Stone Thowing In ACC

Harrisburg (Pa.) Bishop McDevitt quarterback Marcus Stone has decided to embark on his quest for stardom in the ACC.

"I committed to NC State the other day," said the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder who chose the Wolfpack over offers from Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee and many others. "I was looking for a place where I felt comfortable with the coaches, that was close enough to home but not too close and had a great climate and atmosphere. I also looked at depth charts and the type of offense that was being run. NC State had the best of everything I wanted."

Stone, who passed for 2,400 yards over the last two seasons, is considered to be one of the top players in Pennsylvania this year. He's looking forward to the challenge ahead.

"Right now they have Philip (Rivers) and he might turn pro after this upcoming season or stay for his final year," he said. "They also have another quarterback in this class (Chris Hawkins) and I think the opportunity to play early is there. I'll either come in and compete as a true freshman or red-shirt. Either way is fine with me."

Stone was thinking about taking official visits as recently as last week, but only one is on the schedule now.

"I'll take my official trip to NC State and that's it," he said. "I'm done with the process. Now I can concentrate on getting better during my senior year."

One NC State coach compared Stone favorably to another pretty good Pennsylvania signal-caller.

"The comparison was made to Dan Marino," he said. "That's pretty flattering stuff."