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The Football Writers Association of America announced their 75th Anniversary All-America Team this morning, and former NC State Center Jim Ritcher was on the Third Team.  Ritcher is one of three ACC players to ever win the Outland Award, given annually to the nations best offensive lineman.  He won this award back in 1979, when he bulldozed the Wolfpack to their last ACC championship.  Ritcher was a 2-time 1st team All-American, and his #51 was retired on February 8, 1987.

Ritcher was taken in the 1st round of the NFL Draft, and went on to have a 16-year career in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and the Atlanta Falcons.  He played in the Pro Bowl in 1992 and 1993, and was an All-Pro selection in 1986, 1988, and 1990.  Ritcher played in 4 Super Bowls with the Bills, and played more games in a Bills jersey than any player in the history of the team (225).  He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

Jim Ritcher is the only representative of NC State on the FWAA 75th Anniversary All-America Team.

75th All-America Team by Conference

1) Big Ten Conference 19
2) Atlantic Coast Conference 15
3) Southeastern Conference 13
4) Big 12 Conference 10
5) Pac-12 Conference 7
6) Conference USA 3
6) Independents 3
8) American Athletic Conference 2
9) Ivy League 1
9) Mountain West Conference 1
9) Southwestern Athletic Conference 1

ACC Players on 75th All-America Team

1st Team 

Larry Fitzgerald – WR – Pitt
Ted Hendricks – DE – Miami
Deion Sanders – DB – FSU

2nd Team

Tony Dorsett – RB – Pitt
Fred Biletnikoff – WR – FSU
Mike Ditka – TE – Pitt
Bill Fralic – OL – Pitt
Hugh Green – DE – Pitt
Bruce Smith – DE – Virginia Tech
Luke Kuechly – LB – Boston College
Ed Reed – S – Miami

3rd Team

Calvin Johnson – WR – Georgia Tech
Jim Ritcher – C – NC State
Dre’ Bly – DB – UNC
Rohn Stark – P – FSU

 

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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Pack in the Pros

T-Wolves Sign Former NC State Forward TJ Warren for Remainder of the Season

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Back during the first week of March, former All-ACC NC State Forward TJ Warren signed a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. After finding success as a scoring option off the bench, the T-Wolves signed him to another 10-day contract.

With only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Minnesota went ahead and signed him for the rest of regular season yesterday.

In the 7 games Warren has played for the T-Wolves, he has averaged 4.1 points per game in 14.0 minutes of play, shooting 47.8% from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc.

Warren has not played in Minnesota’s past two games, but he has a chance to prove his worth once again tonight in the T-Wolves matchup vs. the Pistons. As things currently stand, Minnesota sits in 3rd place in the Western Conference.

Here’s a look at the former ACC Player of the Year’s stats over 10 seasons.

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines Signs 1-Year Deal With Cleveland

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines has signed a 1-year deal with the Cleveland Browns worth up to $3.5 million.

Maybe Cleveland will use Hines to his full potential. If you’re not using him as a Swiss Army Knife in the passing game, you’re wasting an opportunity.

The former All-ACC Running Back Hines missed all of last season due to a torn ACL he suffered in a boating accident.

This will be Hines’ 7th season in the NFL.

When you look at what former NC State players have done in the NFL, Hines ranks in the Top-10 in Rushing and Receiving.

His 1,015 rushing yards ranks 7th in school history and his 10 rushing touchdowns rank 9th. Hines’ 240 receptions rank 8th and his 1,778 receiving yards rank 10th.

In the return game, he’s one of the best to represent NC State in the NFL as well. His 1,015 punt return yards ranks 2nd in school history and his 817 kickoff return yards rank 6th. Hines’ 2 punts returned for TD’s ranks 3rd, and his 2 kickoffs taken to the house ranks 1st.

 

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett Signs 1-Year Deal with Pats

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett is signing a 1-year deal with the New England Patriots, rejoining the team that drafted him in the 3rd Round back in 2016.

The deal is worth $8 million.

After the Pats traded away Quarterback Mac Jones to the Jaguars yesterday, it’s abundantly clear what they are planning to do with the 3rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After winning a Super Bowl in his lone season in New England in 2016, Brissett went on to spend 4 seasons in Indy, before spending the next 3 seasons in 3 different cities: Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

Brissett has had a great career as a backup Quarterback through 8 seasons in the NFL, playing in 79 games (starting 48), throwing for 10,574 yards and 51 touchdowns, with 23 interceptions, and a QB Rating of 85.3.

Brissett ranks 5th in NC State history in career passing yards and touchdowns, and 3rd in QB Rating by a former Wolfpack player in the NFL.

Prior to making a dime from New England in 2024, Brissett has made $50.9 million through his first 8 seasons in the league.

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones Signs with Arizona

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones (2014-17) has signed a 3-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.

The deal is worth a total of $30.1 million, with $19.75 million guaranteed.

Jones spent the past two seasons in Chicago, where he started in every game, recording 101 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

In 2018, Jones was taken in the 3rd round by the Chargers. After playing in 15 games as a reserve as a rookie, Jones started for the Bolts for the next 3 years before signing with the Bears.

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