Irving now making a difference for N.C. State

Guess who is starting to come on for N.C. State? Nate Irving.

When you watched Irving at the start of the season, you couldn’t help but wonder if the explosiveness he showed in the past would ever return .Given that it’s a near miracle that Irving is even alive, let alone playing, that hardly seemed that big of a deal.

But Irving, now playing middle linebacker, is starting to show his old ability to smash players to the turf like he did two years ago. Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien said Wednesday that his play is a result of his becoming more comfortable at middle linebacker.

“I think the key with Nate is experience is a great tool,” O’Brien said. “And playing in the middle everythin, was different. You try to do anything you can in practice to get ready to play but there is nothing like game experience.”

Irving had played outside linebacker until coach Jon Tenuta switched him inside this season. Irving has started to understand the position after a slow start.

“He’s much quicker with his readers and he’s much quicker with where he is supposed to be and what he is supposed to do,” O’Brien said.

Just how far back is Irving from the accident? That’s hard to say, but as O’Brien noted, “I  don’t think he’ll ever get back to that because of the trauma that was at the accident. But he’s awful close.”

Here are Irving's tackle numbers by game: Western Carolina (0), Central Florida (3), Cincinnati (7), Georgia Tech (16) and Virginia Tech (13).