N.C. State Week, Volume 1 (Picking a Passer edition) ...

OK, three years into their careers, you decide: Tyrod Taylor or Russell Wilson?

I’m guessing most Hokies would still take Taylor, but it’s a lot closer call today than it was in February of 2007, when five-star Taylor signed with Tech (over a host of other offers, including Florida) and two-star Wilson signed N.C. State (over one other offer, Duke).

Despite 6,000 passing yards, almost 2,000 rushing yards and nearly 100 total touchdowns his final two seasons at Richmond’s Collegiate School, Wilson wasn’t heavily pursued by college football programs. Part of that was his baseball potential and the popular theory that he would be a pro in that sport – either out of high school or three years later when he was eligible for the draft again – which made him a dangerous guy to sign for football.

The other reason Wilson was overlooked, though, is that he happened to come along at the same time as Taylor and another in-state star quarterback, Peter Lalich – also rated among the nation’s best prospects.

So Tech took Taylor and Virginia got Lalich and neither of them really even flirted with Wilson. That turned out fine for the Hokies. Not so much the Cavaliers, who booted Lalich last year.

But Wilson has no doubt made both programs think twice about him since his snub. After a redshirt year, Wilson has started the last two seasons for the Wolfpack and become a star.

He was last season’s Rookie of the Year and first-team All-ACC. He threw one interception all year. His pick-less streak stretched well into this season, going past 300 throws, shattering a national record.

So far, he has accounted for 5,196 total yards and 51 total touchdowns. He has thrown only 11 interceptions.

Taylor, meanwhile, has been a dynamic runner from the start – coming to the rescue as a true freshman and sophomore, helping an offensive-line challenged Tech team win back-to-back ACC titles with his fleet feet – but took time to develop as a passer. He also shared time for two seasons.

But nearing the end of his third year, Taylor ranks fifth all-time at Tech with 5,142 yards and has accounted for 36 total touchdowns. He has thrown 13 interceptions.

So if you’d known then what you know now, would you still want Taylor over Wilson back in February of 2007? Keep in mind, Taylor couldn’t control his offensive lines or the fact that he’d never get the benefit of a redshirt year like Wilson ... and that Taylor is on a major upswing while Wilson might, in fact, bolt for baseball after this season.

As the two QBs prepare to square off this weekend in Blacksburg, it’s an interesting debate – and amazing that it’s even debatable.

If I’m the one picking ... I have no idea who I’d choose. Wilson’s individual resume looks better so far, but Taylor is the definition of a winner ... and I think he could be setting himself up for a monster senior season. Taylor is currently sixth nationally in yards per attempt (8.9) and 16th in pass efficiency.

He has gone 81 passes without an interception. It’s his second 80-plus streak this season. In between that, he threw two picks against Georgia Tech, but one was tipped at the line and plucked by a diving DT. The other was a Hail Mary before the half.

So in my book, Taylor has thrown one legit interception in the last 170 passes. That’s very, very solid decision-making.

Speaking of which, check out his thoughts below on his newfound freedom to call his own audibles at the line. I didn’t realize how much his responsibilities have changed over the course of this season.

I’ll be watching for that this weekend against N.C. State. Taylor could have a huge day against the Wolfpack who have three freshmen among their four secondary starters. N.C. State ranks 99th in scoring defense and opposing QBs are completing 63 percent of their passes with 17 TDs and only 7 INT.

But enough with the numbers. On with the Qs and the As ...

(P.S. I’m sorry again for the continued troubles with our Web site. It is beyond both my brainpower and my pay grade to explain or fix the issues. But here’s hoping the worst is over.)

QB TYROD TAYLOR

ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE PRESS CONFERENCE THAT HE IS NOW FIFTH ALL-TIME AT VT IN TOTAL OFFENSE AND WHETHER THAT SURPRISES HIM, GIVEN HE’S A JUNIOR HOW SHARED SNAPS FOR TWO YEARS: “I wasn’t aware of that stat. Seems like I find out something new every time I come here to the podium, but it’s great to have those accomplishments. I just have to keep working and getting better.”

