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Nate Irving loved playing football in Carter-Finley Stadium as a member of the Wolfpack.  In fact, he still can’t wait for football to begin in Carter-Finley Stadium.  Check out his tweet from earlier today:

Tomorrow a lot of players will run out of the tunnel for the very first time.  On the other side of the coin, tomorrow will be the last “first game of the season” some players will ever have in Raleigh.  Players will be filled with excitement and nerves.

Looking back, Irving remembers the nerves of his very first game for the Wolfpack, and what he remembers was panic, instead of a majority of the plays in the playbook.

“The first time I was suiting up for a college game I was so nervous.  I forgot about half of the playbook,” said Irving.  “All I could think about was “hit them before they hit you”…and “don’t get ran over.”
Every player has a different routine before they hit the field.  They will listen to whatever music works for them, but when there is three minutes till kickoff, the red lights will turn on in the locker room, and the white lights will go off.  Silence will fill the room and focus is the only thing on the menu for three minutes.  Irving remembers what it was like to focus prior to running out on the field, literally day-dreaming of the other teams plans.
“Before every game I made sure I stretched with teammate Bobby Floyd,” said Irving. “After the stretch, I would leave and go sit down and just think about things that other coaches might try to do to our defense, and envision myself making plays.”
The Wolfpack only has 11 Seniors running out on the field tomorrow night, and Irving remembers all of the emotions that came with the knowledge that this was the beginning of his final season.
“The first game of my last season was a special one.  I missed the year before because of my car accident so I didn’t know what to expect,” said Irving.  “I was nervous if I was still going to be able to run and tackle?  Would my leg hold up?  Is my lung ok?  It was a very emotional time for me.”
Last season NC State came out of the gate and almost lost to Georgia Southern.  If it wasn’t for a 35-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to Matt Dayes with under two-minutes to play, the Wolfpack would have walked out of Week 1 with a loss.  Some players have a hard time getting up for the Troy’s of the world, and live for the hype of the big opponent.  That was never a problem for Irving.
“I approached every game the same.  I was a leader during my time and I would feel like I cheated myself and my teammates and coaches if I didn’t prepare the same…week in and week out,” said Irving. “To me, it wasn’t about who we were playing.  It was about making sure we were ready for anybody we faced.”

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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Pack in the Pros

T-Wolves Sign Former NC State Forward TJ Warren for Remainder of the Season

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Back during the first week of March, former All-ACC NC State Forward TJ Warren signed a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. After finding success as a scoring option off the bench, the T-Wolves signed him to another 10-day contract.

With only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Minnesota went ahead and signed him for the rest of regular season yesterday.

In the 7 games Warren has played for the T-Wolves, he has averaged 4.1 points per game in 14.0 minutes of play, shooting 47.8% from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc.

Warren has not played in Minnesota’s past two games, but he has a chance to prove his worth once again tonight in the T-Wolves matchup vs. the Pistons. As things currently stand, Minnesota sits in 3rd place in the Western Conference.

Here’s a look at the former ACC Player of the Year’s stats over 10 seasons.

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines Signs 1-Year Deal With Cleveland

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines has signed a 1-year deal with the Cleveland Browns worth up to $3.5 million.

Maybe Cleveland will use Hines to his full potential. If you’re not using him as a Swiss Army Knife in the passing game, you’re wasting an opportunity.

The former All-ACC Running Back Hines missed all of last season due to a torn ACL he suffered in a boating accident.

This will be Hines’ 7th season in the NFL.

When you look at what former NC State players have done in the NFL, Hines ranks in the Top-10 in Rushing and Receiving.

His 1,015 rushing yards ranks 7th in school history and his 10 rushing touchdowns rank 9th. Hines’ 240 receptions rank 8th and his 1,778 receiving yards rank 10th.

In the return game, he’s one of the best to represent NC State in the NFL as well. His 1,015 punt return yards ranks 2nd in school history and his 817 kickoff return yards rank 6th. Hines’ 2 punts returned for TD’s ranks 3rd, and his 2 kickoffs taken to the house ranks 1st.

 

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett Signs 1-Year Deal with Pats

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett is signing a 1-year deal with the New England Patriots, rejoining the team that drafted him in the 3rd Round back in 2016.

The deal is worth $8 million.

After the Pats traded away Quarterback Mac Jones to the Jaguars yesterday, it’s abundantly clear what they are planning to do with the 3rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After winning a Super Bowl in his lone season in New England in 2016, Brissett went on to spend 4 seasons in Indy, before spending the next 3 seasons in 3 different cities: Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

Brissett has had a great career as a backup Quarterback through 8 seasons in the NFL, playing in 79 games (starting 48), throwing for 10,574 yards and 51 touchdowns, with 23 interceptions, and a QB Rating of 85.3.

Brissett ranks 5th in NC State history in career passing yards and touchdowns, and 3rd in QB Rating by a former Wolfpack player in the NFL.

Prior to making a dime from New England in 2024, Brissett has made $50.9 million through his first 8 seasons in the league.

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones Signs with Arizona

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones (2014-17) has signed a 3-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.

The deal is worth a total of $30.1 million, with $19.75 million guaranteed.

Jones spent the past two seasons in Chicago, where he started in every game, recording 101 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

In 2018, Jones was taken in the 3rd round by the Chargers. After playing in 15 games as a reserve as a rookie, Jones started for the Bolts for the next 3 years before signing with the Bears.

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