Tim Peeler: Looking at families with legacy in NC State Athletics
For more than a century, NC State football has relied on siblings and families for gridiron productivity.
And that doesn’t just mean former wide receiver Phil Brothers (1982-85).
In fact, real-life families have made lasting impacts, including multiple generations like the father-son combination of J. Platt Turner (1899-1901) and Rae Turner (1948-49), both of whom played for the Wolfpack, even if it was nearly 50 years apart.
In 1899, the elder Turner scored the first State College touchdown ever recorded against North Carolina, while the younger Turner, a World War II veteran who had played at both Rice and Carson-Newman before his service, played one season in 1947 for the Wolfpack as a wide receiver. He never scored a touchdown during his playing career, but when he traveled to Raleigh to play in an old-timers game at the end of 1985 spring practice, he caught a scoring pass from Roman Gabriel.
There are other father-son combinations like Jim and John Ritcher, the elder of which won the Outland Trophy as a center for coach Bo Rein’s ACC Championship football team in 1979 and the younger of which played tight end during the Chuck Amato era.
And the Evans family, beginning with quarterback/punter Johnny Evans and half of his quadruplet children, quarterback Daniel Evans and wide receiver Andrew. The elder Evans, after a professional football career, returned to Raleigh and just celebrated the beginning of his 40th season as the color analyst for football on the NC State Radio Network.
However, it wasn’t until last week when quarterback Lex Thomas, younger brother of Thayer and Drake, threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Anderson against Clemson that three members of the same generation have been responsible for at least one touchdown in their careers.
Thayer Thomas caught 24 touchdown passes during his five-year career as a wide receiver, while linebacker Drake once scored on an intercepted pass as a sophomore.
The Moody family of Asheboro, North Carolina, is the only multi-generation family to score touchdowns for the Wolfpack. Quarterback Darrell Moody (1968-70) threw for two and ran for seven touchdowns during his ACC-championship career, while his wide receiver brother David (1975-76) caught a touchdown pass as a junior and David’s son Craig returned a punt for a touchdown in 2002.
Twins Dave and Don Buckey of Akron, Ohio, were responsible for three dozen touchdowns between them during their Sports Illustrated cover-worthy careers. Quarterback Dave often found split Don from 1972-75 while playing for four consecutive bowl teams under coach Lou Holtz. The multiple time All-ACC selections graduated as the school’s all-time leading passer and all-time leading receiver.
Brothers Torry and Terrence Holt of Gibsonville made a lasting legacy, not only for both earning All-America honors during their careers as a wide receiver and kick-blocking safety, respectively, but as the only Wolfpack siblings to play concurrently in the NFL.
DaJuan (2004-07) and DeAndre (2007-09) Morgan both roamed the secondary under Amato’s national leading defense, recording eight interceptions between them.
There have been father-son offensive linemen (Joe and Josh Milinichik), brother offensive linemen (Rich and Steve Pokrant) and brother defensive linemen (Dennis and Mike Owens).
And, most recently, a quarterback-offensive lineman combo with Matthew and Timothy McKay of Raleigh.
Brothers Jess and John Tatum of McColl, South Carolina played at State College in the 1930s, but never beat their older brother Jim’s team at North Carolina during their time with the Wolfpack. However, Smilin’ Jim Tatum, one of many coaching saviors of the Tar Heel football program, never beat the Wolfpack while he was the head coach of his alma mater.
There have been a few characters along the way. Who could forget Kenneth and Jonathan Redmond, the Clown Princes of Wolfpack Football? The offensive line brothers from Seneca, South Carolina, were one year apart and humor on wheels for their teammates, including fellow lineman Steve Keim, who was once caught off guard when the brothers showed up at his apartment honking their horn to pick him up for a weekend in Pennsylvania.
They didn’t call ahead because they used their only telephone cord to tie bullhorns to the hood of their car.
Or the Doak brothers, Peanut and Chick, a pair of undersized backfield dynamos who grew up on NC State’s campus because their father Charles Doak was the longtime baseball coach and namesake of Doak Field at Dail Park.
The younger Doaks had their two-sport careers cut short by World War II, even though devout Quakers didn’t go off to fight. Instead, they were sent conscientious objector work camps for the duration of the global conflict. Peanut, the younger of the two, left a pretty amazing legacy, first by leading the Wolfpack to a victory over North Carolina, then leaving school a week later and second by becoming, years later, NC State’s first women’s basketball coach, a one-year interim position before giving way to Kay Yow.
Older brother Rosie Amato, a defensive lineman under coach Earle Edwards, was the reason little brother Chuck came to Raleigh to wrestle and play football in the 1960s, a relationship that eventually led to Chuck becoming a graduate assistant, an assistant coach, defensive coordinator and head coach of the Wolfpack.
They were preceded by brothers Dick and Lou DeAngelis, without whom the Wolfpack would not have won the 1957 ACC championship and Raleigh would not have had Amedeo’s.
The Auer brothers of Fairview, North Carolina, linebacker Scott and tight end Neal, kept their family name on NC State’s rosters for eight consecutive seasons, while offensive linemen Jon and Patrick Bedics played together from 2006-08.
There were the Gentrys of Wake Forest, Taylor and Zach, whose father was too small to play defensive end for the Wolfpack when he was in school during the 1980s. His two sons, however, made an impression for coach Tom O’Brien as special teams walk-ons who earned their way onto the field because of dedicated service and hard work.
It was a full family affair: Their mother Kathryn was a featured twirler for NC State’s marching band in the 1980s and their younger sister Caroline was a four-year letter winner in women’s soccer 2012-15.
Clearly, this is not a comprehensive list, but a good start at establishing the history of families that have performed through the generations of Wolfpack football.
Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at [email protected].
