LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
NC State‘s Kevin ‘K.C.’ Concepcion, M.J. Morris, Payton Wilson, and Robert Kennedy met with the media via Zoom following the Wolfpack's 48-41 win over Marshall Saturday afternoon.
Concepcion caught eight passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns versus the Thundering Herd. Morris completed 17 of 32 passes for 265 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Wilson tallied 14 tackles, one sack, one quarterback hurry, and one fumble recovery. Kennedy added four tackles, one interception, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
NOTE: Click on each player’s respective thumbnail to watch each interview in the player above.
Kevin ‘K.C.’ Concepcion
On Morris bouncing back from a poor start...
We said in the huddle that we've got to have his back. I felt like, after that interception, things started going well for us.
On today’s breakout game…
It feels amazing. It's just all Go. I go out there and play for my family. I play for my brothers. It feels amazing.
On the significance of the defense’s performance for the offense…
Our defense is amazing. They can definitely hold their own.
On the jet screen passes and if it felt like being back on the high school field…
Yeah, kind of, but that was just the game plan: just to try and get the ball in my hands as many ways as possible.
On the importance of getting this win to build momentum…
It was definitely important. Coming off the tough loss last week, we just went back to the drawing board. We got better, and today I just feel like we just played as a team.
On the game slowing down for him…
When I had first got up here, it was like kind of a tough time, but we go against the best defense in the ACC. I feel like they have just prepared us more.
On going from one touch last week to becoming a priority versus Marshall…
Last week, I wouldn't say that it was hard because I just had to figure out ways how to contribute to the team without the ball in my hands.
M.J. Morris
On the team responding to him as the leader on offense…
I feel like we're responding great. We all support each other. No matter who's on the field, we're always going to have each other's back. That's what you're supposed to do when you're on a team. It doesn't matter who's in there. You’re supposed to support your brother, just like you’d want him to support you while you're on the field. We’re all just rallying around each other, and I'm glad that they're supporting me and having my back. It definitely gives me a lot of confidence going into these games.
On complementary football…
That's the main thing we really try and do: make sure you're playing good, complementary football. I know I had three turnovers that I have to clean up. Going forward next week, I'm going to watch the film tomorrow, definitely clean those up, try to not get the defense back on the field so quickly, and give them a little more rest. We're just going to keep on working and get better and better each week.
On the emotions going out for the first time this season and bouncing back from the poor start…
I’ll say the emotions were definitely high. I hadn't played since Boston College last year, so it's been a little minute. Emotions were high. I felt good being out there with my boys. I didn't think I was too nervous; I was really just trying to have some fun. Like you said, I had the turnovers early, but I know that Coach [Dave] Doeren always tells us, “Put in the past. You know it's behind you. Those plays aren't going to fix the rest of the game.” It was still early in the game, so I just had to put those in the past and look forward. I couldn't get down on myself because I know the rest of the team will get down. They all look at me as a leader. They feed off my emotion, so I just kept my head up and moved onto the next place, one play at a time. It's a long football game.
On Concepcion…
Man, that boy's a dog. He knows what he's doing out there on the field. He's never nervous. He knows exactly what he's doing. He knows how to get open. He knows coverages. He and I work all the time after practice, so our chemistry is definitely very high going into these games. That dude is special. I love him. He’s special. I love throwing to him, and I love the way he helps me in situations. He’s a really good player.
On defense’s importance to the offense’s success…
A lot of the people in the defense, before we go out to the field — I don't know if you can see it — they'll come over to our huddle, give us motivation, and give us hype. That definitely shows a lot of love, knowing that the defense has our back. Having that complementary football feeling, it's not just on the field, but it's off the field as well, leaning on each other even though we're different sides of the ball. They give us a lot of success, and then of course they’re probably one of the best defenses in the nation. They make big stops so that we can go out there and try to put points on the board for them.
On what NC State can be…
We’re just going to keep getting better and better each week. That’s all I can really say: one percent better each day. As long as we're locked in and we're focused, we're coming out here with a mindset to try to be the best version of ourselves. We’re going to do all we can for the team. The sky’s the limit for us, so I'm ready for it. I'm excited for it. We're going to get back to work tomorrow.
