North Carolina State University Athletics
Rivers Named ACC's Offensive Back of the Week....Again
9/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 9, 2002
By Tony Haynes
Not to sound like a broken record, but NC State quarterback Philip Rivers has been named the ACC's Offensive Back of the Week for the second time this season after leading the Wolfpack to a 65-19 victory over Navy on Saturday.
Rivers, a 6-5 junior from Athens, Alabama, certainly made the most of his opportunities against the Midshipmen, hitting 10-of-15 passes for 309 yards and five touchdowns. He also added a short scoring run to give him four on the season.
Through three games, Rivers has thrown for eight touchdowns with only two interceptions, while hitting 68.6 percent of his passes. Rivers is the nation's top-rated passer with a 232.8 passing efficiency rating; is averaging 20.9 yards per completion and has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 22 of his 27 starts. He has also moved up to 14th on the ACC's career passing list with 6,370 yards.
"He's smart enough to read the defense and he's accurate," said senior receiver Bryan Peterson, who caught two of Rivers' scoring tosses in Annapolis. "Everybody talks about his unorthodox style but to me, being a receiver, it doesn't matter how he throws it as long as it gets there."
"It" has been getting there with great frequency ever since Rivers put on an NC State uniform for the first time.
Injury Update: During his weekly press conference on Monday, Amato said that there was a "real good chance" that defensive tackles Jerrick Hall and Alan Halloway could play in Saturday night's ACC opener against Wake Forest. Hall sustained a neck sprain up at Navy, while Halloway limped off the field with a knee injury.
"Jerrick Hall has been cleared by the neurosurgeon," Amato said. "We've just got to be careful with him. He's been around a long time and he knows what he's doing. At first we thought Alan Halloway had an ACL [tear], but fortunately he doesn't. It looks like both of them are probable and that's good. Now whether that means they're going to play and won't be a hundred percent or whatever, only time will tell."
The overall prognosis for starting center Jed Paulsen isn't quite as optimistic. Paulsen, a 6-1, 290 pound sophomore, could be out for two to three weeks with a sprained ACL. Amato also noted that Paulsen would probably undergo surgery on the injured knee after the season.
While Brandon Sanders is listed as the backup center, the coaching staff will likely take a look at a few other players at that position during the week. Although he's left-handed, redshirt freshman Antoine Colvin has done some work at center during practices. Another option in an emergency could be starting left guard Sean Locklear.
"He said he snapped when was in 9th grade," Amato said. "I didn't know he could remember that far back. We moved Colvin in two-a-days and didn't realize he was left-handed. Center is one of those positions that nobody thinks about until the poor guy gets hurt."
