North Carolina State University Athletics
A Different Ending
11/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 10, 2004
By Brian Reinhardt -
Injuries are part of the game. It is one of the oldest sports cliches in the book, but holds true to form for the 2004 Wolfpack, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Going into the Georgia Tech game, as many as four starters were listed as doubtful, and a few others were so banged up they had been unable to practice that whole week. At Clemson, NC State was missing three starters on the offensive line, and the Pack was without both its top rusher and receiver in the second half of the contest.
NC State's injury woes all started at North Carolina Oct. 9. Senior Jed Paulsen, one of the leaders of the offensive line, went down with an ankle injury. Paulsen was a third-year starter, a captain his senior season, and helped direct the Pack's linemen on pass protection on every play. Playing on the offensive line is a bruising job with lots of injuries, and Paulsen has had his share. But when he first went down this time, he knew it was serious.
"I knew as soon as it happened (at North Carolina) that this was a big injury," said Paulsen. "As an offensive lineman I turn and twist my ankle all the time, but when I tried to get up I couldn't feel it and it was numb and hurting. I knew it was pretty serious as soon as I went down."
The injury turned out to be a severe ankle sprain, and on October 12 Paulsen underwent surgery to insert two pins to stabilize two torn ligaments so it will heal correctly.
"It doesn't look good right now; I'd say I'm probably out for the season," said Paulsen. "I'm going to have to have my leg in a cast for a few more weeks. It's just a bad deal and bad timing, but it's part of this sport. You have to learn to deal with things like this. I know I will grow from this and become a better person because of it."
Not only was it bad timing for Paulsen to go down with an injury in his senior season, but it was even worse for the Wolfpack. Paulsen was the centerpiece of the Pack's offensive line, quite arguably one of NC State's top units in the preseason. Paulsen started 24 games and played 1,589 snaps as a sophomore and junior, and this year he was on the preseason `watch' list for the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation's top center. Now, instead of paving holes for the running game and protecting the quarterback from blitzers, Paulsen has to adjust to not being able to play.
"It was pretty bad at first, and in fact it still isn't all that good," said Paulsen. "I'm trying to deal with it, and I have a good group of people supporting me right now. My family is down here, my girlfriend is around, the coaches are helping a lot, as well as a lot of my teammates. It's a hard thing to deal with, but it's football and this just comes with the territory.
"I'm thankful for all my experiences here at NC State, and I'd like to continue helping out any way I can even if I can't be out there on the field playing."
Paulsen is lucky to have such a strong support system in place, considering he is the only Wolfpack player from the Midwest. While every NC State fan knows about all the talented players from North Carolina and Florida on the roster, Paulsen stands out a little bit differently when you look at a map of players' hometowns. The Columbia, Missouri, native would not change anything about his decision to come to NC State.
"In high school, my quarterback's dad actually got me interested in NC State," said Paulsen. "He was the offensive coordinator at Missouri at the time, and coached at Marshall before that. He had ties with (former NC State offensive line coach) Marty Galbraith and they got together and were talking about prospects, and my name got mentioned in there. They saw me on film, and offered me a scholarship.
"I always wanted to play in the ACC. For some reason when I was little I always watched and dreamed about playing football in this conference. I'm glad I did come all the way to Raleigh, and got the opportunity to play in such an elite conference."
While Paulsen might not be able to line up and snap the ball from his center position like NC State fans are used to seeing, you will not see him sulking about being hurt. He is at every practice and at every game helping out his teammates. Being around the team while being hurt is not only helping the Pack's young offensive linemen adjust, but it is helping Paulsen get through his injury.
"I'm just trying to be around helping out the new centers go along and do their thing," said Paulsen. "I'm here just because I like being around all the guys. They really help me more then I help them. It helps to be around everybody here, and joke around and be involved with practice and the games. They let me know I'm still part of the team."
While obviously there is a `wait-and-see' process with his ankle injury, Paulsen would like to continue with his dream of playing professional football.
"I definitely want to get a shot and play in the NFL, but whether that is going to happen or not, I don't know because of this injury," said Paulsen. "If that can happen I definitely want to pursue that. If that doesn't work out I'd like to stay around here, graduate, help coach and all that good stuff. I want to be involved with football, and there is no better place to be involved than here at NC State. I like the atmosphere here, I like the coaches, and my teammates are just the best."
