Nate Irving Out for the Season

'09 Football34

“After meeting with a doctor Thursday, N.C. State linebacker Nate Irving announced that he will be out for the season because of injuries suffered in a June 28 car crash.” (N&O)

Link to WRAL’s story

For now it looks like sophomore Dwayne Maddox will attempt to fill the void left by the loss of Irving. The former 3-star recruit from Shelby, NC fortunately graduated early from high school. Despite sounding like my 7 (and a half) year old niece, Maddox is actually a sophomore and a half. Hopefully that extra semester of work will begin to show as an improvement on his effort to replace Irving last year. Maddox is certainly capable of helping limit the effects of the loss of Irving, but it would be a tall order for any college player to fill the void entirely. Irving is just that good. A former Carolina player told me today regarding Irving: “He’s a pro.” I agree.

Unfortunately, this news isn’t really a big surprise. When we originally discussed Nate’s car accident on June 28th we stated the following based on some information that we had from sources close to the coaching staff.

Based on what we have heard, we think it would be impractical to presume that Nate will play football in the 2009 season. Be clear – we are NOT ‘REPORTING’ that Irving will miss the season. We are simply interjecting that, at this point, we would be surprised if Irving played this season.

We’d like to thank those readers who recognized our code and appreciated our track record and defended us in the comments section of the original entry. Of course, there was was always ‘a chance’ that Irving could/would heal quicker than expected; but that chance was very slim. I don’t think many people truly recognize how lucky Nate is to be alive after this accident. God bless him, his family and his recovery.

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'09 Football

34 Responses to Nate Irving Out for the Season

  1. Zen Wolf 08/13/2009 at 7:20 PM #

    Be well Nate. Be well.

    Can he or would he medical redshirt?

  2. Cosmo96 08/13/2009 at 7:29 PM #

    I don’t think he can medical redshirt, since he already took a “regular” redshirt year. I’m not 100% positive about this, but pretty sure. Even if he could, I doubt that he would. Without the injury, this season would almost certainly have been his last year here, if he were to have performed the way we all expected he would. Even if he could get a hardship waiver after next year, I doubt he would if, again, he performs at the level he is expected to perform.

    According to PackPride, some more bad news is that Everett Proctor, our 3rd string QB, is out for the year with a shoulder tear. On the good news side, Michael Lemon will join the team starting tomorrow.

  3. GAWolf 08/13/2009 at 7:35 PM #

    (I was also writing a post for this. Looks like below is all I had in addition to SFN’s.)

    For now it looks like sophomore Dwayne Maddox will attempt to fill the void left by the loss of Irving. The former 3-star recruit from Shelby, NC fortunately graduated early from high school. Despite sounding like my 7 (and a half) year old niece, Maddox is actually a sophomore and a half. Hopefully that extra semester of work will begin to show as an improvement on his effort to replace Irving last year. Maddox is certainly capable of helping limit the effects of the loss of Irving, but it would be a tall order for any college player to fill the void entirely. Irving is just that good. A former Carolina player told me today regarding Irving: “He’s a pro.” I agree.

    Get well Nate. We’re all behind you, and we wish you the best in your continued recovery.

  4. GAWolf 08/13/2009 at 7:40 PM #

    Cosmo: I share your understanding of how that rule works, but admittedly I could be wrong.

    That’s great about Lemon!!! We need some good news, and proving the misinformation of bad news wrong isn’t really good news. Lemon coming being allowed to join the team is actually great news. I had some contact with a UGA blog when the Lemon story first surfaced, and his dismissal from UGA was something that weighed heavily on Coach Richt. Lemon deserves a break, and I’m very glad it’s here at NC State.

    I’m sorry to hear about Proctor if that’s true. Jeez. The Curse continues.

  5. burnbarn 08/13/2009 at 7:40 PM #

    He can petition to get a 6th year of elegibility after his 5 years are up… so next season would be his RS Sr season..after that he can apply. I doubt he will.. he most likely will be playing on Sundays after next season.

    heal up and get better nate.

