The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/916614
60 ■ THE WOLFPACKER WHEREARETHEYNOW? A second opportunity came up with the San Francisco 49ers, but right around that time the USFL folded, flooding the free agency market with talent that the 49ers took advantage of for backfield help and let McIntosh go. During the strike year of 1987, the At- lanta Falcons brought McIntosh in as a replacement player. He appeared in two games, rushing five times for 11 yards and catching three passes for 15 yards. The Fal- cons offered him a chance to come back, McIntosh said, but he was starting down a new path — graduate school and a long career as an administrator in the community college system. "It was a tremendous blessing just to be able to get as far as I did, but I just felt it was a time in my life to turn a chapter," he noted. He went to grad school at North Carolina A&T, a period he called the best in his life. "I got to just be a student," McIntosh said. "I wasn't exhausted, I wasn't tired. I could enjoy it. I never experienced that be- fore because everything is structured when you play football. You never really become part of that campus community." He applied that lesson Reed taught him years before to carve out a career that took him from being a counselor at Davidson Community College to the director of both the Student Success Center and Off-Cam- pus Student Services at Forsyth Tech in Winston-Salem, N.C. After nearly 30 years in the North Caro- lina Community College System, McIntosh made a life decision. One of his best friends lives in New Port Richey, Fla., and after years of visiting him in the spring and sum- mers, he decided to see if he could poten- tially get a job in the Sunshine State. In quick fashion, he landed an interview at Pasco Fernando State College in New Port Richey, where he accepted a position in June as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. "It moved so fast, I think that was the di- vine plan," McIntosh said. "I had my years in to retire, and I felt like sometimes you get opportunities you might not get again." Purcell is not surprised by McIntosh's success. "He was very affable, very communi- cative," Purcell remembered. "He is very articulate. He could have done just about anything he wanted to if he put his mind to it." McIntosh has not forgotten about his roots. His son, Evan, is a junior at NCSU in chemical engineering, and McIntosh tries to attend the spring game as often as he can for the former players' reunion. One of the twists of his move to Florida was that the coach who recruited him, Kif- fin, is not far away, coaching for his son, Lane, at Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Fla. "I did call Coach Kiffin up and told him I was moving to the area, and he was really excited," McIntosh said. McIntosh also recently learned that his former college roommate, Frank Bush, whom he has not seen since he left NC State, is a linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins, and he hopes to reconnect with him. McIntosh also keeps a close eye on his Wolfpack and was confident that NC State was headed for greatness this year. "I wish we didn't have that bye week and kept that momentum. I thought we had a great chance to beat Notre Dame and Clem- son," McIntosh lamented. That reluctant recruiting visit to Raleigh over 35 years ago turned McIntosh into a Wolfpacker for life. "I'm grateful for every experience I had," McIntosh said. "It made me the person I am today. I am grateful for any and everyone that crossed my path. I hope I was an ex- ample for other students." ■ McIntosh was a fifth-round pick of the Detroit Lions in the 1985 NFL Draft before he began a long, successful career in higher education. PHOTO COURTESY JOE MCINTOSH "Joe McIntosh was a great running back. He's in the top two or three running backs at NC State ever, in my opinion. He was tremendously talented." ■ Wolfpack Club Executive Director And Former NC State Football Coach Bobby Purcell