North Carolina State University Athletics
Rivers Could be in Select Company
4/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 20, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - If everything goes as expected this Saturday, quarterback Philip Rivers will be among a prestigious group of players from NC State who have gone very quickly in the National Football League Draft. But barring a major surprise, he probably won't become the earliest Wolfpack draftee. That title currently belongs to quarterback Roman Gabriel, who was the second player chosen in 1962 by the Los Angeles Rams. That same year, Gabriel was also the top pick in the old AFL Draft when he was scooped up by the Oakland Raiders.
"It's going to get very interesting," said Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato in accessing Rivers' chances of being among the first players taken in this year's draft. "Who knows? He may be the first player picked."
If not, he'll still become the 12th first round draft pick that NC State has produced in its football history. The most recent was receiver Koren Robinson, the 9th player chosen in 2001 by Seattle. The St. Louis Rams used the 6th pick of the 1999 draft on Torry Holt, who has since established himself as one of the top five pass catchers in the league.
Rivers, who has elected not attent the draft in New York, will be waiting for his much-anticipated phone call while watching the selection process on television with his family in Raleigh.
One of the teams that has openly shown a great affinity for Rivers' talents also just happens to be the club that owns the first pick in the draft. Rumors have been swirling that the San Diego Charges have been entertaining offers to trade down in an effort to land Rivers later in the first round while also obtaining additional draft picks in the process.
The team that Rivers led to victory in the annual Senior Bowl back in January was coached by San Diego's Marty Schottenheimer, who has since gone out of his way to praise the NC State signal caller's maturity level and football instincts.
"You never know," Rivers responded when asked if there was a chance that he could become the first player taken. "That's a team that's obviously shown interest."
While he did work out in Raleigh for several teams including the Giants, Steelers and Browns, Rivers, who finished his career as the ACC's all-time leader in passing and total offense, has not done anything extra for the Chargers simply because their staff got a chance to see him up close in the week leading up to the Senior Bowl. The other top two quarterbacks in this year's draft - Eli Manning of Mississippi and Miami's (Ohio) Ben Roethlisberger - did workout individually for San Diego.
"They did go to Roethlisberger and Manning and did work them out individually because they really hadn't seen them," Rivers said. "I practiced with them for a week, so when they came here they just watched the pro day like everyone else."
Pre-draft rumors are just that - rumors. And while the Charges may be floating trial balloons out there to find out who might be most interested in trading up for the No. 1 pick, they could very well end up holding on to the top selection. In his mock draft, the NFL.com's Vic Carucci has the Chargers using the first pick on Manning. He also has Rivers going to the Steelers at No. 11. Pittsburgh is, of course, coached by former Wolfpack linebacker Bill Cowher, who also happens to be close friends with Amato.
Whatever the case, Philip Rivers is about to join a relatively small group of former NC State players who have carved a special niche by becoming first round picks.
NC State's First Round Draft Picks
1962 Roman Gabriel (#2) Los Angeles Rams
1962 Roman Gabriel (#1) Oakland Raiders (AFL)
1968 Dennis Byrd (#6) Boston Patriots (AFL)
1974 Charley Young (#22) Dallas Cowboys
1979 Ted Brown (#16) Minnesota Vikings
1980 Jim Ritcher (#16) Buffalo Bills
1982 Mike Quick (#20) Philadelphia Eagles
1987 Haywood Jeffires (#20) Houston Oilers
1990 Ray Agnew (#10) New England Patriots
1994 Dewayne Washington (#18) Minnesota Vikings
1999 Torry Holt (#6) Saint Louis Rams
2001 Koren Robinson (#9) Seattle Seahawks