  6. Sw0rdf1sh 08/13/2009 at 7:47 PM #

    Suddenly, Audi Cole could play both ways! (i kid)

  7. Broccoman 08/13/2009 at 8:28 PM #

    At least we got certainty now. I think he can get the waiver if he wants it. His draft stock will take a hit anyways with the questions, and the charge he got (has that been resolved yet?) may be a minor character issue (though it shouldn’t be)

    At least we know now so we can prepare for some shootouts.

  8. El Scrotcho 08/13/2009 at 8:43 PM #

    (Disclaimer: No first hand knowledge of his injuries)
    Based on almost every other season long injury I’ve seen, I don’t think it would be rational to expect him to emerge on the other side without a significant hit to his game/immediate pro potential. Hence, all potential extensions of eligibility become important.

  9. GAWolf 08/13/2009 at 8:44 PM #

    The criminal charge is a typical example of a trooper overcharging at the scene of an accident. specifically, the troopers own invesstigation and statements give rise to a defense to the offence charged (C&R). I fully expect this to be dismissed as is typical if Nate’s insurance pays the damage to the property, if any.

  10. blpack 08/13/2009 at 8:49 PM #

    Get Audi up in the bullpen, just in case.
    Sorry to hear about Irving. Not surprised; I was hoping for better news. Hopefully he will completely heal, stay up on his studies and be ready for a successful 2010. God bless Nate and Proctor.

  11. Noah 08/13/2009 at 9:03 PM #

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Cole ends up starting. He was impressive in the spring and has done well this fall.

  12. Dogbreath 08/13/2009 at 9:33 PM #

    Emergency situation Quarterback would more likely be Clem Johnson, as he could run a scaled down, improvisational “Wilson package” if called upon.

  13. BJD95 08/13/2009 at 10:02 PM #

    Yep, 3rd team QB has to be Clem or Audie, I suppose. I wonder if we have any other players with QB experience for the “emergency” designation.

    Please don’t suck, OL. We need this to be a hypothetical only!

  14. tjfoose1 08/14/2009 at 12:40 AM #

    Manning will be the starter, if not for game one, definitely by game 4.

  15. Wufpacker 08/14/2009 at 1:27 AM #

    Well, that stinks. Not a surprise though. Short of super-human healing power the timing of the accident made it such that his chances of returning at any point during this season were slim indeed. Its probably better to go ahead and make the announcement so that he, the coaches and the fans aren’t going week to week on the hopes that he still might have a chance to see the field this year. He needs to focus on his recovery and very likely physical therapy and just concentrate on regaining his health.

    Football will still be there next year. And as Jeff said, Nate is very lucky even to be alive, not to mention that even if not fatal, his injuries very easily could have been more severe and potentially career ending. At least, as things stand now, he can look forward to not having any residual lifelong problems and being able to play football again.

    Regarding the Proctor injury, that stinks too, especially for him. Hopefully, as far as the team goes, it will be a moot point and the QB position will experience no further attrition this year. Just to be safe, though, maybe they should go ahead and wrap Glennon (and Wilson too, for that matter…at least every day but saturday) in several layers of bubble wrap.

    Glad to hear about Lemon. Hope he makes the most of it.

    In other news, Mike Vick has found a new home. He was signed by the Eagles to a 2 year deal today and, not surprisingly, not everyone is happy about it….

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/13/vick.eagles/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

  16. Wufpacker 08/14/2009 at 1:37 AM #

    Almost forgot. I can’t imagine that even if Nate Irving’s charge isn’t dropped (though I agree with GAWolf that it should be and probably will be), I can’t imagine that it would be a red flag to NFL teams regarding a character issue. If it is that is pretty absurd if there weren’t any drugs or alcohol involved and there are no other “issues” that we haven’t heard about, and there are no further issues between now and when he would be drafted (2011 if no extra year granted).

