NC State Wolfpack

By Tony Haynes

As an NC State linebacker in the late 1960's, Chuck Amato gained the reputation of being a tough, hard-nosed competitor. Now, more than 30-years later, he has created a team in his own image. As a whole, the Wolfpack isn't the biggest or the strongest team in college football. Nor is it the fastest. But when it comes to mental toughness, this Pack team may be as good as it gets.

And while Amato sets the tone, freshman quarterback Philip Rivers sets the example. Amato raised some eyebrows during spring drills when he proclaimed that Rivers was the leader of his team. What? A freshman just a few months removed from his high school graduation, the leader of a major division 1-A football team?

Forget about the fact that's he's one of the nation's statistical leaders. And forget about the fact that he's been named ACC Freshman of the Week three straight weeks. To get a real appreciation for what Rivers is all about, you must evaluate him on the basis of what he does when his back is against the wall.

A legend was already in the making when Rivers guided the Pack to comeback victories over Arkansas State and Indiana in his first two games as a college quarterback. But with a national television audience watching Thursday night's game against Georgia Tech, he became a football version of Rocky Balboa.

The punishment Georgia Tech's relentless pass rush inflicted on Rivers was borderline barbaric. Yet every single time he was knocked to the ground, Rivers would spring to his feet, dust himself off, and go to the next play. Unflappable and unfettered, he looked Tech's defenders right in the eyes as if to say, "is that all you've got?"

"He's as tough an 18-year old quarterback as I've ever been around, I'll guarantee you that," Amato said. "When you think about what this youngster can do for this program for the next four years, it's amazing."

Amato sets the tone while Rivers sets the example. And now others are following in their footsteps. Late in the fourth quarter of Thursday's night's game, there was center Derek Green being helped off the field, unable to put any weight on his twisted right ankle. Surely he was done, right? Think again. When the offense, trotted onto the field for their next possession, there was Derek Green trotting with them.

Wide receiver Koren Robinson used to think that he was unstoppable; now he knows it. Physically gifted beyond belief, K-Rob is now beginning to understand the value of hard work and concentration.

On defense, players like Terrence Holt, Levar Fisher, Brian Williams and Adrian Wilson go all out on every play. Young cornerback J.J. Washington is starting to feel like he belongs.

Often blocked, beaten and battered, the defensive line keeps coming back, knowing that one sack or one tipped pass can change the complexion of a football game.

As he spoke at Wolfpack Club gatherings last spring, Amato often said that his team wouldn't be successful until it developed a 'fighting spirit.' Perhaps it happened faster than even he thought it would because the 2000 edition of the Wolfpack fights to the final bell and beyond.

Just like Chuck Amato did more than 30-years ago.