Jacoby Brissett will reboot his college career at North Carolina State, a source said.
Brissett, who played quarterback for Florida the past two seasons after starring at Dwyer High School, intends to transfer to N.C. State and enroll this week. That would allow him to go through spring football with the Wolfpack. He must sit out next season and will be eligible as a redshirt junior in 2014.
When Brissett decided to leave the Gators, he had a list of nine schools and narrowed it to N.C. State and West Virginia. After talking with both schools this week, he opted for the Wolfpack.
Brissett was unavailable late Wednesday, and a spokesperson for N.C. State was unable to comment because Brissett is considered a prospective student-athlete until he enrolls.
Matt Elam, who played with Brissett in high school and college, posted on his Twitter account that N.C. State will have a Heisman Trophy winner in the next two years. Brissett retweeted the message.
Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren became familiar with Brissett when Brissett was in high school. Doeren was Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator, and the Badgers were a finalist to sign him out of Dwyer.
The past two seasons have been challenging for Brissett, who picked UF even though the Gators already had Jeff Driskel, the consensus No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country that year. Driskel enrolled in January 2011, and Brissett signed the following month.
He overtook Driskel partway through the season and started two games that season, but Driskel overtook him in the following off-season.
Driskel went 10-2 as the starter last year. He completed 63.7 percent of his attempts, averaged 137.2 passing yards per game and threw for 12 touchdowns with five interceptions. He also rushed for 683 yards, not counting sacks. That was good enough for Florida coach Will Muschamp to say publicly that he would be the starter in 2013, leaving Brissett no conceivable future with the Gators other than as a backup
Despite the frustration of losing the starting job, Brissett never caused headaches at Florida. Teammates and coaches praised him throughout the year for taking his role seriously and preparing as though he would play.
“He’s a guy who’s not selfish and not going to do something to hurt someone else because things are not going his way,” safety Josh Evans said in November. “I know it’s tough, but not once have I seen him complain or cause a problem in the locker room or say anything bad about Driskel. He’s just a good teammate.
“I honestly believe he could play anywhere as a starter, that’s the talent he has.”
In six games this season, Brissett completed 23 of 35 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown pass. He also ran for a touchdown.
When Driskel went down in the third quarter against Louisiana-Lafayette last season, Brissett led the Gators from a 20-13 deficit to win 27-20. He started the following week against Jacksonville State, and Florida won 23-0.
North Carolina State currently has two scholarship quarterbacks on its roster. Manny Stocker, the backup last season, will be a true sophomore this fall and Pete Thomas will be a redshirt junior.
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