ON WHETHER HE GETS UP FOR A GAME AGAINST ANOTHER STAR QB, N.C. STATE’S RUSSELL WILSON (WHO’S ALSO FROM VIRGINIA): “I get up for every game, but Russell has been playing very good the last couple years. This is the first chance I get to play against him. I’m looking forward to the game. I’m sure it’s going to be a great game and a lot’s going to be talked about the quarterbacks. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

ON WHETHER THERE’S ANY RELIEF WITH THE ACC TITLE AND NATIONAL TITLE TALK OVER, WHETHER THE TEAM CAN ‘LET IT ALL HANG OUT’ THE REST OF THE WAY: “No, that’s been the mindset all season, ever since we lost the first game, to play every game like it was our last. We had two games that we did lose, but that’s been our mindset, whether we’re in the ACC championship game or not, that we want to give it our all every game.”

ON WHAT HE SAYS TO FRESHMAN DAVID WILSON, WHO IS A LITTLE FRUSTRATED WITH HIS PLAYING TIME AT TAILBACK: “Just to keep your head up and keep playing and when you get the opportunity, go out there and prove you’re here for a reason. I’m sure that just about everybody who has played college football has been through a down situation. You just have to keep fighting through it, and when you get the opportunity to prove yourself, make sure you go out there and take care of it.”

ON WHETHER HE HAS ACTUALLY SAID THAT TO WILSON OR WHETHER THAT’S HIS GENERAL ADVICE FOR A FRUSTRATED FROSH: “Actually, I haven’t talked with David. His locker’s right beside mine and we’re good friends. I haven’t talked with him about football stuff yet. I’ll probably wait until after the season just to make sure his head is on a good, positive note.”

ON WHAT WILSON’S DEMEANOR HAS BEEN LIKE: “He’s always joking, just a fun dude to be around. The other day he was walking on his hands. I think he walked like 12 feet on his hands in the locker room. He’s just a fun dude to be around.”

ON WR MARCUS DAVIS’ EMERGENCE THE LAST TWO WEEKS AND WHAT HE HAS SEEN FROM HIM LATELY IN PRACTICE: “He has always caught my attention as far as size. We know he’s very athletic. It was just a matter of him learning the plays and him getting comfortable in the offense. He’s starting to have fun in practice. At first, I think he was just kind of pressing too much. But you can tell he’s having fun in practice now and he’s making plays.”

ON WHETHER THERE WAS A DAY THAT WAS THE ‘LIGHT BULB’ DAY FOR DAVIS AT PRACTICE: “I think it was a Tuesday practice two weeks ago that stood out to me a lot. He caught everything that came his way. Over the shoulder catches, a lot of catches in traffic. He caught everything. That caught the coaches’ eyes. They wanted to get him on the field and see what he looked like in a game. He has caught the ball well.”

ON DAVIS’ SIZE AND ATHLETICISM COMBINED WITH POLISHED PLAY ... “He’s very fast. He’s low 4.4. He jumps a 42-inch vertical (Taylor’s is 39 and Michael Vick’s QB record is 41). He’s very athletic and he can be a big threat for us on offense.”

ON THE STARTING DEFENSE LAST YEAR PREVIEWING RB RYAN WILLIAMS BY RAVING ABOUT HIS SCOUT-TEAM PLAY AGAINST THEM ... SO WHO ON THE SCOUT-TEAM DEFENSE WILL MAKE NOISE NEXT YEAR: “As far as freshmen, I think Antone Exum (safety) is going to be a very good player before he leaves here. Telvion Clark, linebacker. But Exum has really stood out to us ... he has made a lot of plays ... and I think he’s going to play a big role in the defense next year or even on special teams.”

ON WHAT HE HAS SEEN IN CLARK: “Speed. He gets to the ball very quickly. Of course his size stands out, but his speed is the main thing. That works good in our defensive scheme.”

ON WHETHER THE VETERANS JOKE CLARK ABOUT HOW HE LOOKS LIKE HE’S 30-PLUS YEARS OLD: “Yeah, we do joke a lot as far as him looking old, but that’s just in the locker room. I say a lot, but I’m not going to say to much out here (laughing).”

ON KEEPING THE OFFENSIVE MOMENTUM GOING AGAINST A FLIMSY N.C. STATE DEFENSE: “They have given up a lot of plays, but watching film, they have a very good defense. Just a little inexperienced sometimes in the secondary, but their front four are one of the best in the ACC. They have a good linebacker corps, too. We still have to play our best game, execute the plays that are called, and just play our game.”

