Irving ready to taste victory

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The end of October was a pretty special time for Teachey (N.C.) Wallace-Rose athlete Nathaniel Irving. The 6-foot-3, 217-pound prospect made his verbal commitment to North Carolina State.

Since then, Irving has been finishing his high school season and this past week taking part in the 69th annual Shrine Bowl as a selection of the North Carolina team. Though he banged up his hand in the second day of practice, he doesn't expect that to keep him out of Saturday's contest and he's excited about the chance to turn the tide this year.

"Man, we just want to beat South Carolina," Irving said. "We want to whip them bad man. As a team, we've picked it up each day in practice. We've got to start performing as one unit. It's great to be out here and I'm having a great time meeting everyone. Especially Dennis Godfrey."

"He was the first guy that got me out of my shell when I got here."

While Irving is building strong friendships, he's had plenty of time to think about his future at N.C. State.

"I keep hearing things from them about how things are turning around there and I'm excited for that," Irving said. "I may not play the first year, but I'm going to try my best. I want to help get us at the top in anyway I can. The academics they had there was huge for me. I want to be a veterinarian and I know they have a top school for that."

Irving says heading to N.C. State, playing in the Shrine Bowl, and really ending his high school career well has been something he'll always remember.

"Where I'm from, it's a little school," Irving said. "So, being here is great. I was kind of quiet when I showed up, but all the guys have really become friends and made me laugh."

"We're having fun out here."