Pack's Irving released from hospital

N.C. State linebacker Nate Irving was released from the hospital Friday, school sports information director Annabelle Myers said in an e-mail on Monday.

Irving had been taken to the WakeMed Trauma Center in Raleigh after suffering a fractured leg and a collapsed lung in a one-car wreck before dawn on June 28.

Myers said Irving planned to spend a few days at home in Wallace, N.C., before returning to campus. The school has yet to release a timetable for Irving's return to football.

According to police records, Irving was injured when he drove off the side of Interstate 40 at about 4:40 a.m. on June 28. His vehicle came to rest in a ditch after hitting two trees.

He was cited for careless and reckless driving, and the police report cited being tired or sleepy as a possible contributing factor in the crash.

Irving, who was expected to be one of the ACC's premier defenders this season, is a junior who redshirted as a freshman. He contemplated leaving school early for the NFL draft, but decided against it.

He led N.C. State with four interceptions last season and made 84 tackles despite missing about a third of the season because of injuries.

Ken Tysiac