North Carolina State University Athletics
Program Spotlight: Patrick Bedics
9/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Carolyn Steele
Raleigh, N.C. - All it took was a six-yard pass to redshirt-senior fullback Patrick Bedics in the end zone during NC State’s first home game of the 2007 season for him to realize all the changes in his football career were worth it.
“When the coaches called the play, I kept thinking, catch the ball, catch the ball.’ I was really excited and glad to get one in,” Bedics said.
Playing for his fifth coach since he started high school, Bedics, a Bethlehem, Pa., native, was ready for the challenge when Tom O’Brien was announced as the new head coach for the Wolfpack.
“When you get a new head coach, you never know what it’s going to be like,” Bedics said. “Once he got here, I could tell he was going to be a great coach. He’s a motivator, he’s all business, and he’s all about the team.”
Bedics arrived in Raleigh in 2005 after transferring from Penn State, where he served as a linebacker under head coach Joe Paterno, a legend Bedics enjoyed playing for. His younger brother John, a defensive lineman for the Pack, had just finished his freshman year when Bedics came to visit him. It was a visit that led to a conversation with former head coach Chuck Amato and an eventual transfer to play for NC State.
“It was such a great opportunity to play with John because we’re best friends, and not too many brothers in Division I get to play together,” Bedics said. “I really liked it down here too; the weather, the people, everything. I just jumped on the opportunity, ran with it, and never looked back. Even though some people didn’t like Coach Amato’s style, I did, and I wasn’t bothered by the fact that I had to work hard in practice.”
Along with multiple coaching changes over the years, Bedics has also moved between offensive and defensive lines. After playing both linebacker and fullback at Bethlehem Catholic High School, Bedics played on special teams and as a second-team linebacker at Penn State. When he arrived at NC State, Bedics did not know what position he would end up playing after sitting out a year because of NCAA transfer rules. The coaching staff told him he could play either linebacker or fullback.
Even though Amato did not use the fullback position as often, Bedics ended up finding success at the spot, always being the first one at the position on the field after the running backs were taken off the field. In the last three games of 2006, he earned a starting spot, which he has retained going into his senior season. When O’Brien came to Raleigh, Bedics watched old Boston College game tapes and learned that there would be a lot more opportunities for fullbacks to get involved in plays. Running back coach Jason Swepson told Bedics and the other fullbacks they would be getting a lot more catches in the 2007 season, so Bedics wanted to do what he could to keep his starting spot.
“I worked hard in the summer workouts and throughout last season to earn that starting position,” Bedics said. “No job is set in stone. Week in, week out, you have to prove yourself. Especially now, nothing is safe. You have to come to practice and work hard. You don’t even dress if you don’t come to practice.”
The discipline of O’Brien’s coaching style is nothing new for Bedics, who, after he finished high school, completed a postgraduate year at Hargrave Military Academy. Hargrave has churned out multiple Division I players and several Wolfpack players. All the postgraduate players at Hargrave had to do every military exercise that the other students did, as well as walking a mile and a half both ways to practice.
“It was tough, but I look back on it now and I’m glad I stuck with it and worked hard at it,” Bedics said. “After getting through that, everything else seemed kind of easy. I think it helped me become a better football player too because I was playing with really talented players, and we were able to play against the North Carolina and Virginia JV teams, which were the freshmen and sophomores who rarely played.”
Adjusting to all the location, coaching, and position changes was never an issue for Bedics, in large part because of his strong relationship with his family. Growing up, Bedics was always playing sports, running around his backyard after the ball with his brother as his father acted as quarterback. In the third grade, he began playing tackle football and just kept playing throughout the years. When he transferred to NC State from Penn State, Bedics knew it was going to be tough moving to a new place, but having John already at the same school made it easier.
“Anytime you go to a new place, you think about how you don’t like it, but with John here, it was just like I was home,” Bedics said. “We never missed a beat. When I came down here, it was such a good opportunity for the two of us to play together and it was a good move for my whole family because they could come see us both play at the same time.”
The two brothers worked hard and became the first set of brothers to start together for the NC State football team since 1995. Twelve of their family members showed up to support them. When Bedics hit the field with his brother to take on Central Florida, he was more excited to see John start the game than himself, a selfless thought that is typical of his family.
“If one of us is up, everybody’s up,” Bedics said. “If somebody is down, I’m feeling it, they’re feeling it, and everyone else is feeling it too. It was how we were raised. Blood is thicker than water in our house.”
When it comes to his future plans, Bedics is leaving his options wide open, looking at the possibilities of playing on the next level, as most college football players hope to do.
Bedics will graduate in December of 2007 with a bachelor of arts degree in communication. With graduation on the horizon, Bedics also has a backup plan to follow in his older sister Tiffany’s footsteps and go into pharmaceutical sales.
No matter what path he ends up taking, Bedics will be able to handle any changes to his life after his many different football career experiences. But until then, he’s going to enjoy his senior year playing with his brother, and enjoy the city he now calls home.
“I can’t believe it’s coming to an end; only twelve weeks to go and the season is over,” Bedics said. “Twelve weeks ago it was June; it feels like it was only yesterday, so these last few months are going to go by fast.”