  17. GAWolf 08/14/2009 at 7:12 AM #

    The charge is a non-issue. The kid fell asleep at the wheel and no one other than him was injured…thankfully.

  18. Noah 08/14/2009 at 9:36 AM #

    Everette Proctor is not a college QB. Other than the fact that he is a better athlete, I see no difference in him playing the position and one of the walk-ons playing.

    If both Wilson and Glennon go down, the game plan is to hand the ball off three times and punt.

  19. ryebread 08/14/2009 at 10:11 AM #

    Bad, but not unexpected news. I don’t think that many people go from being on life support with a punctured lung (and if I’ve exaggerated this in some way, please correct me) to playing BCS D1 football in a couple of months. The football season itself isn’t that long and doesn’t give someone who is recovering from critical injuries time to get in playing shape.

    Nate: We wish you well. Good luck with the recovery and in the classroom this year.

  20. ldr of the pk 75 08/14/2009 at 10:26 AM #

    Even without Nate, I think we will be very competitive. He brings an awful lot of enthusiasm to the field though, just seems to make things happen whenever he’s in. Most definitely the concern is, get well above all else.

    On the NFL posssible “red flag”? You’ve got to be kidding me, I hope. C’mon, Vick signs with the Eagles, Plaxico involved in a shooting, and the Ravens guy a few years ago involved in murder. Red flag Nate?

  21. Sam92 08/14/2009 at 10:48 AM #

    well, at least we’ve got certainty around Nate now.

    my hope for nate irving is that he has some real determination in his character, because he’s going to have to work *hard* for a *long* time to recover from those injuries back to what he was before.

  22. tjfoose1 08/14/2009 at 12:56 PM #

    Noah – Cole will be starting, but that has nothing to due with Irving’s availability. Cole will be starting at the field (wide side) LB position. This is where Robbie Lenard played last year.

    Nate played the boundary (short side) position. This position will sooner or later be won by Manning.

    Just a side note for those who may not know – the more dynamic, better athlete, bigger playermaker, etc LB is usually put on the weak/short side of the field.

    This frees him up – he has less responsibility (TE bumps/coverage, pass zones,etc) – to be involved in more stunts and maximize the effect of his dynamic playmaking ability.

    The ‘solid’, dependable, less athletic player is often put on the strong side. This type player can be depended upon to cover his responsibilities, but is not the dynamic, player maker type.

    Perfect example of the above two generalizations is Robbie Lenard and Nate Irving, last year. For you older folks, another example would be Lawrence Taylor vs Carl Banks, though the Giants often simply played Right vs Left).

    This breakdown is one of the reasons why I believe it inevitable that Manning will eventually be the starter at the boundary position. He is much more of the athletic, dynamic playmaker type than is Maddox. Maddox is more in the mold of the strong side LB type.

    With the athletic depth we now have at LB, Audie Cole has the chance to be an exception, assuming he gets the mental part of the game down. Not only is he the big hitter, strong, dynamic player type LB, but he also has the speed to cover the strong side (in Archer’s system, this is the wide side of the field, regardless of which side of the ball may actually be the ‘strong’ side).

  23. tjfoose1 08/14/2009 at 1:01 PM #

    … oh, and regarding the QB situation… should disaster strike again, and we lose RW and Glennon, then we’d either go to some type of Wildcat offense (ala UVA vs VaTech last year) or Daniel Imhoff would be our QB.

  24. GAWolf 08/14/2009 at 1:08 PM #

    Should one of the other guys go down, we simply have walk-on tryouts prior to the 3rd guy going down. I played on an intramural flag team with a guy who transferred from Western Carolina to State to pursue engineering school. He played QB for WCU for two, maybe three, years prior to heading to Raleigh. He had a CANNON. I’m talking broken-fingers-style-CANNON. There’s someone on campus who could throw the ball if such an emergency existed.

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