Entering the 2010 football season, it was a miracle linebacker Nate Irving was even alive, much less playing football.

After missing the entire 2009 season due to injuries stemming from a life-threatening car accident, the Wallace, N.C., native put together a standout senior campaign, earning first-team All-ACC honors along the way.

The redshirt senior’s presence in the middle of the Pack’s defense has been invaluable. The defense has allowed just 22.5 points per game this season, a huge improvement from last year’s mark (31.2), and ranks third in the nation in sacks, with 40. Irving ranks fourth nationally in tackles for loss with 20.5 and has registered six sacks for the Wolfpack (8-4, 5-3 ACC). His 88 tackles rank ninth in the conference and second-best on the team to Earl Wolff’s 92 stops.

The games against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest earlier this season highlighted Irving’s spectacular season. He set an NCAA single-game record for tackles for loss with eight in the Pack’s blowout victory against the Deacons. He also set a single-game career-high in tackles by notching 16 against the Yellow Jackets en route to being named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player f the Week.

In addition to earning All-ACC first-team honors, Irving was the 2010 Brian Piccolo Award recipient, given annually to the most courageous football player in the ACC.

Wolfpack fans were glad to see No. 56 back on the gridiron, but nobody was happier than Irving himself.