ON WHAT THE LEGACY OF THIS YEAR’S SENIORS WILL BE: “They showed very good leadership this past year, especially this past summer, bringing this team together. This is one of the better teams I’ve been on as far as leadership from the seniors.”

ON WR DYRELL ROBERTS STEADY TRANSFORMATION FROM TAILBACK TO RECEIVER AND HIS BIGGEST CHANGE FROM 2008 TO 2009: “I would just say going out there and playing with more confidence. He feels that he can beat any defender that steps in front of him. I know he can go out there and make a play, so I give him a chance to.”

ON HIS OWN PROGRESS IN THE POCKET: “I don’t think it was a thing of me just staying in the pocket. The coaches just basically wanted me to take what they (the defense) give me. I think I’ve been doing a good job with that, whether it’s running or staying in the pocket ... keeping the play alive by moving the pocket.”

ON WATCHING FILM LAST SEASON OF HIMSELF MISSING OPEN RECEIVERS AND HOW MUCH LESS HE SEES THAT ON THIS YEAR’S FILM: “I think I’m more mature in the pocket, finding receivers down the field and using my legs to allow guys to get open. Not just taking off and getting past the line of scrimmage, but just working behind the line of scrimmage and letting guys get open and me finding them downfield.”

ON HIS IMPROVED OUTLOOK – AND PERFORMANCE – ON TALKING TO THE MEDIA: “I’ve always liked you (reporters). I just didn’t like doing it at the time (his freshman year, especially). But I know that being the star quarterback at a big school, you have to do it.”

ON THE COACHES ALLOWING HIM TO AUDIBLE MORE AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE: “Early on in the season, we did a lot of situations where we’d get to the line and dummy call and I’d look to the sideline and get the play from them. I guess they felt more comfortable (lately) in the film room, watching film and learning defenses better, to give me the chance to go out there – give me a couple plays and let me go out there and decide what’s best for the team.”

ON WHETHER HE WAS CALLING THE SHOTS ON THE OPENING DRIVE OF THE SECOND HALF AGAINST UNC, WHICH LED TO A SCORE: “Yeah, the play coming out of halftime. The coach did give me a lot of options on that drive, to call either run plays or pass plays and I got the team into different things ... that we had big-gainers on.”

ON HOW MANY PLAYS, OUT OF 100, WOULD HE SAY HE IS CALLING AUDIBLES AT THE LINE: “Probably about 20 of them they’d let me audible myself.”

ON WHEN HE STOPPED GETTING THE AUDIBLE FROM THE SIDELINE AND STARTED CALLING HIS OWN: “I’d say around the Nebraska game was when we first started doing it more. We did it a little bit in the Marshall game, but Nebraska, that’s when we started getting into the checks at the line, just reading defenses and going with the best look.”

ON HOW MANY DIFFERENT AUDIBLE CALLS HE HAS: “It’s different for every week. We have different ones for every defense. It’s 10 at the most (per game). Last week we had about 10, maybe more.”

ON HOW OFTEN HE DID THAT THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS: “My first year, I didn’t do it as much. Last year, I started to get into it a little more. I was starting to get the gist of it, starting to learn more about what the coaches wanted to do with the audibles at the line. This year, we did it more in camp than every before.”

ON HOW MUCH MORE INVOLVED, COMPLICATED, INTRICATE IS TECH QB COACH MIKE O’CAIN’S TEACHING THAN THAT OF HIS HIGH SCHOOL COACH, MIKE SMITH’S: “I don’t take anything away from Coach Smith, because in high school ... the defenses you were playing every week were pretty much predictable. With a few wrinkles, it was pretty much the same game plan every week. And that was just to go out there and get yards. You come to college and different defenses are thrown at you every week. It’s just a whole different game almost.”

ON WHETHER THERE IS ANY EXTRA FIRE IN O’CAIN THIS WEEK, FACING THE TEAM HE USED TO COACH: “No, Coach is pretty much the same all the way. He doesn’t get too excited or too low. He stays the same throughout whatever the situation is.”

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