Switching the primary position you play in any sport is not an easy thing to do. In many cases, it requires a fundamental shift in preparation, style of play and the way you approach the game. This is particularly the case when taking on a role as critical as the one played by a running back on a football team.
That’s exactly what NC State junior back Nyheim Hines has done. With the loss of Matt Dayes, last year’s workhorse back and 1,166 yard rusher, the Pack needed someone to step up. The team elected to fill that hole by committee, turning to junior running back Reggie Gallaspy, and asking Hines to make the switch from the role of slot receiver he has played the past two years. The speedy third-year spent the offseason studying and preparing for the challenges of his new position.
“They told me sometime after the bowl game when I started playing that they had some packages for me to play running back in the backfield with [Dayes],” Hines said. “Really, it’s just been getting my football IQ higher. At running back, you have to know a lot of the fronts. At receiver, you just have to know coverages, and you really don’t have to know blitzes.”
“In the offseason, I did a great job of trying to figure out coverages and the basics of football. Even playing Madden, just looking at the fronts and things like that, trying to see if I can identify blitzes.”
Hines has made steady progress in his transition, particularly with the challenges the Pack’s running game has faced with turmoil along the offensive line over the first two games. He’s picked up 28 carries for 110 yards (3.9 YPC) and a touchdown. The 5-foot-9, 197 lb back feels he has more to offer to the Pack’s ground game, however, as he continues to adjust.
“It’s been great,” Hines said. “I’ve been doing a lot of good things, but there’s also a lot of things I can correct. Each week is just a struggle to chase greatness and do everything I can to help this team win.”
Hines’ position coach agreed that we have yet to see the best the Garner, North Carolina, native has to offer the NCSU backfield, but added it’s only a matter of time before his speed takes over and people really see what he can do.
“We have yet to fully, I think, see the effects of Nyheim from a home run standpoint,” NC State running backs coach Des Kitchings said. “Nyheim’s a physical, tough kid. Obviously he has the breakaway speed being whatever he was on the track. It’s coming. Each week you see him getting better. He obviously took care of the football this last game better than he did against South Carolina. It’s going to happen. One of these plays, he’s going to pop it and create a long touchdown for us. And then hopefully continue that throughout the season.”
That speed element is something Hines strives to bring to the field on a weekly basis. With Gallaspy filling the more traditional “power back,” between-the-tackles role for the Pack, Hines offers more of a big play ability and explosive element to the run game.
“[I try to bring] explosiveness and execution,” Hines said. “I’m trying to have explosive plays and be able to show my ability. Also just execute plays and keep [redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Finley] off of his back. Do anything I can do to help NC State win.”
One of the players tasked with helping Hines and his counterpart to do their jobs has enjoyed playing in front of NC State’s new backfield committee this year, and appreciates what both Hines and Gallaspy bring to the table.
“He’s elusive,” senior offensive lineman Tony Adams said. “He’s a really good back. Him and Reggie Gallaspy are really good backs. We’ve got a power back in Reggie and then Nyheim can break it out and run for a 90-yard gain for a touchdown. We love both of them to death, we know they’re going to run hard, having that kind of aspect to both backs and having both perspectives from both. It’s really good to block for both of them.”
Hines is part of a Wolfpack team that set out for this season with high expectations from the outside, and high internal goals for themselves. While things have not gone the way the team envisioned so far, with a heartbreaking week one loss to South Carolina and a shaky start to a week two win over Marshall, Hines knows it is no time to panic. Everything he and his teammates set out to accomplish this season is still on the table, as long as they remain focused on what’s in front of them.
“I feel this year is a big year, just like any year,” Hines said. “Any year can be a big year, but it’s on the players to execute. Even though the first game went unfortunately not the way we wanted, we can still do the things [we wanted to do] and run the tables in the ACC if we execute and play our football.”
