NC State Picks Up Linebacker Ty Linton, A Former UNC Signee

NC State added some linebacker depth Thursday with the addition of Ty Linton, a former UNC signee who opted to take a shot at baseball when the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him and offered a $1.25 million signing bonus in 2010. Yeah, I'd probably take that too.

Baseball didn't work out, though--he hit just .198/.260/.293 between rookie and low-A ball in 2013, and considering he's 22 years old, the writing was on the wall. Linton is enrolling as a walk-on, so there's no scholarship cost for State this cycle, because the D-Backs are paying for his education, per Pack Pride.

Ty Linton re-committed to UNC in November but switched his verbal to NC State this week after the Wolfpack became involved.

— Pack Pride (@PackPride) December 19, 2013

Dave Doeren played a huge role in Linton's decision. Doeren gave him his first scholarship offer when Doeren was an assistant at Wisconsin.

— Pack Pride (@PackPride) December 19, 2013

The questions now are how much of an impact he'll have, and how quickly could he see the field. The talent's there, for sure--he was considered a three-star player by Rivals and Scout back in 2010, so he's certainly capable of cracking a two-deep at a power-conference school. But he's obviously gonna be a tad rusty.

In any case, this is a smart move by Dave Doeren because we simply need depth however we can get it right now, and to be able to nab a guy who could contribute without using a scholarship is a nice bonus.