TWTW Bowling: NC State Is Champs Over WBGV

((HT: WRALSportsfan.com))

There are just those bowl games where it's easy to see that one team wanted to be there, and the other really would have liked to be someplace else- any place else other than where they were on that night.

Kinda like WBGV in Orlando playing against NC State...

The Wolfpack wanted to be there, and the Mountaineers surely didn't look like they were the least bit interested.

Russell Wilson threw for 275 yards in a 23-7 win for NC State, and now his future is in question- whether its baseball or returning for one more year of football.

"I've been blessed to have the opportunity to play football and baseball my whole life," Wilson said. "If it happens in the future that I can still do that, or if it doesn't, whatever, but I know that playing for Coach (Tom) O'Brien and playing for N.C. State — whether I do come back or not — has been a great opportunity and a great blessing.

"I'm very passionate about N.C. State and N.C. State football, and I will always be."

Here's Nate Irving, who came back from a really bad car accident to make an impact for Tom O'Brien in 2010, talking about the win...

Aay-Cee-Cee Media Daze Day One: Irving and Herzlich

You want two guys that are ready to get on with their lives...???

BC defensive beast Mark Herzlich and NC State LB Nate Irving...

Both had to battle their share of personal stuff: Herzlich's being cancer ((Ewing's sarcoma)) and Irving's being a car accident where he had a broken leg and a collapsed lung...

Here's Irving on his return... WR Owen Spencer is with him...
((HT: WRALSportsfan.com))


"I'm going to do everything I can to make my leg as strong as possible," Herzlich said to the media there, including Brother Wilkie. "The doctors have said that all the tests are good, it should be strong. ... I made the decision a while ago that I'm going to work and take the time to get back on the field. That's where I'm going, and no hesitation about it."

A Second Chance For A Hungry Wolf-Packer

N.C. State will play it's spring game Saturday and in uniform for the 1st time in a year will be linebacker Nate Irving.

Last summer Irving was poised for a breakout year for the Wolfpack and to impress NFL scouts who had Irving on their radar screen. Last summer those plans changed.

Irving totalled his SUV in a single car accident, you can see the extensive damage in this photo. (Courtesy: NC State) Irving suffered a broken rib, a punctured lung, an open fracture of his tibia and fibula and a separated shoulder. He was very lucky to be alive.

Here's an interview with Nate Irving from our friends at WRAL-TV.
((HT: WRALSportsfan.com))


I spent some time with Nate Irving 3 weeks ago at NC State. This is a guy while healing from his physical injuries was hurting just as bad inside because Irving felt he let his teammates down.

Irving told me that it was tough to watch his teammates go to battle and get beat up each game and he couldn't help.


You might recall NC State was picked by some (and me) to win the ACC Atlantic Division last year and without Irving patrolling the field the Wolfpack defense had a hard time stopping their opponents. The Wolfpack defense was around the bottom in the ACC in all defensive categories. That contributed to a 5-7 season and no bowl.

This year Nate Irving is renewed, re-energized and ready to hit someone. He knows he's getting a second chance and ready to make the most of it.

For those teams on NC State's schedule, you have been warned.

It wouldn't surprise me either if Irving ended the 2010 season ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Irving Recovering From Car Crash

((HT: WRALSportsfan.com))

N.C. State linebacker Nate Irving suffered a broken leg and a collapsed lung in a car accident on Interstate 40, near mile marker 314.

Irving was traveling on I-40 westbound when his vehicle ran into the median at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, state Highway Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said. Irving tried to regain control, but the vehicle ran off the road and struck two trees, Clendenin said.

Paramedics transported Irving to WakeMed, where he was listed in good condition Sunday evening.

N.C. State spokesperson Annabelle Myers said Irving was returning to Raleigh from his hometown of Wallace when the accident happened. Troopers said it appears he may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Irving's mother Frances Corbett, told the Charlotte Observer that her son was returning to N.C. State from Wallace. "He's doing really well," Corbett said. "He knows he's lucky to be alive."

“Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with Nate and his family,” head coach Tom O’Brien said in a statement. “All of his teammates and coaches will be there to support him as he recovers and goes through the process of rehabilitation.”

Irving has been charged with careless and reckless driving, Clendenin said.

The junior's status for the upcoming season was not immediately known.

Irving was an honorable mention all-Atlantic Coast Conference player last season despite missing nearly one-third of the year with injuries. He had 84 tackles, tying for third on the team.

Irving, 6 feet 1 and 235 pounds, starred in high school at Wallace-Rose Hill and redshirted as a freshman at State. He made a quick impact as a redshirt freshman, starting four games and making 52 tackles.

As a sophomore, he emerged as one of the ACC's most dynamic players, and State's defense suffered without him.

Pack Pride's Greg Henderson discusses the idea that Irving could be out the year...
Thanks to our friends at 99.9 The Fan in the Triangle...