TRI-PARTISAN: Just One More Hall Of Fame Induction Remains For Torry Holt

Each week I submit a Tri-Partisan column to WRALSportsFan.com, and here is today's feature where I tell you why being in the NC State and College Football Hall of Fame isn't enough for Torry Holt.  He deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I get asked often who I believe is the greatest football player I've seen play at NC State, and my answer is always the same (and likely won't ever change): Torry Holt.

Growing up a fan of NC State, it was normally basketball that I gravitated to, and when you are watching stars like Rodney Monroe, Chris Corchiani, and Tom Gugliotta as a kid, why not? Sure, I watched NC State football, but not like basketball, and that remained the case in the early 90s when the Pack just wasn't very good at hoops.

My perception of the two sports really changed during my senior year of high school. Remember, back then every game wasn't televised or streamed online. Some games you either had to just catch the highlights on television or listen to the radio broadcast, and it was easier to follow hoops than football in this state at the time.

Obviously, I already knew about Torry Holt. The game-winning two-point conversion versus Syracuse to start the 1997 season stands out, but it was his performance at Florida State the same year that opened my eyes to just how talented he was. That was peak Florida State. They had stars everywhere and were arguably the nation's best program. NC State and Holt lost the game 48-35, but he was unreal, totaling 12 catches for 168 yards and an ACC-record five touchdowns. Five touchdowns at Florida State? Who does that? No one, except Holt.

He elected to return to Raleigh for his senior year, and lucky me... 1998 was my freshman year at NC State. That fall I attended my first football game as a student, and guess who it was against? Florida State. The No. 2 team in the country at the time, FSU had been dominating the ACC... and NC State. The Seminoles had an average margin of victory of 36.3 points over State and was 47-1 in ACC play with an 18-game conference winning streak.

NC State opened the year with a 34-31 win over Ohio University; not exactly the type of performance you'd like to have before Florida State. State-FSU was supposed to be over before it even started, and just seconds into the game the Seminoles were up 7-0 after a Chris Weinke bomb to star wideout Peter Warrick.

Holt didn't duplicate his five-touchdown effort, but he had two big scores this time around -- a 68-yard punt return for a score and a 63-yard reception. His nine grabs for 135 yards paced the offense, and the defense harassed Weinke all day, recording six interceptions in the 24-7 win.

What started out as a day where I expected to watch NC State get blown out ended with me on the field and the goal posts being carried out the stadium.

I'll never forget it, and I was hooked. That team followed it up with a loss at Baylor and finished 7-5 that season, but I didn't care. I tuned in to watch “Big Game” Torry Holt, and he didn't disappoint. Holt was named the ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year after recording an ACC-record 88 catches for 1,604 yards and 16 touchdowns. Click the link to read the rest of the story: LINK