RALEIGH, N.C. -- Ruffin McNeill steels himself before walking through the door to see his father. He has no idea whether it's a good day or a bad day for "Pops," but he will know soon enough.
McNeill enters the nursing care facility in Lumberton, North Carolina, about an hour and a half south of NC State, where he works as a special assistant to football coach Dave Doeren. He takes a left, passing a plaque that reads:
In dedication to Ruffin Sr. and Bonnie McNeill by Ruffin Jr. and Erlene McNeill.
When McNeill and his wife, Erlene, made the donation to build this specific wing nearly a decade ago, they had no idea one day Ruffin Sr.