Is Beck the Answer in Raleigh?

Ever since Phillip Rivers left N.C. State as its all-time leader in just about every category for quarterbacks imaginable and on of the best in the history of the ACC, the Wolfpack have had the dubious distinction of having the worst quarterbacks year-in and year-out in the league.

After all, who could ever forget the stellar careers and play of quarterbacks Marcus Stone, Jay Davis, and more recently Daniel Evans?

N.C. State fans truly thought all three were the answers to their problems and would lead them toward an ACC title.

Unfortunately for the Wolfpack faithful, the trio of quarterbacks caused more problems than answers. In the grand scheme of things, their demise shouldn’t be that big of a shock.

Evans was not recruited out of high school and was listed as a 1-star quarterback and wasn’t even ranked. It’s no wonder he’s played the way he has. Stone was a 3-star and ranked as the 33rd-best quarterback coming out of high school. Obviously that turned out to be too high.

Davis had scholarship offers from Duke and Colorado and by the time he took the starting job after Rivers left, he performed as though he belonged with the Blue Devils.

But maybe, just maybe, things are starting to turn for N.C. State. Instead of having to suffer through another painful year watching Evans throw, fans are now getting a chance to see newcomer Harrison Beck, who looks as though he could live up to his lofty high school ranking.

Beck came out of high school in Florida ranked as a 4-star and the No. 11 quarterback in the nation. He was listed three positions higher than current Texas starter quarterback Colt McCoy.

It took all of one game watching Evans throw before new Wolfpack head coach Tom O’Brien benched him in favor of Beck, a redshirt sophomore who transferred in from Nebraska.

In his first three games, Beck is 59-of-110 passing for 641 yards, with six interceptions and two touchdowns. He has struggled to find consistency, but that’s normal with any young quarterback.

However, he performed fairly well against Wofford in just his second start Saturday.

“I think he managed the offense well,” O’Brien said. “Once again, I think he was 16 of 32 but he had four drops in there too that could’ve helped situations. We scored on five of the first nine possessions, and two of them we dropped balls in situations that would’ve kept drives going that could’ve kept us going.

“If you can be that efficient that's a pretty good offensive night, and that’s what the quarterback has to do, distribute the ball and get us headed the right direction.”

There seems to be a lot of hope in Raleigh with a new coach and a starting quarterback that can actually break a pane of glass and hit the broad side of a barn. O’Brien, for one, likes the future, especially Beck’s.

“I hope it's going to be great,” he said. “Like everybody else here he’s a work in progress. He’s been very good, and he’s been very below average I would say at Boston College and then he was back to being a good quarterback (against Wofford).

“That’s the hallmark generally of a young kid that’s playing for the first time is lack of consistency. We have to make him a much more consistent quarterback. He has the physical tools, but you have to do it each and every week on the field.”