9 Best NC State Wolfpack Football Players

Since their inception in 1892, the NC State Wolfpack are 17-17-1 in bowl games. However, if you bet on their football odds in their bowl games since 2018, you wouldn’t have won a single time, as they went 0-4 in bowl games from 2018 to 2023.

That said, right now, you can bet on the Wolfpack’s college football odds every week at the BetMGM online sportsbook, but before doing that, check out my list of the top nine players in program history. 

9 Best NC State Wolfpack Football Players

1. Philip Rivers

Rivers is the Wolfpack’s all-time leader in passing yards (13,484), passing touchdowns (95), total yards (13,582), and total touchdowns (112). He also holds the single-season passing yardage record with 4,491 yards in 2003. 

Rivers played for the school from 2000 to 2003. He was the ACC Athlete of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year, first-team All-ACC, second-team All-ACC, and the school retired his No. 17. 

Rivers led the Wolfpack to three bowl game wins, including the MicronPC.com Bowl, Gator Bowl, and Tangerine Bowl. 

December 22, 2003: In his final game at NC State, Philip Rivers throws for 475 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-26 win over Kansas in the Tangerine Bowl.

Notice the clip of Rivers and his wife with their first of now nine children. pic.twitter.com/sQNiMlyrXN

— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) December 22, 2020

He was famously drafted No. 4 overall by the New York Giants but was traded to the San Diego Chargers, who drafted No. 1 overall for quarterback Eli Manning in the 2004 NFL Draft. 

2. Mario Williams

Willams played three seasons at NC State from 2003 to 2005 and was a dominant presence. He ranks second all-time in sacks with 25.5 and has the single-season record with 14.5 in 2005. He also holds the top single-game records with four against Maryland and Southern Miss in 2005 and 3.5 in 2005 against Wake Forest. 

He was a third-team All-American and a two-time first-team All-ACC, and the Wolfpack retired his No. 9. 

Williams was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. 

3. Ted Brown

Brown hasn’t played for the Wolfpack since 1978, but he still holds the all-time rushing yards record with 4,602 yards. He also holds the top-two single-season rushing yards records with 1,350 in 1978 and 1,251 in 1977. 

Brown also ranks first in rushing touchdowns (49), 10th in total yards (4,804), and tied for seventh in total touchdowns (52). 

He was a consensus All-American, ACC Rookie of the Year, four-time first-team All-ACC, and the Wolfpack retired his No. 23. 

Brown was the No. 16 overall pick in the 1979 NFL Draft, and he’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

4. Bradley Chubb

Chubb played at NC State from 2014 to 2017 and holds the all-time sack record with 26. He had 10.5 in 2016, tied for third-most in a single season. 

He won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award, was ACC Defensive Player of the Year, a unanimous All-American, and first-team All-ACC, and the Wolfpack retired his No. 9. 

He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. 

5. Russell Wilson

Wilson started his college career at NC State from 2007 to 2010. He redshirted in 2007 and transferred for the 2011 season to play at Wisconsin. 

While at NC State, Wilson racked up 8,545 passing yards (fourth), 76 passing touchdowns (second), 9,628 total yards (third), and 93 total touchdowns (second). 

At NC State, he was the ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year, first-team All-ACC, second-team All-ACC, and the Wolfpack retired his No. 16. 

6. Torry Holt

Holt played at NC State from 1995 to 1997 but didn’t start producing until 1997. In 1995 and 1996, he combined for 41 catches for 676 yards and four touchdowns. In 1997 and 1998, he combined for 150 catches for 2,703 yards and 27 touchdowns.

As you can see, there is quite a disparity. 

He was a consensus All-American, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, two-time first-team All-ACC, and was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. The Wolfpack retired his No. 81, and he’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

7. Roman Gabriel

Gabriel played at NC State from 1959 to 1961, passing for 2,951 yards, 19 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, and had 249 carries for 326 yards and 15 touchdowns. 

He held program records across most passing statistics when he finished his career there. He was a two-time first-team All-American, two-time ACC Player of the Year, and two-time first-team All-ACC, and the Wolfpack retired his No. 18. 

He’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1962 AFL Draft and the No. 2 overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft. 

8. Jim Richter

Richter played center/guard for NC State from 1976 to 1979. He was a unanimous All-American, consensus All-American, and two-time first-team All-ACC, and the Wolfpack retired his No. 51. 

He also won the Outland Trophy and is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

9. David Amerson

Amerson played for the Wolfpack from 2010 to 2012 and had 18 interceptions, including 13 in 2011. These are both school records. 

He was the No. 51 overall pick in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, but before that, he won the Jack Tatum Trophy and was first-team All-American, first-team All-ACC, and second-team All-ACC.