Connect with us

NC State Football

Luck of the Wolfpack – Joe Montana Flipped from NC State to Notre Dame

Published

3 years ago

on

About 25 miles outside of Pittsburgh, sits Carroll Township and its five thousand residence.

Like most townships that size; it’s quiet, remote and unworthy of any kind of extensive chronicling of events. It has, however, raised some notable athletes.

First it was Stan Musial, then Ken Griffey Sr and Fred Cox. In the early 70’s, it turned it’s attention once again to another athlete, Joseph Montana, Jr.

 

One Offer, Multiple Sports

Montana played baseball, basketball and football, the latter two were his biggest loves. An All-State player and state basketball champ, he was also a two-year starter and All-American in football. Colleges from across the country flooded the small town in order to talk to Montana.

But one stood out in particular.

NC State pushed hard for Montana on the simple premise, that if he joined the Wolfpack, he could play both football and basketball. While State basketball coach, Norm Sloan, did the pursuing, it was Lou Holtz and the football team that found Montana first;

“It was funny though, my staff didn’t even come up with his name – the football team did. When they asked if we would want him, I said, ‘Of course we would want him!'”

Sloan couldn’t have been in a better position to persuade Montana. In the previous two seasons, State had gone 58-1 with a National Championship. The pieces were in place to allow for a smooth transition for Montana. Once Sloan saw him, he knew he could be special at State.

“We offered him the chance to play both basketball and football, gosh, we thought he was outstanding.”

The last time Sloan left Pennsylvania, he thought it was all but done…

 

Montana Becomes a Legend

In the end, Montana picks Notre Dame because of two reasons. First, he wanted to follow his childhood idol, Terry Hanratty, who also went to ND. Another piece to the puzzle, reportedly, is Montana’s own Dad pushed for him to go for basketball, because it was the “easier route.” Joe took offense, like just about any teenager, and decided to focus on football to prove him wrong.

So thanks for nothing Joe Sr…ya jerk…

We know how the rest of the story goes. Montana shows up to South Bend and sits a few years with the ND program in a mess. Finally starts and eventually gets them a National Championship. Gets drafted, wins four Super Bowls and is consistently ranked as one of the top football players ever.

 

What if Montana Arrived in Raleigh?

We had so much damn fun digging into what happened if Shaq picked State, and In that scenario, the pieces were actually PERFECTLY aligned.

Montana’s time at State? Probably not what you’d think.

Montana would have most likely seen limited action in his freshman year, for both sports. In basketball, he would have been coming onto a team that still had Thompson and was relatively young. Hard to say if he would have been able to swing a few points in States favor. Maybe they finish slightly better than 22-6, but nothing crazy.

Football team also had a pretty solid year going 9-2-1. Could Montana have stepped in with Fritts and Hooks in the backfield and made the difference?

It’s understated how big of a mess Notre Dame was when Joe arrived. State, for either sport, was in a solid position to win from the get-go. While Montana’s college numbers aren’t great (30 Total TDs – 25 INTs), he was the player that willed his team to win. After taking over as starter in Week 3 of his Junior season, the Irish went 18-3, with two of those losses against top-5 schools. It may not be pretty, but State would have won some more games.

Maybe Joe Montana would have pushed State over the edge and into national contention. We’ll never know. But damn, wouldn’t we have been so lucky…

*Quotes from Sloan first appeared in the Greensboro News & Record

 

 

Related Topics:

Passionate State fan that just wants to win...something...like anything...

Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NC State Football

Congrats to NC State Football’s Spring Graduates!

Published

13 hours ago

on

May 3, 2024

By

Congratulations to the 7 NC State Football Players that just graduated this Spring.

Image

2024 Football Spring Graduates

Linebacker Devon Betty (1 year of eligibility)

Defensive End Davin Vann (1 year of eligibility)

Cornerback Aydan White (1 year of eligibility)

Offensive Guard Anthony Carter Jr. (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Matt McCabe (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Tackle Patrick Matan (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Brendan Lawson (no longer on the roster)

Continue Reading

NC State Football

Proposed Bill in the NC House Would Require NC State & UNC To Play One Another, as well as ECU, UNCC and App St.

Published

20 hours ago

on

May 3, 2024

By

A bill has been proposed by members of the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play one another, as well as East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

According to House Bill 965, which you can read here in full, NC State and UNC would be required to play one another annually in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball. The Wolfpack and the Tar Heels would also be forced to play a game annually in all three sports against either ECU, UNC-Charlotte or App St. Every six years, NC State and UNC would be required to have played a home and away game against each of the three school in all three sports.

Here’s the exact wording from the proposed bill:

Competition Required. – A high-enrollment institution shall do all of the following in each eligible sport: (1) Every academic year, play at least one home or one away game against (i) another high-enrollment institution and (ii) an eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. (2) Every six academic years, play at least one home and one away game against each eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. A high-enrollment institution shall alternate home and away games that are scheduled against the same eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution.

For glossary of terms being referenced above:

For the purposes of this bill, “High-enrollment institutions” = NC State and UNC, while “Eligible constituent institutions” = East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

It’s worth noting that NC State already has games schedule against each of these teams home-and-away in Football between now and 2031.

2025 – East Carolina (H)

2025 – @ App St.

2026 – App St. (H)

2028 – @ East Carolina

2030 – Charlotte (H)

2031 – @ Charlotte

What are your thoughts?

For more details, check out this article at WRAL.

Continue Reading

NC State Football

Akron Safety Kerry Martin Jr. will Take an Official Visit at NC State Next Week

Published

2 days ago

on

May 2, 2024

By

Akron Safety Kerry Martin Jr. (6’1″/195) confirmed with me that he will be taking an Official Visit to NC State next week beginning on May 7th.

After receiving an offer from NC State yesterday, it didn’t take him long to set up the visit.

Martin Jr. is familiar with NC State, because he was recruited by Wolfpack Defensive Coordinator Tony Gibson before he left West Virginia to come to Raleigh. Even though he never coached him, a relationship was established.

Martin Jr.’s connections to NC State are deeper than that. Former NC State Cornerback Derrek Pitts, who is currently a member of the Tampa Bay Bucs, is his cousin.

This past year, Martin Jr. recorded 45 tackles, 2 interceptions and 6 pass breakups for Akron, starting in 9 of the 11 games he played in. His PFF Grade was 68.9.

In 2022, he had 53 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass breakup, starting in 9 of the 11 games he played in. Martin Jr.’s PFF Grade was 60.9.

In 2019, as a Freshman for West Virginia, Martin Jr. earned PFF Freshman All-American honors, recording a grade of 70.6, with 50 tackles and 3 pass breakups.

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State Sits in the Top-20 in 247’s Post-Spring 2024 Preseason Poll

Published

2 days ago

on

May 1, 2024

By

247’s Brad Crawford released his Post-Spring 2024 Preseason College Football Top-25 recently, and NC State moved up 1 spot to #20.

ACC Teams in the Top-25

11. FSU

14. Miami

16. Clemson

20. NC State

24. Virginia Tech

25. Louisville

Continue Reading