The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/406183
NOVEMBER 2014 ■ 109 BY TIM PEELER J acoby Brissett hated football. So much so, he used to sneak away from his peewee practices to go home to work on his basketball skills, while older brothers Melvin and Cal- vin slogged away on the football field in the hot Florida sun. It got to the point that his mother, Lisa Brown, would leave one of the three jobs she worked to support her single-parent family to make sure young Jacoby stayed put until the end of practice. "Basketball was always my first love," Brissett said. "My mom wanted to make sure I played both sports, just so I could take advantage of all my opportunities and to stay out of trouble. "But I hated football. I didn't like being outside. I hated the violence." Under his mother's watchful eye, Brissett stayed at football practice long enough to become one of the nation's top high school football prospects after leading Dwyer High School of West Palm Beach, Fla., to the first 5A state championship in school history as a junior in 2009. But he was a pretty good basketball point guard as well, starting for four consecutive seasons for Dwyer and making three straight appearances in the 5A semifinals. He av- eraged a career-high 16.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a junior, while leading the team to a 25-4 record. The last great success of Brissett's out- standing dual-sport prep career was scoring a game-high 19 points in a 72-57 rout of Lake Wales to secure Dwyer's third state basket- ball title in eight years. By that time, even though he had been approached about playing both sports in col- lege, Brissett had already decided football was his future, signing a national letter of intent to play at Florida. Winning a state bas- ketball championship was just a great way to finish off a spectacular high school career. "I had a great high school experience, be- cause both my coaches worked hard to make me better in both sports," Brissett said. "It came down to the fact that I thought I could be more successful down the line in football. "I basically felt like there were a lot of basketball players my size that could do what I could do and there weren't a lot of quar- terback that had the same kind of abilities I had." His future looked bright at Florida. He earned the first start of his career as a fresh- man, and was in the running to be the Gators' starter as a sophomore. But he lost out to the more mobile Jeff Driskel, even though Bris- sett had the more powerful throwing arm, and the Gators went 11-2 and earned a trip to the Sugar Bowl. After making just three starts in two sea- sons, in which he threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more, Brissett made up his mind to transfer. He picked NC State because newly named head coach Dave Doeren had recruited him for Wisconsin while he was still in high school and he thought his talents meshed well with the hurry-up offense that Doeren planned to use at NC State. After all, it was a lot like running a basket- ball fast break. Doeren particularly liked Brissett's cham- pionship past, his competitive nature and the powerful arm he showed in both high school and in his brief appearances at Florida. Brissett patiently waited through last sea- son, sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules. It was hard to watch the Wolfpack lose eight straight games to end the year. He excelled in the spring and was ready to take over the team this fall. This year, the Wolfpack won its first four games, and Brissett was in control. He made spectacular, ESPN Top 10-worthy plays while the Wolfpack jumped out to a big lead against defending national champion Florida State and seemed, for the longest time, to be the most talented quarterback on the field, despite the fact that Heisman Trophy win- ner Jameis Winston was on the other side of the ball. While Doeren was impressed with how Brissett played against Florida State — who wouldn't be? — the Pack lost four in a row before taking the field again at Syracuse. The coach has seen progress in Brissett and the rest of the offense, despite the midseason setbacks, particularly in the way his quarter- back has matured. "What he's learning as the season goes along is that every play doesn't have to be like the one he made in the Florida State game," Doeren said. "He's learning. He's got a great arm and great rhythm." Brissett likes to use his basketball point guard training while he's on the football field. He believes it taught him to be more patient in waiting for a play to develop. Fast Break Former Two-Sport Star Jacoby Brissett Is Now Focused On Being The Best Quarterback He Can Be Through eight games of the 2014 season, Brissett had completed 151 of 247 passes for 1,796 yards with 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN "What he's learning as the season goes along is that every play doesn't have to be like the one he made in the Florida State game. He's learning. He's got a great arm and great rhythm." ■ Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren on Brissett