Jacoby Brissett breaks free from Florida State’s DeMarcus Walker before throwing a touchdown. (Getty)
Jacoby Brissett was on the opposing sideline the last time Florida State lost. That was on November 24, 2012, when Brissett was a backup quarterback at Florida.
Two years later, Brissett — now the starting QB at NC State — is trying to lead the Wolfpack to an upset of the top-ranked Seminoles.
Here’s what you need to know about him:
1. He Transferred to NC State After the 2012 Season
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Brissett transfered to NC State after the 2012 season following two years at Florida, where he played sporadically in two seasons before being beaten out for the starting job by Jeff Driskel.
Brissett threw for 455 yards, 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions with the Gators in 2011 and 2012. When coach Will Mushcamp named Driskel the starter, Brissett decided to transfer, eventually picking NC State over West Virginia.
2. NC State Coach Dave Doeren Recruited Brissett When Doeren Was an Assistant at Wisconsin
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Dave Doeren, in his second year as the Wolfpack head coach, very nearly had Brissett on his team five years ago, when Doreen was an assistant coach at Wisconsin.
Brissett nearly committed to Wisconsin before eventually deciding on Florida. Doreen left Wisconsin to become the head coach at Northern Illinois, eventually taking the NC State job after leading the Huskies to the Orange Bowl after the 2012 season. Shortly after coming to Raleigh, Doreen and Brissett reconnected.
3. He Starred in Football & Basketball in High School
Brissett was a two-sport star at Dwyer High School in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he played basketball in addition to being rated a four-start football recruit by Rivals.com.
In a January 2013 story on Brisssett’s transfer to NC State, Rivals.com recruiting analyst Mike Farrell described Brissett as a talented player whose commitment to basketball initially stunted his growth as a football player.
From Farrell:
I loved him and thought he was better than Driskel. The problem with Jacoby was that he was a basketball player and football, and he played both, and he never concentrated on football in my opinion [at Dwyer]. He gave it up when he went to Florida, but he should have given up his sophomore year.
Brissett talks about his high school career and his road to NC State in the video above.
4. He’s an Investor
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Not many college football stars are avid investors. But Brissett is an exception. As Brissett recently told Sports Illustrated’s Martin Rickman:
I’ve invested in stocks and I never thought I’d do that. I’ve always watched it throughout college and a little bit through high school. That stuff is just fun. That’s something I do in my spare time now. I’ve got stock in Apple, so I literally sit on my phone and watch it go from up one cent to down one cent. It’s going up fast. They just released a phone, so it’s going to go up a lot.
5. He Threw 3 Touchdown Passes in His NC State Debut
Brissett overcame a shaky start that included a first-half interception and threw 3 touchdown passes to lead NC State to a come-from-behind 24-23 win over Georgia Southern on August 30. Check out the video above for his postgame interview, in which he described playing in a game for the first time in more than 600 days.
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Jacoby Brissett: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know