NC State OL Grant Gibson on Senior Day: "I'll Definitely Cry"

Check out what NC State center Grant Gibson had to say this week about Saturday's matchup against Boston College.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch Gibson’s interview.

What is this Saturday going to mean to you, man?
It's been six years here, man. I can still think about the last or the first time I ran out into the stadium, and this will be my last time, man. It means a lot to me, just the guys on this team and what we've built here and how much we've overcome. This team means the world to me, so it's definitely going to be a big day for us this weekend.

How much does that strengthen the bond that this class has because of all the things that you all went through in 2019? Even some of the ups and downs so far just this season.
I think the tough times that we've been through helped build this team though, just the things that we've gone through. We won four games in 2019, and just see how far we've come. I mean, that's because we're close as a family though. We do this for everybody on this team, and I think that kind of helped this team and that's really helped us in these games this year. Because you don't win tough games like that unless you're close as a team. And I think those tough times really helped us bond together.

Some people might forget that you started out as a defensive tackle here, changed to a center, I think. How much do you feel like you developed as a football player, but also how much do you feel like you've kind of changed as a player too?
I feel like I've grown as a man a lot here. I kind of had this plan for myself when I came in, and within the first year it was kind of like that's out the window. I didn't think I would ever go on offensive line, but I'm so glad that I got the chance to come and play on the whole line here, go play for Coach Garrison. And to play on the line with those guys, they mean the world to me. But I've grown here, just learned how to deal with tough times. I've been through some hard times and I'm just glad that I've experienced it all because it really has helped me.

Coach said that your play has been ascending, that you keep getting better. What is that drive to six years. You keep getting better.
That's something like every day you just have to attack each day. That's my goal, is to improve every week and to just try and help this team out in any way that I can. And that's something that's kind of my approach each week, I guess you could say, is just to get better.

Coach Doeren brings up the home winning streak to us a lot. How much does he make that a stated goal for the players? And what would it mean to make history in your last home game?
It means a lot to us. We wanted to change NC State and to leave NC State better than the way that we found it. And I think that we've been able to do that as a group. We've been here for six years, so I've been able to see it grow, and that's really special to me.

Your teammates credit you with igniting the comeback against Virginia Tech with some choice words?
Yeah.

Have you ever done that before?
No, listen, so quick story. So I'm on the way home and my mom calls me and she was like, "Grant, I heard you said some choice words last night." And I was like terrified because I didn't know that my mom knew that I said some bad words on the sideline. But I just felt like I was just trying to get the guys going, and I'm glad that I said something because then we kind of started pulling back a little bit.

You haven't just changed on the field, you changed off the field. So you've helped change the culture.  How important has that been to you as well?
It's huge. I wanted to be able to leave my mark at NC State, and I think I can say that I've been able to do that and that's something special to me. It means a lot to me, really.

What do you want to do when your playing days are over?
The dream job is to be an AD for a school one day.

It is kind of interesting how life takes you. I didn't know that's what I would want to do, but I want to be able to help people, be able to help my own kids because that's what people have done for me, and helped me on all my path. So I want to be able to pass along the same thing to kids down the road.

Has MJ's enthusiasm been contagious?
Yeah, absolutely. It's been cool to see him go from being a quiet kid to... he has all the juice now. He's out there, he's talking, he's cheering us on. I mean, it's awesome to see how much he's grown.

How much different is it to block for him as well? Because probably had to hold those blocks a little bit longer and start looking up field, right?
It's like we always try to block first, but if he takes off, I'm like, wow. I do have to run down field a little bit more now, I guess you could say. But it is cool to just block for him because he does a great job with what he's doing.

So who's your vote for most emotional teammate?
You're looking at him.

Listen, if I cry though, I got allergies, so it's the grass going into my eyes now. But I'll definitely cry. It's been a long run here, but it's been special. And to just know that that'll be my last time on the field will mean a lot to me. So, yeah.