Russell Wilson Won’t Need Surgery

'08 Football Baseball General54

russellwilson21Good news on the football (and baseball) front via GoPack.com:

[NCSU QB Russell] Wilson, a first-team All-ACC performer, suffered a tear of his posterior cruciate ligament late in the second quarter [of the Papa John’s Pizza Bowl] and did not return to action after halftime. He had passed for 186 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 46 yards prior to the injury.

The injury will not require surgery. Instead, Wilson will be confined to several weeks of limited activities, followed by functional rehabilitation.

It sounds like Wilson will be back at full strength for football it’s not clear whether he’ll be back to 100% by February 20th, which is when NCSU will face Rhode Island in its baseball season opener.

'08 Football Baseball General

54 Responses to Russell Wilson Won’t Need Surgery

  1. Red_Terrors 01/06/2009 at 11:34 AM #

    That’s great news! I tore my PCL two years ago. I was told that there is no evidence that surgery or rehab was a better option. I chose rehab. After about 9 weeks of PT, I was able to perform at my before injury level. Granted I get pain from time to time, but I was surprised I wouldn’t need surgery.

  2. primacyone 01/06/2009 at 12:03 PM #

    It’s also not clear if he will be back on the football field at all next year. There are conversations going on that suggest it’s possible he may go 100% baseball.

  3. Big Worm 01/06/2009 at 12:38 PM #

    “It’s also not clear if he will be back on the football field at all next year. There are conversations going on that suggest it’s possible he may go 100% baseball.”

    Boy, that would have to be unprecedented in the history of modern college football. Are there any other examples of the top QB in a conference voluntarily hanging up their shoulder pads with eligibility remaining?

  4. Alpha Wolf 01/06/2009 at 12:45 PM #

    It’s hard to believe that would happen next year. After ’09, maybe.

  5. timswar 01/06/2009 at 12:51 PM #

    I sure wouldn’t blame him for quitting football and focusing solely on baseball from now on.

    Two injuries in one season is two to many.

    It’s been fun to have him, but it might be time for him to figure out where he wants his future to lie.

  6. wolf2003 01/06/2009 at 1:03 PM #

    Jeff Samardzija played football for four years and then went and played professional baseball. He’s an example if Russell Wilson loves football just as much as baseball. Jeff didn’t have the injuries that Russell has had so that has to weighed as well.

  7. happypackdad 01/06/2009 at 1:04 PM #

    if he’s not a MLB or NFL player why not play both in college while you can?

  8. TOBtime 01/06/2009 at 1:12 PM #

    happypackdad, that’s just it – he DOES stand a chance of MLB but won’t if he really messes up the knee…or shoulder. I would not blame him at all if he focused on baseball. The last game against UGA in 2008 should give you an idea what the kid is capable of on the diamond and he has certainly given us some highlight moments on the football field. I would like to see him play one more year of football so we don’t have to throw Glennon out on his own right away. I’d like to se the 2 split time maybe 80/20 next year but give Glennon some real playing time.
    RW is going to do great in life with or without sports but why not get paid to play if you can?

  9. backinpack 01/06/2009 at 1:17 PM #

    I really hope he isn’t considering hanging up the football cleats. I can understand that making it to the MLB might be more likely that the NFL, but I’m not ready to see us be one play away from Beck or Proctor as our next QB option. Would our O-line be ready to handle a pro-style drop-back passer next year?

  10. old13 01/06/2009 at 1:25 PM #

    Tim Stoddard had a very nice four years of basketball (including the 1974 championship) and baseball at NCSU, and went on to have a very long career as a MLB pitcher with Balitmore. (Wouldn’t the basketball-baseball thing be harder to deal with schedule-wise than football-baseball as basketball has more overlap with baseball season?) I would think that RW could continue to pursue both effectively in college if he wants to. Who knows, Glennon could beat him out for starting QB, which would still provide the Pack with a great backup QB while reducing the time that RW would potentially be in harms way.

  11. thebigwood 01/06/2009 at 1:30 PM #

    If Wilson doesn’t play next season, who would be our third QB?

  12. choppack1 01/06/2009 at 1:37 PM #

    I heard that he wanted to go back vs. Rutgers – that doesn’t appear to show that he wants to give up the game. We’ll see, I’d certainly understand if he said that the risk was too great.

    I will say this, this isn’t a case of Brackman or Harvey – this would have been like Charlie Ward giving up football to focus on basketball.

    Russell Wilson can take this school to a BCS bowl in football and can win the Heisman trophy. I’m not saying those things will happen – or that they are likely – but w/ the numbers he’s put up – and the pub he now has – it’s certainly possible.

  13. Alpha Wolf 01/06/2009 at 1:47 PM #

    Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t there very little push from the athletic department and Wolfpack Sports Marketing for Philip Rivers the year he had a legit Heisman chance?

    Wilson probably does have a legit shot in a year or two, especially if the team does something special. Whether the PR needed to get him in the voters’ heads every week happens or not, I can’t say.

  14. Astral Rain 01/06/2009 at 1:56 PM #

    Here’s the question- would RW have a legit NFL chance?

    I think he does, though he wouldn’t be a 1st round pick due to his height.

    He might get archetyped as a Warren Moon type. That’s not a bad thing though.

  15. SEAT.5.F.2 01/06/2009 at 2:17 PM #

    Not knock on baseball but he could sit out this year and play his Jr year and still not lose any draft value, IMO. MLB has a farm system that allows teams and their scouts to look at the broad picture, not just stats from one or two seaons in a short ACC seaon.

