O'Brien: Irving out indefinitely

Injuries suffered in a car crash in June have N.C. State linebacker Nate Irving out indefinitely, coach Tom O’Brien said Thursday afternoon.

During his first public media appearance since the June 28 crash, O’Brien said he won’t know more about Irving’s status until after the player’s next meeting with doctors in mid-August.

O’Brien said that if and when doctors clear Irving to return to football this season, the coaches will allow him to play because he already has used a redshirt year. But there also is a chance Irving could be out for the season.

“This is a medical decision,” O’Brien said during the Triangle Pigskin Preview banquet at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham. “I have nothing to do with this. Once the doctors tell us he’s cleared to go, if we’re still playing football, he will play.”

Irving, who will be a junior this season, suffered a broken leg and a collapsed lung in the wreck. He was cited for careless and reckless driving after a one-car wreck at 4:40 a.m. on Interstate 40 in Johnston County in which a police report mentioned driving while sleepy as a potential contributing factor.

He led the team with four interceptions last season and made 84 tackles despite missing about one-third of the season because of injuries.

Ken Tysiac