NC State defensive end Deonte Holden granted 6th year of eligibility

NC State reserve defensive end Deonte Holden announced some good news Friday: he’s been given a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. Holden had barely seen the field prior to the 2018 season thanks to a variety of injury setbacks.

The most significant of those was a broken foot he suffered prior to the start of his redshirt freshman season—that injury required multiple surgeries to repair and put him on the sidelines for 18 months. Coming into 2018, his fifth year in Raleigh, he’d played in only five games.

He’s finally put all of that behind him this season, working his way into the rotation at defensive end and playing in all seven of NC State’s games. Despite playing in a backup role, he is fourth on the team with 5.0 tackles for loss, and that includes 1.5 sacks.

He could have a more significant role on the defensive line in 2019. But no matter what happens with football, the dude is certainly prepared for life after it: he has his undergraduate degree, he’s wrapping up a graduate program this semester, and he’s working toward a pair of master’s degrees. I got tired just thinking about all that.