Nyheim Hines needed 156 yards last night in order to cross 1,000 yards rushing on the season, and he did that and thens some. Hines finished the night with 196 yards (a new career high) on 22 carries and 2 touchdowns, putting him at 1,040 yards (5.7 yards per carry) rushing on the season.
Hines became the 9th player in NC State history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.
Ted Brown (3x – 1,350, 1,251, 1,088/76-78))
Anthony Barbour (1,204/1992))
Joe McIntosh (2x – 1,190 & 1,081/1981,83)
Stan Fritts – 1,169 (1974)
Matt Dayes – 1,166 (2016)
Tremayne Stephens – 1,142 (1997)
T.A. McClendon – 1,101 (2002)
Nyheim Hines – 1,040 (2017)
Willie Burden – 1,014 (1973)
With Matt Dayes rushing for over 1,000 yards last year, the Wolfpack have now had running backs rush for over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1977-78 (Ted Brown did it for 3 consecutive seasons).
Last night really made me wonder what Hines season could have been like, and for that matter what NC State’s season could have been like had he not suffered a high ankle sprain against Pitt. Hines only had 10 total carries against Clemson and Notre Dame, and pretty much missed the entire second half against Wake Forest due to concussion protocol. Not only would his yardage have been drastically different at seasons end, but there might have been a few more W’s beside NC State’s name as well.