As a true freshman, Nyheim Hines burst out onto the NC State football scene, thanks to his quickness and versatility.
Last season, Nyheim Hines led NC State with 1,419 all-purpose yards, 920 of which came from kickoff returns. Hines brings a lot of versatility to the table for the Wolfpack and could see more time at either running back or wide receiver this season. It’s likely that he could see some time at both, as he did last season. He’s currently working more with the running backs, but he still gets moved around from time to time.
“Sometimes they’ll throw me a curveball and put me at positions I haven’t been at,” Hines said. “I just have to make sure I’m studying the playbook.”
He doesn’t mind being moved around though; he is willing to play whatever position the team needs him to play. In high school, Hines had a lot of success playing in different places on the field.
He graduated from local Garner High School, where he broke school records in rushing yards, all-purpose yards and total touchdowns. Coming out of high school, Hines was considered one of the best running backs in North Carolina, and was ranked No. 155 nationally in the ESPN 300. Naturally, Hines had quite a few offers other than NC State, but ultimately he chose to stay close to home and play for the Wolfpack.
“A lot of my friends went to far-away universities,” Hines said. “I wanted to be different, I wanted to stay at home and help build the team here at State.”
Hines said that he saw the football program heading in the right direction and saw that the university was making efforts to improve its athletics program as a whole, and he wanted to be a part of that. Despite the fact that the Wolfpack had a minor setback last season, going 7-6 (3-5 ACC) after finishing the 2014 season 8-5 (3-5 ACC), Hines and the rest of the team are optimistic about this coming fall and they will look to get things headed back in the right direction.
The Pack has a tougher schedule this year as well, as it plays Notre Dame and ECU in addition to the usual slate of strong ACC opponents. However, with the addition of new offensive coordinator, Eliah Drinkwitz, the team’s offense should be even more potent this season. As the OC for Boise State, Drinkwitz’s offense ranked in the Top 15 in the nation in points per game and total offense for the 2015 season.
At Boise State, Drinkwitz ran a primarily no-huddle offense that was fast paced, explosive and featured a lot of downhill running. Now that he at NC State, he will look to incorporate these things into the Wolfpack’s offense, and he has a lot of talent at the running back position to work with.
When asked about his thoughts on the new OC and the new offense, Hines said that he and his teammates are still adjusting to the faster tempo since the team didn’t utilize the no-huddle offense that much last season. Getting used to playing at a faster tempo means having to get in better shape, but Hines doesn’t mind conditioning because he fully supports Drinkwitz.
“He’s a big attention-to-detail guy, the type of guy you really like to play for,” Hines said. “He practices what he preaches; he even ran sprints with us today. He really sells out for us.”
While the Wolfpack’s offense looks to improve this season, fans should expect another good year for special teams as well, as Hines will once again handle the kick returning duties. In terms of improving as a kick returner, Hines said that he will be more patient this year. He also mentioned that last year showed him just how much more competitive football is at the college level in comparison to high school.
“At this level, everyone is fast and talented and you have to rely on your teammates more,” Hines said. “I know my blockers are always going to do everything they can for me, I just like to repay them for that by having a big return.”
Hines has a lot of potential for next season, and for that reason, there are high expectations that he hopes to achieve. Balancing those responsibilities with school and running track as well is difficult but Hines enjoys the challenge and likes being busy.
He said that having less free time encourages him to be more productive in the time that he does have and that his grades are better this semester now that he’s running track. However, he also said that he couldn’t do it without the support of his twin sister Nyah, who also runs track at NC State. Hines is certainly a unique athlete and a special type of individual.
