Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers leads the NFL in touchdown passes with 9 and is fourth in the NFL in passing yards.

Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young said after Rivers' Monday night performance that Philip is a future Hall of Famer. Only if he can continue to play like this for a few more years.

A total of 2,197 miles separate Raleigh from San Diego. The distance between NC State and it's most popular quarterback seems much further.

For the last three Mondays, I have been in the Murphy Center to cover the football press conference. When you walk into NC State's state of the art football facility there is an area on the first floor dedicated to Wolfpack greats. This is where most get to visit. The upstairs areas are for coaches and players only.  Memorabilia, pictures and artifacts decorate the first floor shrine but it took a few minutes for me to find a picture of Rivers. The larger-than-life Rivers photo that used to be in there beside Chuck Amato in his sunglasses is gone.

Nine NFL helmets with autographs of former Wolfpack players sit in a glass case on the first floor display. There isn't a Chargers/Rivers helmet among them.

Why?

Did it get lost in the mail? You could have walked it from San Diego to Raleigh in the five years that Rivers has been gone.

When recruits walk into the Murphy Center they want to see recent history. Guys in the NFL who have played at NC State within the last decade. Guys who recruits see on TV playing right now. A star like Philip Rivers would pull some serious weight.

Who's fault is it?

Probably both parties. Rivers doesn't get back to NC State much at all. He is still bitter about Chuck Amato being fired.

You haven't seen Rivers on the sideline at Carter-Finley Stadium since Tom O'Brien took over. He hasn't returned phone calls from former Wolfpack great Torry Holt, who has tried to get Rivers to play in his charity golf tournament here in Raleigh. 

The person Rivers keeps in contact with the most is Joe Pate. He is the current director of football operations and former Wolfpack assistant who recruited Rivers in Alabama.

Whether there is a scheduling conflict, a misunderstanding or a rift, it would be nice to see NC State and Rivers get back together.

It's almost like a divorce but it's salvageable. At least during pre-game, TV introductions, Rivers says he's from NC State - not Athens High School in Alabama.

That's when you know that things are irreversible.