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

James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

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.

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.