The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JANUARY 2018 ■ 59 WHEREARETHEYNOW? BY MATT CARTER I n one of running back Joe Mc- Intosh's first practices at NC State after he arrived in the fall of 1981, he was working with the third-string offense and going up against the starting defense. Staring across the line from him was a linebacker named Vaughan Johnson. "Vaughan's the only guy I've ever said this about in my life — he had muscles in his head," said Wolfpack Club Executive Direc- tor Bobby Purcell, who had just started as an assistant helping with running backs, special teams and the defensive scout team in 1981. "He had muscles everywhere." Johnson was recently inducted into the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame after starring for eight sea- sons with the Saints and making four Pro Bowl teams there. Next to Johnson at linebacker in Raleigh during the 1981 season was Robert Abraham, who would play six seasons for the Houston Oilers in the NFL. For McIntosh, the challenge took him back to his youth in Lexington, N.C. Long before he was involved with Pee Wee foot- ball, McIntosh played with the older neigh- borhood kids in the churchyards. "Nobody wanted to play running back, and because I was the youngest of all the kids that was playing, guess where I got stuck?" McIntosh remembered. "I ran very scared because I didn't want to get hit." McIntosh approached those early prac- tices at NC State the same way. "We had Vaughan Johnson, Robert Abra- ham, and I wasn't going to let those guys hit me," he recalled. "It really impressed the coaches. I was just amazed I was able to do the things that I did. Before you know it I started taking reps with the first team." That was the start of a career that would rank McIntosh among the very best running backs to ever play for NC State. He ran for over 1,000 yards twice and concluded his four years with 3,642 rushing yards, the second most in school history behind only All-American and College Football Hall of Famer Ted Brown, who remains the ACC's all-time leading rusher with 4,602 yards from 1975-78. "Joe McIntosh was a great running back," Purcell shared. "He's in the top two or three running backs at NC State ever, in my opinion. He was tremendously tal- ented." That talent was evident in McIntosh's days at Lexington High School. Every pro- gram in the country recruited him. That included Michigan, Notre Dame and leg- endary Alabama head coach Bear Bryant. "Bear Bryant called me and said, 'Look, do you want to play for Alabama?'" McIn- tosh remembered. "I said, 'I would like to visit the school first and decide from that point.' He said, 'If you want to play for Alabama, you al- ready know. We don't waste our money on flights. You have to decide now.' "So I said, 'I guess I won't be attending Alabama.'" That conversation led McIntosh to de- cide he would simply consider schools in the area, and two stood out — Clemson and North Carolina. However, former NC State head coach Monte Kiffin was persistent and eventually persuaded McIntosh to visit Raleigh. "I visited all the other campuses, and I visited NC State and right then and there I said there is the school for me," McIntosh said. "I identified with the culture. It was a down-to-earth school, and I knew if I get injured and couldn't play football anymore that I would feel comfortable going to school there. It just felt like home." McIntosh was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1981 when he rushed for an ACC-best 1,190 yards, which is the fourth most in a single season at NCSU, and was a two-time All- ACC selection. He joined Brown as the only NC State running backs to have mul- tiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and his 20 career 100-yard games are second to only Brown's 27. Team success was a little harder to come by those days. McIntosh never played in a bowl game, and his last two years were under Tom Reed after Kiffin was let go fol- lowing the 1982 season. Yet within those times, McIn- tosh learned a valuable lesson that carried with him through a long, successful career in higher educa- tion. "Tom Reed, my last coach, said, 'Men, we may not be winning on the field, but we're winning off the field,'" recalled McIntosh. "What he was saying was that we're winning the classroom. Whereas before student football athletes were not as successful graduating, we're doing that now. "That resonated with me. He always told us right now you may not appreciate it, but 10 years from now you will, because right now you are only thinking about the wins. "Winning in the classroom is going to take you the rest of your life." McIntosh quickly discovered the harsh realities of the NFL. He fractured his foot as a senior when Clemson's William "The Refrigerator" Perry fell on it. He went from a potential late first-round choice to a fifth- round pick by the Detroit Lions. Long-time college football coach Darryl Rogers had just been hired by the Lions, and he lured some of his former running backs to come play for him. Despite performing well in the pre- season, Rogers decided to cut McIntosh. "It was shocking to everyone, even my- self," McIntosh said. McIntosh debuted with an ACC-best 1,190 rushing yards in 1981 and had another 1,000- yard season in 1983, finishing with 1,081 yards on the ground and another 215 through the air. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS Joe McIntosh Football (1981-84) Age: 55 Living: Western Chapel, Fla. Occupation: Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Pasco Fernando Community College. Did you know? McIntosh is one of just five NC State running backs to lead the ACC in rushing, doing so as a freshman in 1981 with 1,190 yards in 10 games. Ted Brown, Stan Fritts, Willie Burden and Tremayne Stephens are the others who have accomplished the feat. McIntosh finished second all-time at NC State in career rushing yards with 3,642 yards. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS