North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Streak Not On Wilson's Mind
9/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. – As soon as NC State quarterback Russell Wilson saw Crezdon Butler intercept his pass late in last year's game at Clemson, he immediately made a vowed to himself: "I'll never do that again."
So far, 293 passes later, the sophomore quarterback has kept that promise. He is now second on the all-time list for interception avoidance, and needs to throw 33 more passes without a pickoff to break the unofficial NCAA record of 325 set by former Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson from 2006-07.
Already this season, Wilson has by-passed former Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford, Fresno State's Trent Dilfer and Buffalo's Drew Willy to move into second place on the all-time list, which was compiled through ESPN research and not officially recognized by the NCAA.
But, unless asked, Wilson doesn't think much about the streak. The problem is,it's about all anyone wants to talk about these days with the second-year starter.
It was certainly on the mind of the crowd at Carter-Finley Stadium during Saturday night's 65-7 victory over Murray State, when an opposing defensive back let the ball slip through his arms, one of a handful of errant passes Wilson has made during the streak that could have been, but weren't, intercepted.
The crowd audibly gasped when the ball hit the ground.
"I hope they are gasping more for the fact that he didn't catch the ball rather than my streak," Wilson said. "I am not worried about the streak, I am worried about keeping the ball and scoring."
But Wilson's feelings don't keep other people from bringing up the possibility of breaking Woodson's streak.
"People keep talking about it, but I don't know about it," Wilson said. "I don't know the numbers, and I don't really want to know. The main thing is, each and every game, I don't want to throw an interception and I don't want to turn the ball over.
"If I do throw an interception, it's not the end of the world, but to me it is. It's not a good thing in my eyes. You want to have that competitive streak in you to never say die, never give up, never give in. That's what I believe in as a quarterback."
Since getting to the record doesn't mean that much, neither will breaking it or holding it for a significant amount of time.
"It might make me smirk or smile or something," Wilson said. "But the only time I will really be happy is if we win the game we are playing. That's what's most important to me, to win every time we step on the field."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
