The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/699450
JULY 2016 ■ 125 BY TIM PEELER N yheim Hines remembers the first opponent who ever beat him — quite badly, in fact — on NC State's Paul Derr Track. It was his mortal frenemy, an opponent who absolutely cherished leaving him be- hind, even giving him a little sarcastic wave when blowing by — barefooted — on the composite surface in a head-to- head race after a youth track meet. It was his twin sister Nyah, who dusted her 10-year-old, older-by-two-minutes brother. "That's a loss I'll always have to live with," Hines said. And one that Nyah, who is a hurdler for the NC State women's track and field team, will always bring up, especially around his football friends. Since then, however, there have been very few losses or failures for the ver- satile athlete from Garner, N.C., who earned Freshman All-America honors from 247Sports playing for the Wolfpack football team and All-America honors in track and field as a member of the 4x100- meter relay team that finished seventh at the NCAA Championships June 8-11 in Eugene, Ore. Hines' outstanding performances in both sports gave the speedy playmaker plenty of credentials to be named The Wolfpacker's Freshman of the Year, with few challengers. "Nyheim has been very blessed with ability," NC State football coach Dave Doeren said. "The cool thing about him is that he has taken advantage of every gift he has been given. He's a tremendous worker in everything he does. "He doesn't like to draw attention to himself. He's very self-driven, and that is not always the case with someone who is as talented as he is. Sometimes a really talented guy can be a little lazy and just use the gifts he has. And sometimes a guy who isn't as talented works harder than everyone else, just to be competitive. "Nyheim does both. He's super talented and a hard worker. It's great to have that combination." In football, Hines came to camp with no specific role. He ended up all over the field, initially as a wide receiver, eventu- ally as a running back and consistently as a kick returner. He scored at least one touchdown from each position. In the latter role, he posted the second best kickoff return average in school his- tory at 26.3 yard per runback, including a 100-yard romp for a touchdown against Clemson. His 208 all-purpose yards against Syracuse earned him ACC Rookie of the Week honors. In all, Hines filled needs when the Wolfpack lost its backfield depth and filled holes when he was handed the ball, tallying 1,419 all-purpose yards, the sec- ond most ever posted by a freshman and the ninth best mark in school history. "I think I could have done more," he said. "There were times I messed up on plays or didn't make the right read. I know what I am capable of, and I feel like I could've done a lot better. I've been watching a lot of film of things I messed up on, reading a lot of defenses and just getting better at learning the game. "Hopefully, that will show, and I won't make as many mistakes as I did last year." Following his inaugural season on the gridiron, Hines participated in both in- door and outdoor track meets as a sprinter, earning All-ACC honors in the 60 meters (indoor) and the 100 meters (outdoor) and running the lead-off leg for the ACC champion 4x100 team. The team of Hines, Shannon Patterson, Jonathan Addison and Quashawn Cunning- ham not only won the league title, but they scored a total of 40 of the team's 93 points in individual and relay events to help the Wolfpack finish second — it's best perfor- mance at the ACC Championships since 1996. It was a good first step, Hines said, but he's already thinking about a bigger future. "Next year, we want to go to the NCAAs to win, not just be happy we made it to the finals," he said. "We should be national contenders the next two or three years be- cause of the people we have coming back." Hines has easily put himself into the rar- efied company of past football-track combo athletes like Danny Peebles and T.J. Gra- ham, both of whom used their world-class speed to propel both programs. Others like running back Charley Young, wide receiver Alvis Whitted, defensive backs Perry Wil- liams and Izel Jenkins, and linebackers Manny Lawson and Joe Hannah enhanced their NFL credentials by contributing to a proud tradition NC State has of sharing athletes between the two sports. It's a practice that has become much more difficult in recent years with both sports following a year-round calendar for competition, training and strength condi- tioning. Wolfpack veteran track and field coach Rollie Geiger, who won multiple indoor and outdoor ACC championships with a mix of football players, well-trained jumpers and a deep field of distance run- ners, always likes having the gridiron guys on the track, for their mentality as much as their speed or power. "Like all the football players we have had, Nyheim brings a team concept men- tality to the track and field team," Geiger said. "Sometimes, that's a missing piece in a sport with so many individual athletes." Hines is the first of Doeren's football Nyheim Hines Shined On The Football Field And On The Track In His First Year With The Wolfpack Hines was a Freshman All-American after posting 1,419 all-purpose yards last fall, and earned first-team All-America honors in track as a member of NC State's 4x100-meter relay team that finished seventh in the nation at the NCAA Championships. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN TWO-SPORT STANDOUT