Dakwa Nichols has never been a big part of the rotation at running back—you might not even know his name—but he has been a mainstay at NC State for a long time. Didn’t leave, didn’t quit. Maybe he should have, but he didn’t.
The quiet hard work he’s put in has amounted to a few carries on game day here and there, and this is his senior year, and he was still never set to get much burn but there he was on Saturday, breaking it down the right sideline, when he was pulled down by his facemask and both his knees were ruined.