North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Wilson Hopes to Maintain Weekly Routine
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
NC State coach Tom O'Brien announced on Monday that long-time friend and assistant coach Dana Bible has been diagnosed with leukemia and is receiving treatment at the UNC Hospitals Cancer Center in Chapel Hill. Fans and friends can send Coach Bible a message here.
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State football coach Tom O'Brien likes to keep his team's weekly routine the same.
No matter how many changes and adjustments he has to make.
This week, as the Wolfpack prepares to host North Carolina in the 2009 season finale, has already been vastly different than any other in his coaching career. His long-time friend and veteran assistant, Dana Bible, was diagnosed with leukemia on Friday, missing Saturday's game at Virginia Tech.
O'Brien made the announcement to his players and to the public on Monday at his weekly press conference.
That was just the beginning to a different kind of week of preparation, one that includes the Thanksgiving holiday and three days without classes. A few things are different – practice is an hour or so earlier than normal and the team will go out for a nice Thanksgiving dinner together Thursday evening – but otherwise O'Brien and his staff are trying to maintain the status quo.
And that's something quarterback Russell Wilson appreciates.
"The good thing about our coaching staff is that they are constant," Wilson said Tuesday morning. "They like doing things the same way as much as they can. The like having the same schedule, the same balance and order throughout the week and throughout the season.
"With this week, we are trying to keep things as normal as possible."
But everyone will have to make some adjustments. Bible has been in the hospital since Friday night and will miss his second consecutive game. Former graduate assistant Jay Civetti, who is the offensive coordinator at Tufts, has been hired to temporarily serve on the Wolfpack staff. O'Brien and the rest of the offensive coaches will handle Bible's offensive coordinator responsibilities by committee.
Wilson, the reigning first-team All-ACC quarterback, and reserve quarterback Mike Glennon have been affected by Bible's absence as much as any players. They meet with the offensive coordinator daily to discuss game plans and review film. This week, they will meet with O'Brien and other members of the staff.
Wilson says he hasn't yet talked to Bible, but he has been in frequent contact with his son, Leesville Road High School junior Logan Bible. The two have traded phone calls and text messages, and Wilson has let him know he will do anything he can to help the family get through a difficult time.
This is not the first time Wilson has had to play under the weight of worry. Last season, in the middle of preseason practice, his father, Harrison Wilson, suffered a stroke and was unable to leave the hospital for weeks. He knows how to turn his concern for someone he is close to into motivation on the field.
"I have been through some situations with my family, similar to this," Wilson said. "With Coach Bible, someone you see every day, someone who is pushing you and motivating you, it gives me more motivation to do things right."
Wilson knows the best thing he can do to make Bible feel better is to go out on Saturday and play a mistake-free game against the Tar Heels.
"He is a perfectionist, and that is something I love about him," Wilson said. "His perfectionist attitude is something that is a positive for our football team and our players."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
