C.J. Bailey: "I Love How I Handled the Pressure"
NC State quarterback C.J. Bailey met with the media ahead of the Wolfpack's upcoming Textile Bowl matchup versus No. 21 Clemson.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Bailey’s interview.
On his reaction to finding out he’d start at Clemson…
I was excited. I'm ready to play, man. We’ve got a big one coming up, and I'm ready to step out and have fun on that field.
On what Grayson McCall has told him leading up to the game…
Grayson just told me to play my game, play smart, and take care of the ball. Those were the main things. He's behind me every step of the way, so that's a good thing.
On how different this week of preparation has been compared to before…
It's pretty much the same. We keep it in the same. Of course, we've got to strain and work hard every day, but it's pretty much the same as any other week. We treated it the same.
When he found out he’d start…
I'd say a couple couple days after the game.
On preparing for a hostile Death Valley environment…
I'm expecting to go into Death Valley, hearing the crowd and hearing everybody screaming, trying to get into our heads, but I'm expecting it. We're practicing for it, so I'll be prepared and ready for it when I get there.
On how his high school experience helped ready him for this stage…
That helped a lot, especially playing at Chaminade. We've had a couple games like this, and I knew how to handle it, stayed level-headed throughout the game, and finished the game strong. Death Valley is just another one of those games with a big crowd. It's just the same as what I used to do in high school.
On looking at the film from the Louisiana Tech game…
I felt like I did a great job. The main thing was to forget about the past and just keep moving forward. I love the way I handled myself with the pressure and everything in the second half. I’m looking forward to playing the whole four quarters at Clemson the same way.
On how his poise grew throughout the game against the Bulldogs…
It grew a lot. I saw those guys on defense making plays, so once I made a play, my confidence just kept growing, and I kept making more and more plays. It was just like a domino effect with those guys, so I just kept making plays. That’s all I’ve got to say.
On the team veterans rallying around him…
Those guys, our leaders, our seniors, they've done a great job of letting me know it's just a normal game. “Just play your game, stay focused, and take everything seriously. It's about the details this week, and every little thing matters." That's what they’ve kept instilling in my head.
On the reps he got in the Tennessee game…
It actually prepped me for last week, the Tennessee game. When I got those couple of reps, I'd gotten to feel out the game. I hadn’t been tackled in a while, since high school, so like I got to feel it in the Louisiana Tech and Tennessee games. It really prepped me for this week as well.
On the in-helmet communication…
It helps a lot that we don't have to mainly focus on those signals on the sideline, Coach [Kurt] Roper's in our ear, letting us know the play. It's better. I hope, hopefully when we get to Death Valley, the mic's still working perfectly fine, but if not, we’ll just go over there and get the signal. It’ll be fine.
On the tablets on the sideline…
When we get those tablets and see those plays on our whole drive, it helps a lot because now we can see where we can adjust to it and the plays we can make going into the next drive. It's really helpful to add those tablets on the sideline.
On playing with several veterans…
With those guys, especially the O-line, I feel like I'm way more protected because those guys know what they're doing. They're really advanced. Those guys on defense, it's great to have those guys because they're leaders, and they’re going to tell me what I should and shouldn't do, how to stay focused and detailed, and keep everything orientated. The best thing to do, for me, is just to keep listening to those guys so everything goes right for the rest of the season because they know what they're doing.
On the moment he felt assured that he’d do well under center…
After that first dig route to Dacari [Collins] in the middle of the field on that first drive coming out of the half, that solidified it. I was like, “Just keep making plays," because it felt good to make that first play. I just want to make many more plays like that.
If his success passing the ball took pressure off of his shoulders…
Definitely scoring a touchdown and throwing passes and competing them, it definitely took some steam off of me. I want to do that same thing going into Clemson. That first good completion I’ll have is going to keep rolling after that, so it's great to have those completions, and hopefully, I'll score again this week.