guard before but he fits better as a defensive lineman, but he could make the transition if necessary.

• Andy Jomantas—DE/OT, Chaminade Julienne High School (Dayton, Ohio), 6′8″, 250 pounds.

• D.J. Green—Safety, Westside HS (Macon, GA), 6′4″, 202 pounds, 4.77 seconds(40-yard dash).

• Reggie Wilkins—Cornerback, Crest Senior HS(Shelby, NC), 5′11″, 180 pounds, Soft Verbal

• A.J. Ferguson – Defensive End, Fork Union Military Academy (Fork Union, VA), 6′3″, 250 pounds.

• Tyson Chandler—Offensive Tackle, Fork Union Military Academy (Fork Union, VA), 6′6″, 340 pounds.

• Raynard Randolph—Defensive Tackle, Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, VA), 6′2″, 325 pounds.

• Tobais Palmer—Runningback, Georgia Military (Milledgeville, GA), 5′10″, 165 pounds.

• Logan Winkles—Fullback, Upson-Lee High School (Thomaston, GA), 6′1″, 245 pounds, 4.70 seconds (40-yard dash time).

• Pete Singer—Safety, Athens Drive High School (Raleigh, NC), 5′11″, 175 pounds, 4.50 seconds (40-yard dash time).

• Theo Rich—Defensive End, Portal Middle/High School (Portal, GA), 6′2″, 225 pounds.

• Mikel Overgaard—Offensive Tackle, Snow (Ephraim, UT), 6′6″, 270 pounds.

• Artemus Norman—Defensive End, Chamblee High School (Chamblee, GA), 6′0″, 205 pounds, 4.87 seconds (40-yard dash time).