Philip Rivers

For the first Time since Roman Gabriel ran the Wolfpack offense in the early 1960s, NC State had an All-American caliber quarterback.

Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise.

Rivers also helped the franchise win their first playoff game since 1994 and reach the AFC Championship Game in the 2007 season.

Rivers' first start in an official game came in the seventh grade, in 1994.

He has worn the number 17 jersey since the ninth grade, in honor of his father, who wore the same number in high school.

After his dad got the head coaching job, Rivers played high school football at Athens High School in nearby Athens.

As Rivers' senior season unfolded, he established himself as the best prep passer in the state.

Although he had offers from Auburn and Alabama, neither projected him as a starting quarterback.

Rivers rejected them in order to go to a program where he would have more playing Time.

The first college to seriously recruit Rivers as a quarterback was North Carolina State.

Joe Pate convinced Rivers and his parents to consider graduating from high school in December 1999.

After high school, Rivers attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he played for coach Chuck Amato's Wolfpack football team.

Rivers enrolled in January and suited up for his first practice as a college quarterback in the spring of 2000.

As a freshman in 2000, Rivers led NC State to an 8–4 record, including a win against Minnesota in the MicronPC Bowl.

Four of the Wolfpack's victories were comebacks.

In his debut, a 38–31 double-overtime win over Arkansas State, he passed for 397 yards and three touchdowns.

He directed a 74-yard game-tying drive as Time expired.

A week later, he threw for 401 yards in a 41–38 win against Indiana.

The performance was highlighted by a timely 47-yard pass to future first round pick Koren Robinson with under a minute to go.

Against Duke, NC State trailed 31–28 late in the fourth quarter when Rivers scored a rushing touchdown on a seven-yard run.

Rivers threw for a season-high 413 yards to go along with three touchdowns and one interception For the season, Rivers passed for 3,054 yards and 25 touchdowns.

He broke a half-dozen school passing marks, was ACC Rookie of the Week a record eight times, and earned honors as the conference Freshman of the Year.

As a sophomore in 2001, Rivers connected for 2,586 yards and 16 touchdowns.

His 65.2 percent completion mark led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

The Wolfpack finished the 2001 campaign at 7–4 and made a return trip to the Tangerine Bowl.

The quarterback had a good game against Pitt in a 34–19 loss, passing for 189 yards and a touchdown.

In 2002, Rivers led the Wolfpack to victories in their first nine games, which led to a number #10 ranking in the AP Poll.

He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack and was selected fourth overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, who traded him to the San Diego Chargers during the draft.

Rivers was a member of the Chargers for 16 seasons and played his final season for the Indianapolis Colts.

Since 2021, he has served as the head football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School.

After spending his first two seasons as a backup, Rivers served as the Chargers' starting quarterback from 2006 to 2019.

During his tenure, he was named to eight Pro Bowls while leading the team to six postseason appearances and four division titles.

He is also second all-Time in consecutive regular season starts by a quarterback, having started every regular season game between 2006 and 2020.

Rivers is considered among the greatest quarterbacks to have never played in a Super Bowl.

Rivers was born in Decatur, Alabama, where his father, Steve, was the head coach of Decatur High's football team and his mother, Joan, was a teacher.

As part of a fifth-grade project, he had to make a poster about his dreams and aspirations.

On the poster, he pasted his face over that of a Minnesota Vikings player who had appeared on a cover of Sports Illustrated.

With the Colts in 2020, he reached the playoffs a seventh Time.

He was less successful in the postseason, however, and never made a Super Bowl appearance.

Rivers retired fifth all-Time in passing yards and touchdowns, both of which are the highest-ranking among quarterbacks without Super Bowl appearances.