On the importance of the running backs being able to establish the ground game…
It's definitely important to have all the running backs that can definitely get the ball in space and create positive yards. The run game helps the pass game, and the pass game helps the run game. Trusting them, I'm going to give them the ball and let them do what they do. That's what they're here for. They want to be here. If they didn’t, they couldn't do what they did down in that field. Those two special backs [Michael Allen and Delbert Mimms, III], I've got a lot of trust and faith in them. Also [Demarcus Jones, II] went in there and did a lot of great things as well. We've got a whole running back corps that's really special and can help this team a lot.
Payton Wilson
On the defense yielding more yardage in the second half than in the first…
It's just continuing to hone in on our skills, hone in on our assignments, and know what our job is. Towards the end, they started to tempo us and if guys don't know exactly what they have to do on every single play, you see busts, and you see certain things like that. Just continuing to have our eyes in the right spot, I think that was some of the problem in the second half, but a win is a win.
On limiting Marshall’s run game…
Lke I said earlier in the week, we thought that [Rasheen Ali] was one of the best, if not the best, running back in the nation with how patient he is and how fast he is. Credit to [Cam Fancher] as well. That’s one of the fastest quarterbacks I've ever played in my life. Stride for stride, I think he's as fast as it gets at quarterback. Shout out to the D-line, especially. They were containing them a lot. They're getting pressure, so he's pushing up in the pocket, and that's when we're able to make the play. It's just very important what to us. Like I say all the time, that's our identity. People can't run the ball on us. We don't like people running the ball on us, and that's just how we play every single snap.
If the ACC has a team comparable to Marshall and the value of this win going into the second half of the season…
I haven't really gotten too far into our opponents. We try to keep a 1-0, next game mentality here. Marshall is a good program. If Marshall were in the ACC right now, they would compete at a very high level. They have players all over the field, offensively and defensively. Their O-line was good. Some of the non-conference games that you see at this time in the year, against people who might not have great competition, just to have that every single week so we don't fall asleep, we don't take a nap, and we're always on our toes, it's very important.
On keeping the defense motivated in the huddle…
It's tough sometimes, playing defense when people are putting up points. You want to be so mad about it. You want to press so hard. You want to point the finger, but at the end of the day, it's over.You have to go out here, and you have to win a ball game. That last series is over; That’s really Coach [Tony] Gibson. That’s his message before, that's his message after, and that's his message during: just to you know stay locked in on that next snap and that next series because who knows? That next series could be the biggest play of your life, so just continue to stay locked in, and let the past be the past.
On the defense having to stay on its toes against a mobile quarterback…
For me personally, I want to make every single play when I'm on that field. There's 75 snaps in a game. I want make 75 tackles. I want to have every single play. It's really awesome to play a quarterback like that. oYu never know what he's going to do. It keeps you on your toes, but at the end of the day, big plays can be made: sacks, interceptions. It's pretty awesome to play someone like that. Davin Vann tonight, with a running quarterback, if you don't see Davin Vann, and he hits you, that ball is coming out, and that's exactly what happened: big-time plays from big-time players.
Robert Kennedy
On becoming acclimated to the NC State defense…
As a transfer, I really just fit right in. It's a hard-nosed program. It's just straight up working. A win always feels good, no matter how ugly or how good it is, so I'm just happy.
On the defense staying motivated despite the offense’s struggles…
The score could be 50-0 State, or it could be 0-50. No matter what, we're just going to play as hard as we can. Coach Gibby said before the game: we don't even care what the score is. We’re just going to play hard and play Wolfpack football, and that's just how it is from the defense’s standpoint. We don't even care what the score is.
On where this game ranks for him…
Personally, I feel like it's just a good game. I had a lot of mishaps today and some missed tackles. It ranks as a good game for me. I'm going to watch film and definitely improve what I was messing up on today.
On the defense containing Marshall’s running attack…
It was very important. They had two really good runners, and we knew that we had to contain and really try to stop that running game. It was tough. They're two good players. I'll give it to them.
On his interception…
It's hard to say what I was seeing in coverage and stuff, but we were just in a zone — I'm going to just keep basic. I noticed that the running back was running faster than usual. I just baited it, and then it was a high throw, Jaylon Scott made the ball raise up, and I just like picked it off and intercepted it. It was a really good play, but the quarterback was staring him down, so I had a feeling it was coming.
On the difficulties Marshall’s offense presented…
It's really difficult. Football is always going to be difficult. It's really turning into an offensive game, so all the stuff that they're doing, I give credit to them. They really played hard today. I want to really give credit to them. They played hard. I’ve got to give it to them.