The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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102 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2015 The list of colleges that pursued Darian Roseboro is a pretty good indication of his potential. His final narrowed-down list of schools included six prominent programs: Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina and Tennessee. That was in August, and at the end of the month during a pep rally in the Lincolnton (N.C.) High gym, Roseboro donned a U-M hat to declare his allegiance for the Wolverines. NC State, Roseboro admitted, had come in second. However, coaching instability in Ann Arbor changed the dynamic. At the end of September, Roseboro made an official visit to NC State, then decommitted from Michigan a few days later and officially switched his ver - bal commitment to the Wolfpack Oct. 11. It represented a significant get for NC State. According to Rivals.com, Roseboro was a four-star re- cruit and the No. 100 overall prospect in the country re- gardless of position. Expectations will be high for him in Raleigh this fall, but enrolling early should help Roseboro. "I don't know if I'd have been able to adjust straight from summer to fall," he said. "I think I needed to come in the spring because it's going to take time to develop and learn plays and just mature as a player. "I got lost for a couple of days [of classes]. At first, it got overwhelming. It would've been really different. Even if you came in the summer, you wouldn't have had a feel for what classes would have been like in the fall." It has helped Roseboro that he has roomed with sophomore defensive tackle B.J. Hill. Hill enrolled early last year and emerged as a starter at nose tackle for the Pack. He has proven to be a mentor for Roseboro. Hill has preached to Roseboro to work on his tech - nique, which has emerged as a focal point for the touted freshman. "He said you are going to have to be able to think and play," Roseboro noted. "He said that you are not going to be able to guess and just run over offensive tackles because they are bigger than you, stronger than you, faster than you. "It's been a learning experience," Roseboro continued. "It's a lot different than high school. It's all about tech - nique. In high school, you didn't use as much technique as you did in college. I think that's been the real change for me, just technique and learning the playbook. "I've been learning the playbook pretty good, but it's a lot you have to remember. You have to apply it, transfer it from the meeting room to the field." Roseboro was able to rely on his unique athleticism at Lincolnton High. During his four-year varsity career, he piled up 36 sacks and 83 tackles for loss. He also played running back, and rushed for 1,400 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior. In college, though, Roseboro has been determined to fine-tune his frame and athleticism. He arrived in Raleigh, he said, at about 285 pounds. He wants to be around 270 by the fall. He has been put on a meal plan and workout regimen to trim the fat. Part of that includes giving up one of his guilty pleasures. "I had to give up brownies, that's one of the biggest killers," he said. — Matt Carter Nyheim Hines created quite a stir on social media this summer with his ninja-like one-handed catch while tumbling in mid-air and then landing on his feet, which was videotaped on a cell phone and shared on Vine. For good measure, Hines repeated the feat with a slow-motion effect this time for those who could not believe what they had just seen. Hines is just as exciting on the football field. He posted eye-popping numbers over the past two seasons at Garner (N.C.) High: 5,491 rushing yards, 917 receiving yards and 101 total touchdowns via run, pass and kick returns. His versatile game is complemented by his speed. Hines won the 4-A 55-meter dash indoor track state title this winter with a time of 6.28 seconds, second fastest in the country this year, and has been timed as fast as 10.52 seconds in the 100-meter dash. "You're talking about Olympic-type speed, or at the very least, high-level track speed," NC State running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Des Kitchings said. "But he can also change direction, he can jump, he can catch. He's got a lot of versatility." Last season, Wolfpack offensive coordinator Matt Canada was able to find various ways to use junior running back Matt Dayes and freshman fullback/tight end Jaylen Samuels. Thus it is easy to envision Hines joining them in playing a variety of roles in the fall. One area where Hines may be able to make an especially quick impact is in the kick return game. Last year, the Pack averaged just 18.3 yards per kickoff runback and 3.6 yards on punt returns. Only Syracuse, by 0.1 yards on kickoff returns, prevented NCSU from ranking last in the ACC in both categories. Kitchings warned, though, the coaches would be cautious not to overload Hines. "We want to just gradually build him up," Kitchings said. "We don't want to throw everything at him and mentally, he freezes up. It's kind of how he progresses, what he soaks up and is able to translate onto the field. For all of the speed and athleticism he has, he has to be able to utilize that on the field as well." Odds are that Hines will be able to do that. He was rated by Rivals.com as the "Fast - est Player" at the Semper Fidelis All-American Game last January in Carson, Calif., and Kitchings noted that Hines' proximity to the NC State football practice fields allowed him to be a frequent visitor in the spring. "He tried to soak up as much information as he could," Kitchings said. — Matt Carter Defensive Newcomer To Watch DARIAN ROSEBORO, FR., DE Offensive Newcomer To Watch NYHEIM HINES, FR., RB Roseboro (No. 45) finished his four-year career at Lincolnton (N.C.) High with 83 tackles for loss and 36 sacks. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN