Eight months following a car accident which nearly took his life and ended his 2009 football season, Nate Irving seems poised to return and make a huge impact for the 2010 Wolfpack.
Check out this story from GoPack on Irving’s recovery and return to the field.
Nate Irving didn’t just walk into the Media Relations Office on a recent snowy afternoon. He bounced. There was a huge smile on his face and a big “WOLFPACK FOOTBALL†logo on his sweatshirt. He looked like … well, he looked like himself again. The way he looked before his life took a dramatic turn last summer.
It’s quite a different demeanor than the one he had the last time he met the media on August 13, 2009. It was only six months ago, but it seems like a lifetime to the Wolfpack’s hard-hitting linebacker. That was the day he announced that the injuries he had suffered from a devastating car accident in June would cause him to miss the entire football season.
He was thin and walked with a limp that day in the Murphy Center. His hands were still covered with cuts, scrapes and scratches that were just beginning to heal. His voice was quiet and his face was somber as he spoke to the gathered reporters. He managed to hold it together during the interview, but as he turned to walk away, he unsuccessfully tried to fight back tears.
“It’s been a long, long process,†says Irving of his rehab and his physical and emotional recovery. “Every time I think that the last time I played football was in 2008, I can’t believe it. That was two years ago! But I’ve had a chance to sit back and watch and realize a lot of things and learn to appreciate a lot of things, so I guess there has been a positive outcome.â€
