Sports Publications

Wolfpack's unlikely pair clicks

Sporting News, The, August 17, 1998 by Lee Montgomery

When Jamie Barnette arrived on the North Carolina State campus in the fall of 1995 from rural Roxboro, N.C., not much was expected of him. Especially as a quarterback. But Torry Holt, who arrived in the same recruiting class, was expected to be a big-time player at wide receiver.

Together, the wannabe QB and the stud receiver now form one of the most lethal pass-catch combinations in the nation. Last season, the two hooked up 60 times for 1,083 yards and 15 touchdowns.

"I wish they had both graduated," Duke coach Fred Goldsmith says.

Holt, a senior, ranks fourth in school history in receiving yardage and sixth in receptions. Last season, he became the first North Carolina State receiver to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season. Heading into his junior season, Barnette already is the Wolfpack's No. 5 career passer; he has two seasons of eligibility left because he was redshirted as a freshman while coaches figured out what to do with him.

Along with the coaches, Holt wasn't sure what to make of Barnette, a 6-1, 190-pounder, the first time he saw him. "He wasn't the quarterback-type I thought I was going to see," says Holt, who was a high school All-American in Gibsonville, N.C. "I thought I was going to see a guy that was 6-3, 230 pounds. And I see this guy smaller than me. I'm like, `He's a quarterback?'"

Barnette thought he was, even if coach Mike O'Cain initially shared Holt's sentiments. "He told me that they weren't sure where they were going to put me," Barnette says. "But (the coaches) said they would give me a chance to play quarterback. That's all I asked for."

Coming from a run-and-shoot offense in high school, Barnette was far from a polished pocket passer. So he became a workaholic. He worked on his footwork--"footsteps," as he called it--his strength, his grasp of the offense and his knowledge of defenses.

"You could tell he had a great arm, but his accuracy and consistency were very poor his first fall here," O'Cain says. "And he worked on it very hard that fall .... When he came back for spring practice, you could see a distinct difference in his throwing motion, his footwork."

Barnette also caught a break as a redshirt freshman when Jose Laureano was suspended and later kicked off the team. The starting job was Barnette's. And from the start, Holt was his favorite target.

That's because Holt, like all standout receivers, has a knack for getting open. His skills almost led to the NFL after last season's breakthrough performance (62 receptions, 1,099 yards, 16 touchdowns), but Holt decided to return to get his sociology degree and play with younger brother Terrence, a walk-on freshman. Torry also has talked about becoming an All-American and breaking as many school receiving records as possible. And it probably didn't hurt that Barnette again would be the guy throwing to him. They are a dangerous package.

"Torry just seems to catch everything that's thrown his way," Goldsmith says. "And he's obviously not a real easy man to cover. ... Then you run into Jamie's maneuverability, that mobility factor. Not only is he a good, accurate passer, he's mobile. He can turn a bad play into a good one."

And Wolfpack fans hope to see a lot more good plays. With unproven junior Rahshon Spikes at tailback, Barnette and Holt will have to hook up often if the Wolfpack want to improve on a 6-5 season.

"We're very competitive," Holt says. "We both want to win, we both want to be the best. I can look into Jamie's eyes and he can look into mine, and that automatically tells me to get open.

"We just click. We've got that vibe with each other."