Raleigh, N.C. - All it took was a six-yard pass to redshirt-senior fullback Patrick Bedics in the end zone during NC State’s first home game of the 2007 season for him to realize all the changes in his football career were worth it.
“When the coaches called the play, I kept thinking, catch the ball, catch the ball.’ I was really excited and glad to get one in,” Bedics said.
Playing for his fifth coach since he started high school, Bedics, a Bethlehem, Pa., native, was ready for the challenge when Tom O’Brien was announced as the new head coach for the Wolfpack.
“When you get a new head coach, you never know what it’s going to be like,” Bedics said. “Once he got here, I could tell he was going to be a great coach. He’s a motivator, he’s all business, and he’s all about the team.”
Bedics arrived in Raleigh in 2005 after transferring from Penn State, where he served as a linebacker under head coach Joe Paterno, a legend Bedics enjoyed playing for. His younger brother John, a defensive lineman for the Pack, had just finished his freshman year when Bedics came to visit him. It was a visit that led to a conversation with former head coach Chuck Amato and an eventual transfer to play for NC State.
“It was such a great opportunity to play with John because we’re best friends, and not too many brothers in Division I get to play together,” Bedics said. “I really liked it down here too; the weather, the people, everything. I just jumped on the opportunity, ran with it, and never looked back. Even though some people didn’t like Coach Amato’s style, I did, and I wasn’t bothered by the fact that I had to work hard in practice.”
Along with multiple coaching changes over the years, Bedics has also moved between offensive and defensive lines. After playing both linebacker and fullback at Bethlehem Catholic High School, Bedics played on special teams and as a second-team linebacker at Penn State. When he arrived at NC State, Bedics did not know what position he would end up playing after sitting out a year because of NCAA transfer rules. The coaching staff told him he could play either linebacker or fullback.
Even though Amato did not use the fullback position as often, Bedics ended up finding success at the spot, always being the first one at the position on the field after the running backs were taken off the field. In the last three games of 2006, he earned a starting spot, which he has retained going into his senior season. When O’Brien came to Raleigh, Bedics watched old Boston College game tapes and learned that there would be a lot more opportunities for fullbacks to get involved in plays. Running back coach Jason Swepson told Bedics and the other fullbacks they would be getting a lot more catches in the 2007 season, so Bedics wanted to do what he could to keep his starting spot.
“I worked hard in the summer workouts and throughout last season to earn that starting position,” Bedics said. “No job is set in stone. Week in, week out, you have to prove yourself. Especially now, nothing is safe. You have to come to practice and work hard. You don’t even dress if you don’t come to practice.”
The discipline of O’Brien’s coaching style is nothing new for Bedics, who, after he finished high school, completed a postgraduate year at Hargrave Military Academy. Hargrave has churned out multiple Division I players and several Wolfpack players. All the postgraduate players at Hargrave had to do every military exercise that the other students did, as well as walking a mile and a half both ways to practice.
“It was tough, but I look back on it now and I’m glad I stuck with it and worked hard at it,” Bedics said. “After getting through that, everything else seemed kind of easy. I think it helped me become a better football player too because I was playing with really talented players, and we were able to play against the North Carolina and Virginia JV teams, which were the freshmen and sophomores who rarely played.”
Adjusting to all the location, coaching, and position changes was never an issue for Bedics, in large part because of his strong relationship with his family. Growing up, Bedics was always playing sports, running around his backyard after the ball with his brother as his father acted as quarterback. In the third grade, he began playing tackle football and just kept playing throughout the years. When he transferred to NC State from Penn State, Bedics knew it was going to be tough moving to a new place, but having John already at the same school made it easier.
“Anytime you go to a new place, you think about how you don’t like it, but with John here, it was just like I was home,” Bedics said. “We never missed a beat. When I came down here, it was such a good opportunity for the two of us to play together and it was a good move for my whole family because they could come see us both play at the same time.”
The two brothers worked hard and became the first set of brothers to start together for the NC State football team since 1995. Twelve of their family members showed up to support them. When Bedics hit the field with his brother to take on Central Florida, he was more excited to see John start the game than himself, a selfless thought that is typical of his family.
“If one of us is up, everybody’s up,” Bedics said. “If somebody is down, I’m feeling it, they’re feeling it, and everyone else is feeling it too. It was how we were raised. Blood is thicker than water in our house.”
When it comes to his future plans, Bedics is leaving his options wide open, looking at the possibilities of playing on the next level, as most college football players hope to do.
Bedics will graduate in December of 2007 with a bachelor of arts degree in communication. With graduation on the horizon, Bedics also has a backup plan to follow in his older sister Tiffany’s footsteps and go into pharmaceutical sales.
No matter what path he ends up taking, Bedics will be able to handle any changes to his life after his many different football career experiences. But until then, he’s going to enjoy his senior year playing with his brother, and enjoy the city he now calls home.
“I can’t believe it’s coming to an end; only twelve weeks to go and the season is over,” Bedics said. “Twelve weeks ago it was June; it feels like it was only yesterday, so these last few months are going to go by fast.”
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