    You could argue that one great summer in the Cape Cod with a wood bat could supercede most seasons performence in NCAA. Many think the Brackmans seaon playing summer ball on the Cape cancelled out anything he did his last two years pitching for the pack.

    I’ve got faith in Russell that he will heal up from this one pretty quickly and be back on the grid iron going full tilt this Spring.

  16. anti-smurf 01/06/2009 at 2:24 PM #

    I have always been of the mindset that he plays football 1 more year, then enters MLB draft after the 2010 baseball season. That gives Glennon one more year as an understudy, and he would take over as a RS-Sophmore. RW will have laid down a solid foundation for Glennon to step into.

    i would be shocked if he gives up the gridiron.

  17. Noah 01/06/2009 at 2:38 PM #

    If anyone wants to bet me a substantial amount of money that Wilson does NOT return to football (for at least one year), email me and we’ll work something out.

    He will be under center next year. I have no idea what his long-term plans are or what his long-term options are. But he will not be quitting football this year.

    If I had to speculate on a pro career, I’m dubious about his chances in either sport. So far, he’s proven to be a light-hitting middle infielder with a decent arm and decent speed.

    I don’t know if you guys know this, but there is this country south of here called “Dominican Republic” where you can find a couple of hundred thousand guys that meet that description. You can also sign them when they’re 16 and you don’t have to waste a draft pick on them. You can also sign them for about $7.00 and a chicken.

    Right now, he’s hitting with an aluminum bat and is facing guys that for the most part, aren’t going to be playing pro ball. What has he done that would make me believe that he’ll get better when he’s facing guys 10 times better and hitting with a wood bat?

    Seriously, put him at AA. He’s going to be going up against a guy every single night who has major league stuff (if not major league command). What’s he going to do?

    In football, he’s small and a lot of his game is based on being able to use his legs to buy time, to get the defense out of its lanes and to pick up yards. I think he’s got the ability to be a little better than Tavarous Jackson and Seneca Wallce (not saying much).

    He’s not John Wall or JJ Hickson. We all knew those guys were going to go pro the first second that they got the chance. Wilson is a different breed of athlete.

  18. Alpha Wolf 01/06/2009 at 2:46 PM #

    ^ That explains why he was drafted by the Orioles once, and pushed to sign, even though they knew he was committed to going to college.

    Baseball experts put Wilson in the top 3 rounds that year had he decided to skip college and his draft stock has not appreciably dropped according to Baseball America.

  19. Noah 01/06/2009 at 3:03 PM #

    That explains why he was drafted by the Orioles once, and pushed to sign, even though they knew he was committed to going to college.

    He was drafted in the 40th round. I think I was drafted in the 41st round that year.

    Again I ask — what has he done to distinguish himself as anything more than a light-hitting middle infielder?

  20. Alpha Wolf 01/06/2009 at 3:06 PM #

    He was drafted in the 41st round because of his declared college intentions. It was labeled a “just in case” pick at the time, something that is well-indicated in articles surrounding his pick. The same articles also talk about how he would have been picked in the first three rounds had he declared that he would play pro ball and skip college.

    Like it or not Noah, Wilson is well-regarded by draft experts and is labeled a can’t miss in any credible publication that deals with draft prospects.

    “A lot of scouts said Russell could have been taken in the third or fourth round [of the ’07 MLB draft] and were making calls trying to get him to sign,” said NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent. “I have no doubt he’ll make it to the big leagues.”

  21. Noah 01/06/2009 at 3:22 PM #

    “Could have been” and “is” have different meanings, in case you didn’t know.

    And honestly…when was the last time you heard a coach say, “Joe Smith? That dude sucks. I don’t know where you got the idea he could play in the major leagues from. He’s HORRID. Trust me, if we had anyone else to play third base, we’d be playing him.”

    I went to last year’s MLB draft and went to the fourth round. I clicked on a random middle infielder’s name and got Brandon Crawford from UCLA. The Giants took him.

    “Started all 179 games in three seasons (2006-08)…made 177 starts at shortstop and two starts as the designated hitter (during 2007 season)…batted over .300 each of the past three seasons…compiled 44 career doubles, tied for ninth place on the school’s career doubles list…also totaled 13 career triples, tied for second place on the school’s career triples list…helped lead the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament in each of his three seasons with the UCLA baseball program.”

    He hit: .318, .335 and .302 in his three years at UCLA. He was also a pre-season all-american and a Golden Spikes semi-finalist.

    From the same round…Dan Cook, Florida Atlantic, 2B:

    Career .324 hitter, switch hitter with power from both sides of the plate and speed. Hit .350 as a junior, but was hurt for most of his senior year.

    Let’s go to a different round…12th round, Brandon Turner, 2B out of Mississippi State. He hit .399 as a junior and as a high school senior, he hit .536.

    .399 in the SEC, by the way…second highest ever. And that’s a 12th round pick.

  22. anti-smurf 01/06/2009 at 3:34 PM #

    Well, clearly Russell has no shot at playing either sport professionsly, so he should just quit now and take up croche’!

    gimme a break!

    Why can’t we enjoy the fact that we have a VERY talented athlete that is the FIRST freshman to EVER be named 1st team All-ACC at QB, and is high draft potential for MLB. Doesn’t happen very often.

  23. wufpup76 01/06/2009 at 3:34 PM #

    Thank God he won’t need surgery

    Good luck Russell!

  24. packbackr04 01/06/2009 at 3:43 PM #

    word is Spaz is goin to be named head coach of BC

  25. Alpha Wolf 01/06/2009 at 3:47 PM #

    So now you are implying that Elliott Avent either doesn’t know what he’s talking about or exaggerates the kid’s potential?

    Wow.

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