Anthony Belton: "We Owe it to Our Fans to Redeem Ourselves"
NC State offensive lineman Anthony Belton met with the media as the Wolfpack prepares for its Friday night matchup versus Louisville.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Belton’s interview.
On the vibe in practice…
It’s good. It’s always good to play at home. I’m ready. We’ve got new jerseys, so we’re ready to put the new jerseys on and showcase a good performance in front of our fans. Last home game, we lost to Notre Dame, so we feel like we owe it to our fans and owe it to ourselves to redeem ourselves as a team, show who we really are, and defend. Louisville’s a good opponent for our team, so we’ve got to defend and show them who we really are.
On what was learned from the Virginia win…
Going into ACC play, we know we’re going to get everybody’s best no matter what the record is. That was one good team, and it was a close game, so we’ve got to expect the best from everybody. We're playing to win the ACC. We’re going to see the best every week, so we’ve got to keep our foot on the gas and just keep climbing.
On what the offensive line needs to improve on…
We’ve just got to be more consistent in the run game, get more movement, and improve communication. Communication is key to help us all stay on the same page.
On the pressure to match Louisville’s explosiveness…
There’s not necessarily pressure to match them, but we know we have to come with our best. They have a good defense. They’re starting off fast in the ACC for a reason. They’re already 4-0 [overall], so we’re not necessarily focusing on them; we’re focusing on ourselves, trying to start fast, finishing plays, and finishing drives. There are a lot of times where we go three-and-out, and the defense comes on to get a stop; we’re not playing complementary football, so as soon as the defense gets a stop, we’ve got to be able to get a response on offense.
On Garett Tujague igniting the O-line room…
He comes in every day with the same energy. That’s what’s the best about him. He’s not one person one day and a different person another. He comes in every day, motivating us to get better. It’s the same energy and same person every day. It’s genuine love from Coach Tujague.
On the offense playing in a shootout…
We’re definitely prepared. Our mentality on the offense is to play better complementary football because the defense has gotten stops, but the past couple of games, we’ve not converted. We have the mindset to play better complementary football. Once the defense gets a stop, we’ve got to convert that to points. There’s been a lot of three-and-outs. We’ve got to get either seven or three [points]. That’s our mentality: seven or three.
On controlling the football…
It’s important for us to control the football, but it’s also important to get points. Our big thing is to control the football, get points when we have it, build sustainable drives, and have explosive plays. It’s just been a lot of inconsistency, so when we find that consistency, we’ll ride that flow and just keep it going throughout the game.
On the progress from the first game of the season to now…
Overall, it’s continuously growing up. It’s going up, and the chemistry’s getting better over time. The connection with the O-line and QB and the connection with the QB and receivers are steadily growing. That’s the biggest thing.
On coming back to Carter-Finley Stadium…
It’s good. We owe it ourselves as a team and for the athletic program to come in and show who we are after the Notre Dame loss. Plus, we’ve got new, black jerseys to show off, so everybody’s ready put those on, and it’s a night game. You’ve got to love it. You’ve got to love our fans, too. Our fans come up every game to show love no matter what. We owe it to them and ourselves to give our best performance.
On back-to-back Friday night games…
I like it because it gives that high school Friday night feeling. You miss the Friday nights sometimes. You just get that same feeling, that high school feeling. It’s just that kid feeling, a little bit, playing on Friday.
On the new uniforms…
We’re some new blackout jerseys on Friday, and I think the numbers glow in the dark. It’s supposed to. I’m pretty sure they do. They posted a video yesterday, and they were glowing. I thought it was the video, but apparently they glow, and they’ve got cleats that glow with it, too.
On the home field advantage…
It’s a huge advantage because it’s hard to play on the road. Just me experiencing going on the road against a big fan base like when we play Clemson, it’s hard. It’s hard to hear. The fans give that team momentum, so I feel like we can use our fans cheering us on as momentum against them. Even when they’re on offense, the crowd noise can get the offensive line to jump. Our fans play the biggest part in that, just making it harder for the opponent because it’s hard to play with a lot of noise. It’s just hard.