Dylan McMahon: "We're Trending In The Right Direction"

NC State center Dylan McMahon recently met with the media to discuss his return from injury, the matchup against Duke, and much more.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

“At the end of the day it’s a game.  You need to have fun all the time.”

“It will be fun. We haven’t played them in a while, but at the end of the day it’s another game. It doesn’t matter if we’re going seven hours or 30 minutes, it’s another great team we have to get ready to play for.”

“I was just worried about helping the guys out. It sucks not being out there for two games, but I just made the most out of it to help Coop and the other guys out there... really living up to that ‘C’ on my chest even when I can’t get on the field.”

“Not seeing what we did wrong, being on the sidelines I knew I could help people out... you see more of the coach’s view.”

“Last week the big thing we really took away was we weren’t really doing anything wrong but just going one more second longer than the defensive line is going... straining a little bit harder to make the hole one yard wider or give the quarterback one more second to throw the ball. It’s a big key.”

“They have a great d-line. They are one of the best in the country, one of the best defenses in the country... they are definitely a great defense. We have to put the pads on and come out fast.”

“Coop did really good. He stepped in the VMI game... he was really training center the past two years and now we need him to play guard, and he’s kind of fallen into a role I played last year. He’s doing it amazingly.”

“I think the biggest thing I’ve seen is the energy [MJ] brings.  He brings a swagger to the game and juice all the time. Practice the past two weeks has been super energetic, which was a big emphasis the coaches made on us already.  Him stepping up and being that leader, to be more energetic, and on the field he’s having fun. He’s a kid playing backyard football and talking smack. He’s enjoying it out there.”

“I just told him to lead the guys and go play ball.  He knows how to do it.  At the end of the day he’s a competitor. Everyone saw it last year.  He lets it go and just has fun. Last week even when he made those two or three turnovers, it doesn’t phase him, and to see that from a young quarterback, it’s huge.”

“We’re trending in the right direction, and we still have to do our job... being able to stack games.  Scoring 40 points is good but it doesn’t mean anything if you only do it one game.”

“We don’t play there often. It’s an in-state rivalry game... we have to look at it like it’s every other game. They are 30 minutes down the road and obviously it’s a rivalry.  They are a great defense with a good offense and a good quarterback.  We just have to prepare and watch film like we’re playing any other team.”

“We have great fans and we always pack the house here at Carter-Finley no matter what team we are playing. Hopefully we see them over at Duke and turn that Blue stadium into Red.”