Patrick: "I Love It Here"

NC State defensive line coach Kevin Patrick recently discussed his position group, his team in Raleigh, and much more.

How much does it help to have Roseboro, Big E., and even Shug Frazier got a lot of time in the bowl game. That experience, how much does it help?
It was great.

B.J. [Hill] could have played that game, but he was a little banged up. We got to see a little of what the future has in store for us, with the exception of Street and a little with Justin [Jones].

What do you want to see out of the new freshmen and junior college linemen?
The biggest thing with these new guys, freshmen and JCs, is the adjustment to the speed of practice, speed of the game, speed of the players.

That's one of the biggest thing I want to accomplish with them as much as anything... get the game to slow down for them.

This is your second year in Raleigh, last year was your first so you don't have to adjust.
Last year there were a lot of new things.  It was a challenge. As good of players we had here, it was a challenge for everybody, including them.

I feel good. I love it here, glad to be here, and glad to be with this group of guys.

You have familiar faces with backup roles and last year you inherited senior starters. Is it easier to get them and teach them your terminology or is it easier to have this younger group?
This is much easier now.

People don't realize, and I said it a lot last year, it's a big experience for me.

Hux told me that I had the toughest job and I did, coming in with strong thoroughbreds, them looking at you and gaining your trust. That was a good challenge, I enjoyed it, but this will be much easier.

Hopefully I look back and feel the same, but this is what I'm accustomed to, building stuff. I'm excited about it, and I think this will be much easier.

I get asked all the time, 'How do you do it," and it was a challenge. What people didn't realize was I had some of the best players in college football, but other teams knew that too. If you study the film, and some of the things they did to counter Chubb, or BJ... they got rid of the ball this year... 2.2 seconds, 2.3 seconds.... 1 second... it's a challenge.

To still get the sacks we had. We were only three off as a d-line, compared to last year, but it was a challenge. Everybody knew we had a good line and everyone else knew it too. We had to counter that.  There were high expectations.

Do you think this unit is capable as being productive despite the difference in talent?
I think this year's defense can be just as productive.  Not everyone is counting... "look at all those dudes." They aren't expecting us to be great, and that can help us.  

We've got some talent. I'm excited about it. How far we can go? I don't know, but those guys have to be themselves. They have to be the best Shug's or the best Roseboro's.  They don't have to be last year's team... the Chubb's or BJ's.

They have to be the best them, and if they are the best them, we can have a good defense.

How many of your starters from last season do you anticipate maybe getting drafted? Do they all have the skillset?
You want me to speculate? I don't know but all of them I guess. There's no doubt about it [that they have the skillset].  I want to know when all four were drafted off one team.

I had two or three at USF and I thought that was pretty good, but all four, in one year? It's going to be interesting. I think they all will, they should. 

What would it mean to you?
I'm proud of them. It means these guys recruited some really good players.

I tell people all the time we get a lot of credit and sometimes we should, but I'll tell you this, you can take the best coach in the world and coach my daughter for the next million years and she'll never be a great defensive lineman.

She doesn't have it, but those guys have it. Those guys are great people, and I'm proud of them. It will mean a lot to this university. The pride of what they built here will be on display soon.