Devon Marshall: "We Just Have To Play Our Game"

NC State defensive back Devon Marshall met with the media to discuss his play against Louisiana Tech, Clemson's offense, and much more.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

What was it like for you this week, this past weekend, kind of getting thrown in there and being able to play? 
No, I mean, I was ready. I mean, we're all pretty ready. I practice hard. So, like, when they told me it was my time to play, I just did what I usually do. I mean, I had experience last year playing on my own with school, so I was ready to just come out. I was ready to play here, so that's why I committed here, so I just did what I had to do.

Coach Doeren called you the MVP of the game. In other words, I'd like to hear that and know that your impact has felt pretty good. 
Yeah, it felt good. I feel like I made a good amount of plays in this game, but I still could have played. Personally, I think I could have played better. It's good to, I mean, get, like, recognized, I guess, but it felt good.

You guys obviously would love to have that Tennessee game back and go the way you wanted, but now here's another chance to kind of get redemption against, you know, National Powerhouse in Clemson. Is that kind of how you're looking at it, a chance to kind of recreate an image for yourself as a team? 
We're looking at this game to just find our identity as a team because we really don't know who we are yet because recently we've been in a dogfight every game, so we're just looking for this game and trying to just find a spark. So everyone on the defense is just looking to make a play so the next person can make a play, and we're just looking to get a big win this game and just work off that the rest of the season.

What did you call it, the seatbelt celebration? 
Yeah, seatbelt. 

When did that start for you? 
I've been doing every celebration, but I started doing that in high school. I forget. I was watching somebody. Maybe it was, like, Jaycee Horn. He did that, so I started doing it after that.

What's it been like going up against CJ the last few months and kind of seeing him grow on the college level? 
Since, like, spring ball, I've seen, like, CJ make crazy plays, crazy throws, so I've seen him, like, grow because he goes against the one defense a lot, two's a lot, and we're all, like, coming after him. Obviously, we can't hit him in practice, but, I mean, I've seen him grow a lot since I first got here, and he's just going to keep getting better. 

When you have another quarterback like CJ making his first start, do you feel like as a defense there's maybe more of a heightened pressure to put him in good spots and not make him play behind? 
I think we're definitely going to just play as hard as we can and try to put them in the best position possible so he can make plays for offense and won't feel, like, any pressure like that. So we're just going to try to go out there as a defense and put them on, like, give them good field positions so we can just go in and just won't have to feel no pressure as a freshman in a hard place to play. 

Do you feel like Saturday there was even more of a role in that rotation at quarterback as well? 
It is what it is. I mean, when it's my chance to play and the coaches decide to put me in, I'm just going to do what I have to do. It's a team game, so when I step up like I did, I'm just going to step up. 

This is a game that everybody circles, at least the fans do, right, Clemson. What does it mean to you? 
To me, I just got to, like, this level of football, so I'm just excited to go and play there. I'm just going to go out and have fun. At the end of the day, to me, it's just football. Like, I go out there, it's a lot of crowd noise, but even this past game, I don't really hear anything when I'm on the field. I just zone in, so I'm just ready to have some fun. 

What has the transition been like from playing FCS, CAA to ACC, Power Four, as we call it now? What has it been like for you going kind of from one ballgame to another? 
I look at it as, like, a progression. I think just me starting at a lower level, I was able to learn a lot of stuff, and just each year I was able to just grow and just adapt to what I was going against. So, I think I've always played against, like, a good amount of talent. I played in high school with a whole bunch of Power 5 players, so I already knew I had the capability. It was just, like, going out there and improving.

What are your impressions of Clemson schematically when you approach this week? 
They're a good team. We're a good team, and I just think we just have to play our game, and if we play our defense, our 11-man football, tackle the running back, who's a good player, and take away the deep shots, the explosive play, then we'll be alright.