NC State WR Darryl Jones On His Former Team: "They Play Really Hard"

NC State wide receiver Darryl Jones will end his college career facing his former team: Maryland.  Jones discussed the matchup and much more with the media.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

What is it like playing your old team?
It's funny, I was just talking to Annabelle about it. It's weird. I play the game. One of my closest friends plays there, so I play the game. We talk about it. It's no secret that I went there, but it's just weird. It's like I just left and they're right back there playing them. I think it'll be a good opportunity just to play against some of the guys I used to practice against every day.

Give us a scouting report on... You know what I mean?
I mean, physical guys, they're fast. They play really hard. But I mean, I'd love to not... I know what we got here. I think what we’ve got is good enough.

Does your inside knowledge help a little bit?
I would say..

Can you share some of that with your teammates?
Oh yeah. No, I definitely have. You're the guy who gots you. But I mean, it is nothing... there's no information that I could give them that is going to make or break the game.

They got to go out there and play against those guys and the defense; I know a lot of them that played on the offense and I played with them so I can give them a little insight, but I feel like they got a good gameplan, they got good players, and there's nothing that I'm going to tell them that is going to make a drastic change.

Well when all the bull talk started, everybody was guessing where everybody would go and all of a sudden you saw NC State, Maryland. What was your first reaction to that?
It was funny, though, maybe week eight I was in the game with my friend that goes there and we had the same kind of record around and we were like, "Dang, it would be crazy if we played each other in a few weeks down," and we're back talking to him like, "We are playing you all."

Because they're looking at us kind of like, "Oh, yes." I was just like, "All right, well we'll see you on the 30th." We were just talking back and forth and it's just funny, it's just a good time. With all the guys that I was really tight with, it's no hostility or animosity, it's just funny to us. It's just cool to go out and play each other.

After last year you could get the Mr. Bowl game moniker. What do you do for an encore after last year's bowl game?
Oh, try and do the same thing. Coach D's done a great job. Obviously when I'm talking with my friends, we talk about how our practices are different and stuff, and I think Coach D's done a great job.

I feel rested up, I feel good, and he's letting us go home and be with our families and stuff. I just feel ready to go out and play.

Every program has its own culture. What would you say are the differences between Maryland and NC State?
I don't know. I won't talk too much about Maryland. You can go and see their guys, you can go ask some of those guys.

But as far as NC State, I feel like I've been here forever. These guys, when I first came in, they welcomed me. They invited me over to do stuff. And you can feel when people are being kind of fake and stuff, it's none of that. These guys I can walk in with a freshman, talk to them, they're cool. I can walk in with guys that have been here for six years and they don't care. Everyone's together and that's what's so great about this place.

Even though the facilities aren't as big or as good as some of the other places, how they treat each other makes up all of that. It was just, which is what I really like.

Is that something you can see when you come visit here?
Oh definitely. When some of the players come out and they'll watch practice, some of the recruits and stuff, they can just see coaches messing around with players. Players, we're just all joking around. When it's time to play, we're competitive, then that's when they see, "Oh it's not all jokes be over here," talking back and forth, getting upset, but then after that we're all hugging and everybody can see that. I don't know, it's just great. I really enjoy being here, it's nice.

The impact Joker Phillips had on your life...
Oh, he's like a long lost uncle, like Uncle or Grandpa. He's a good dude, he's funny, he's a funny guy. He loves to joke around. He's real, though, he'll keep it real with me. He'll go to bat for me, he'll go the extra mile to have my back, and that's something I really appreciate because everybody's not like that.

I never asked him to do that. He just gravitated towards me because I feel like I've done a lot of things right. I'm happy he is seeing that, he's just helped here any way that he could.