After a season-ending injury in July, senior linebacker Nate Irving left the Wolfpack’s defense in need of help last season. The team found stability from an unlikely source – former high school quarterback Audie Cole, who tallied a team-high 85 tackles.   Cole, now a redshirt junior, said he feels much more comfortable as a linebacker and has gained a better understanding of the position after a year of experience. During the 2009 campaign, coach Tom O’Brien started Cole in every game. The upperclassman admits it was an experience he needed to improve.   “When I first came to State I was terrible as a linebacker,” Cole said.  ”It took a lot of coaching, practicing, and playing experience to get better.  Learning from the coaching staff and playing with Terrell [Manning] and Nate [Irving] was what helped me to learn the position the most.”   While Cole had a productive season last year, the addition of Manning and Irving vastly improved the junior’s output.  In just seven games, Cole has already matched his total of four sacks from last; and with seven and a half tackles for loss, he’s just half of a tackle away from duplicating last year’s total.    “I have to credit a lot of what I have done this year to Nate Irving and Terrell Manning,” Cole said.  ”I have been more aggressive this year, but when the other team has to worry about three of us rather than one, it gives us all more of an opportunity to make plays.”   Although Cole is enjoying a successful year at N.C. State as a linebacker, he still says that football was not originally his favorite sport as a child. Cole was a multi-sport star at Monroe High School in Monroe, Mich. He lettered in basketball and is a gold-glove boxer. Additionally, Cole was recruited for his skills in baseball as a pitcher and outfielder, but he opted to play football instead. He played linebacker at his former school, but was scouted as a quarterback after he threw for 3,285 yards and 23 touchdowns in his career. He  didn’t move over to the defensive side of the ball until  his senior year.     “I loved baseball growing up,” Cole said.  ”Baseball was probably my favorite sport, but I love football just as much now.  I had offers coming out of high school, but never seriously thought about it because I wanted to play football.”   While Cole admitted he may not have been one of the best linebackers starting out of high school, he said he has come to love the position.   “Playing linebacker and quarterback are really different from each other,” Cole said.  ”I enjoy both, but I loved having the ball in my hands as a quarterback and scoring touchdowns, which I have not been able to do as a linebacker at State. Now that I am comfortable as a linebacker, I don’t care where I am on the field.”   During Cole’s senior year of high school, he originally intended to play for Brian Kelly at Central Michigan University. However, when Kelly announced he was leaving for Cincinnati University Cole reopened his recruitment. He eventually decided to attend State, a decision he said he’s happy about today.   “I’m really happy that I ended up coming to State,” Cole said. “Not just for the University in general, but I enjoy the area, and I enjoy the atmosphere of Raleigh. I could see myself staying here when I am done with football.”