Davin Vann On Clemson: "They Win A Lot Down There"

NC State defensive end Davin Vann has played against Clemson multiples times, so he knows what to expect on Saturday.  He recently met with the media to discuss the big game.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

What have you seen in the last few weeks and months leading up to this that gives you confidence that he's the guy? 
I think he's ready. I think he's very mature for his age. He takes things very seriously. He pays attention a lot. He's shown in his practice, and we just have the utmost confidence in him to get it done. 

Does it help sometimes to have that youthful exuberance, too, around the locker room?
 Yeah, of course it does. I mean, I'm old, so having young guys around with a lot of energy helps.

In the last few years, you guys have gotten the better of Clemson two times at home, but what would it mean to do that on the road? 
That would be a great thing to do. They win a lot down there. The environment they have down there is very electric, very hostile. So being able to go down there and do that would be great. 

What was it like for you to see Devon slide into the game on Saturday and make a big impact? 
Marshall? I mean, I'm proud of him and Jackson Vick. They both played their butts off. They did good. They played within the scheme of our defense and I think they did a really good job.

What has allowed you guys, you think, to be successful against Clemson in the last couple of years? 
Just the way we play. We take pride in the straining and the effort and just be involved in the field, dominating up front. 

You've got a lot of new faces on this team. How do you describe this game to them? 
Like the Clemson-NC State game? I mean, I would just describe it as another rivalry. It might not be in UNC, but it's another top opponent that we want to go out there and beat, so I'd just describe it as another rivalry. 

I know you probably don't look at the lines, but you guys are 20-point underdogs. Is that disrespectful to this program? 
I mean, like you said, I don't look at the lines, but I mean, we like being considered the underdogs. We like being looked at like we can't do it because we like proving people wrong. 

And even on that note of proving people wrong, Tennessee was a chance to maybe do that. It didn't go your way. Do you look at this as a chance of redemption there to kind of get that back and rewrite your image? 
I kind of just look at it as its own game. I can't consider them anything like Tennessee because Tennessee is Tennessee, but Clemson is Clemson. Like I said... just another game that we want to win. Same way we want to win every game.

You played really well against Clemson here last year. You were able to put pressure on Cade Klubnik. What is it about their scheme that maybe you, I don't know, it feels like you just look so comfortable playing against them. What is it about that? 
Honestly, I just, I don't know if that's a good question. I would just say that the way they fire off the ball, it's not overly aggressive. They kind of just look to position block and, you know, we always focus on dominating, getting off the ball, firing off the ball. And that's something that we've been working on. So I think that's, I guess, just about my get off and D-line's get off. 

As one of the leaders, captain, what are you doing to kind of help C.J. Bailey's life be easier this weekend? 
I kind of just try to remind him every day that he doesn't need to stress. He has the ability. He's done it before. It's just football. Because I know that, you know, being a freshman and not playing like any, having one game last week and going down to Death Valley, that can be tough mentally. So I kind of just try to remind him to just play football and remember that he just has the ability to do it. 

You now tipped two passes that got pick sixes. Is there more of an emphasis on that this offseason, or do you feel like those are opportunities that are coming? 
Yeah, I mean, just reaching for the ball has just been a real big emphasis on our pass rush. We got a new GM this year and he's done a really good job of emphasizing that, you know, throughout drills and just building that habit. 

Safe to say that at the start of the third quarter it was an angry NC State defense. And what does an angry NC State defense get done? 
We play really well. You know, that's one of our goals this week is kind of not wait until the second half to do that. Not wait until our backs against the ropes. Just come out firing and be that way the whole four quarters. 

This is the start of ACC play for you all. There's the goals, hopes, and dreams of winning the conference, but a win on Saturday... how does that set the tone for the rest of conference play? 
I think it would be a really big confidence boost for us. I know we struggled a little bit at the start of the season. I think that's something we need to work on.