In Jacoby Brissett, N.C. State has key ingredient for football progress

RALEIGH, N.C — As part of his weekly routine last season, N.C. State quarterback Jacoby Brissett searched through the Web site Pinterest for recipes, bringing sweet treats to his offensive linemen prior to each game. Brissett didn't have much experience baking, but as he quickly discovered, it was as easy as following instructions.

"I'd give them chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cupcakes," Brissett said. "It's not that hard. And if it's burnt, just make it again."

Brissett, after all, knows a little something about starting over. Metaphorically, the first "batch" of his football career probably couldn't have gone worse. The second could turn out to be a masterpiece.

Though his name has rarely been brought up in preseason Heisman Trophy projections, don't be surprised if Brissett, a fifth-year senior, thrusts himself into the conversation. With a season of starting experience under his belt, a rapidly improving program around him and a schedule that sets up nicely on paper, the Florida transfer who couldn't get on the field under Will Muschamp is poised to finish his career with a flourish and continue N.C. State's dramatic turnaround under Dave Doeren.

"As soon as I knew we had a possibility of getting him, we were all-in on it because he was a leader and won state championships in two sports in high school," said Doeren, who tried to recruit Brissett to Wisconsin when he was the Badgers' defensive coordinator in 2010. "Sometimes you get a guy who's had his butt kissed his whole life. That isn't Jacoby. He's went through some stuff at Florida that made him mentally tougher as a player. Building a program isn't easy, so we had to be able to count on a leader who could handle adversity."

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Thanks to Brissett, the foundation for Doeren's vision has solidified quickly.

Though the Wolfpack struggled to a 3-9 record in Doeren's first year while going winless in the ACC, Brissett was viewed as the savior who could help turn the program around quickly once he became eligible under NCAA transfer rules. That's not unusual for high-profile transfers, particularly at quarterback, but Brissett had never done anything at the college level to warrant much excitement.

Brissett played what amounted to mop-up minutes as a freshman and was on the field even less as a sophomore as Florida went with Jeff Driskel, who led the Gators to an 11-2 record in 2012.

The former two-sport star from West Palm Beach whose mother wanted him to attend Miami and never approved of his preference for Florida left Gainesville having thrown for more than 100 yards just once (against Jacksonville State) and feeling as though he never got a fair shot to showcase his ability.

Once he arrived at N.C. State and went to work on the scout team, though, Doeren and his coaching staff had a pretty good idea Brissett would be the star they could count on to deliver victories. And it wasn't just his physical presence at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds or his ability to throw the football. It was little things like the intensity with which he was preparing for games, even though he wasn't eligible to play, or driving himself to Florida State to support the team.

"Those things made you realize he had the intangibles," offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. "He was looked at as the guy that had to be the answer, and that was hard. There was pressure there, but he's a very driven guy. He wanted to be good for the right reasons and handled it pretty well. Obviously you don't know for sure until you play in a game, but we felt pretty good about him."

The college football world figured out what the hype was about last Sept. 27 when Brissett shredded Florida State's defense, throwing for 359 yards (32-of-48 completions) and three touchdowns against the defending national champions.

"It seemed like it was never going to happen, and it was great to be out there and be in a huddle for a full game for a full season. It just felt good," Brissett said. "The hardest part was the wait, but it was a blessing because I could sit back and learn."

Though the effort against Florida State validated Brissett as a big-time talent, losing the game 56-41 after leading for most of the first three quarters took an emotional toll on the Wolfpack, who ranked as one of the youngest teams in college football last season. Predictably, N.C. State came out flat the following week against Clemson, losing 41-0 as Brissett completed just 4-of-18 passes, then saw the funk reach into a third and fourth game as Brissett tried to do too much and struggled to shake off mistakes.

"It really taught us a lot about how to realize what we're capable of doing and doing it on a consistent basis," Brissett said. "Those four games really helped us in the long run in the way we finished the season."

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Though Brissett didn't put up monster numbers in November, he played with more composure and led N.C. State to impressive victories in four of its last five games, including the St. Petersburg Bowl against UCF. He finished the season with 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions and gave Doeren some tangible momentum to go along with the in-state recruiting success and facility improvements that have helped changed N.C. State's image locally.

Once considered a school without the institutional commitment to win big in football, the Wolfpack opened a $14 million, state-of-the-art indoor practice facility in June and locked up both Doeren and Canada (who was being courted by a number of programs, including Tennessee) with sizeable raises. By this time next year, N.C. State is expected to have a new locker room that Doeren promises will be "ridiculous" and already has a potential star quarterback coming behind Brissett in redshirt freshman Jalan McClendon.

"Dave is a leader, he just is," athletics director Debbie Yow said. "His recruiting is off the charts for what he's been able to do in the state, and as a former coach I understand the value of that. We have football players everywhere in this state; it's just a matter of convincing them they can achieve their goals by staying home. I think Dave is that guy. I don't harbor any thoughts it's going to happen easily, but I love his focus and intensity. He's smart and strategic and that works for me."

But as good as the long-term outlook seems for Doeren, who became a hot commodity by going 23-4 at Northern Illinois, there's opportunity in the present.

Brissett is a legitimate prospect who should make a leap in his second year as a starter, there are increasing questions about division rivals Florida State and Clemson and the schedule looks more favorable than last season. But as hard as it was to go from three wins to eight, taking the next step may be even more difficult.

"We had great leadership in our offseason program, and because of that I think we've seen dramatic improvement out of a lot of guys," Doeren said. "Being in a bowl last year was paramount, so now we just talk about raising the bar. Every year we want to be better. I don't know what the timeline is for winning it all. If we keep getting better we can get there."

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