In May, we started a countdown to NC State football's season and ACC opener against Louisville, a game that was originally scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3.

In mid-June, the game was moved up a day to Wednesday, Sept. 2 in order to not conflict with the Kentucky Derby which was postponed from the traditional first Saturday in May to Saturday, Sept. 5 over Labor Day weekend.

Today, June 28 marks 66 days from the Wolfpack's season opener, for now.

Each day, The Wolfpacker will do a countdown to the season with a reflection on the significance of that number to NC State.

Steve Keim arrived at NC State from Red Land High School in Lewisberry, Pa., and that was the beginning of a legacy in football that is still going strong.

Keim was a very good left guard on NC State’s offensive line, a three-year starter who was a two-time All-ACC selection. One organization (Gameplan magazine) even made Keim a third-team All-American after his senior year in 1994.

You can make a credible case that Keim wore No. 66 better than any former Wolfpack player. In 2004, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Keim received a cup of tea in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and also gave the CFL a try with the Edmonton Eskimos, but he quickly found his calling as a NFL executive. It started in 1999 when Keim was named a regional scout in the east for the Arizona Cardinals, a role he served for six years before he began his rapid ascent up the Cardinals’ ladder.

In 2006, Keim became the Director of College Scouting. Two years later he was the Director of Player Personnel. In 2012, Keim was promoted to VP of Player Personnel, and then in 2013, he was named the organization’s general manager.

In 2013 and 2014, Pro Football Talk named Keim its NFL Executive of the Year. They were joined by The Sporting News in 2014. He still remains the Cards' GM, signed under contract through 2022.

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