N&O: O'Brien's system works

Nice piece from Tim Stevens in today's N&O/Charlotte Observer.

It reads like a small measure of sunshine on a dreary Wolfpack Monday following Saturday's game and--if you were like me, rooting for Adrian Wilson and Steve Keim--Arizona's come-from-ahead loss in the Super Bowl.

It sheds some light on O'Brien and recruiting coordinator Jerry Petercuskie's philosophies and methods in the world of recruiting. Here's a snippet:

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"As long as we're meeting our needs with players that meet our criteria, we'll be pleased with the group," said Jerry Petercuskie, the Wolfpack's football recruiting coordinator.

One reason for the variance in the perceived quality of each class and its actual achievements could be that recruiting rankings do not evaluate how players fit into a specific program.

"We rate players on things like size, speed, strength and skills and project how they will develop," said Mike Farrell, who covers the Atlantic Coast Conference for Rivals.com. "What we don't do is figure in anything about the program where a player is going. That's not part of our evaluation.

"But it is a huge factor in a player's development."

When you look at the players O'Brien has developed over the years (the piece mentions both Matt Ryan and Mathias Kiwanuka) and the number of offensive linemen he and his staff have put in the NFL (tops of any college), it's tough to argue with the results.

Other fanbases can bleat on about stars and rankings, but I'll trust Major Tom's proven method over star power any day of the week (preferably Saturday).