Timothy McKay: "This Is Going To Be A Good Competition"

NC State right guard Timothy McKay 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.

Clemson, you know, what have you seen from them on film as they get ready for this weekend's game? 
Clemson is known for having a good defense, good intensity, good defensive ends, so I know
this is going to be a good competition and playing hard is really important, going out there competing, getting the quarterback time is really important, especially with this front, active front, big front, so it's going to be important. 

It seemed like the offensive line held up pretty well against Louisiana Tech, and didn't allow much in the backfield. You know, what was kind of working there just as a unit to keep them out of the backfield? 

I think we played together that game for sure. In fact, the first two weeks we kind of all over the place, but we kind of took that personal after the Tennessee loss and just came together and really talked about what we needed to do better, how we needed to communicate better and different stuff. So, covering a lot of the La Tech game, Grayson went down and then CJ came in and really coming together, we knew that they're going to have to rely on the offensive line. So, I think us playing together was a big part of a lot of the La Tech game.
 

Does CJ, when you compare the way you block for CJ and the way you block for Grayson, are there any kind of differences there? Obviously, you know CJ has some of that kind of running ability. We know that he is much taller and staying in the pocket like that. What is there a difference between the two? 

I would say the main thing with the more mobile quarterback is knowing that the play can be extended a little bit longer. So, to give me that one more second that Coach would be talking about is being outfield, blocking for guys, just making sure that your guy doesn't end up in the pile is really important with a guy like that. 
 

How hard is it in those situations to not go upfield too early? I feel like you see it all the time in college this year. Crows, like it's getting called all over the place. How hard is it just to be a little more patient? 

I mean, when you get downfield, pick up the receiver and just do all that stuff downfield, it's really important not to get that penalty. But, making a conscious effort just to stay back and just make sure you're not going upfield is really important. It's hard though.
 

You're approaching almost the one-year mark of being a guard. Is it still weird for you to be a guard? How do you kind of adapt it there? 

At this point, it's just football. It's fun.

I get to bowl a lot, get out on the screen. So, I know playing tackle for a while in my career, but now being a guard, it's so comfortable. I've got the rest of the spring, I've got the rest of the fall camp, and now I have three games under my belt. It's so pretty comfortable. 
 

With this being CJ's first start, is it even more important to get the run game going early and kind of take some of that pressure off of it? 

Yeah, for sure. I feel like coaches don't want to talk about complimentary football. And, us starting fast up front, running the ball, opens up RPOs and opens up the passing lane and the pass protections, different stuff like that. So, it's me. I know it's an offensive line. We start fast, get the run game going so that Coach Anae can open the play but do different things. 
 

Is there anything you guys did against Clemson last year as an offensive line that you think helped you guys get that win that you can maybe replicate this week? 

I feel like we just had a dominant game. We played together, playing for each other, and just really having that one more second mentality, just straining, getting on the field, hitting guys, getting a pancake, just showing. It's earning our dominance on the field that's really important, I guess. 
 

You talked about playing more together this past weekend. What was the biggest difference in that between the first two games and kind of being in jail a little bit more? Yeah, I feel like personally, you know, we had a new center in there, Zeke Correll, and just us kind of meshing in there was different, just communicating and stuff like that. It was different for us, the interior guys, but we had a tie. We practiced better. We had more communication up the week, and the La Tech game really showed that we're together.
 

Could you feel that during the week of practice now, like, all right, starting to feel a little bit more comfortable? 

Yeah, for sure. It's one thing to do it against our defense during fall, camp, and spring ball playing together, but when you go against a different defense like La Tech or Tennessee, it's a little different, a little faster. So, had some time to adjust, but I feel like we're on a good pace right now.
 

I think Coach Doeren said that he was, like, hanging out at the line of scrimmage earlier in the game, like, watching things happen. I don't want to say pressure, but, like, you know, has there been, how would you describe the emphasis over the past couple of weeks of really getting that run game going? What's it been like? 

He was talking about that for a couple of days, just him standing at the line of scrimmage and making sure that we pushed our guys past the line of scrimmage a couple of yards, but honestly, I forgot he was there during the game, so there was no extra pressure. But I know he's harped on just having a good run game, so that's something we really took pride in this week, just making sure to start the run game fast, like I mentioned earlier.
 

And going off of that, Kendrick, Hollywood, Jordan, they, it feels like they all have different running stature. How would you describe what each one of them usually brings to the table as a running back? 

I think they're all pretty different. You know, Kendrick is a shifty guy. You saw the hurdle he had against La Tech. Waters can get on the sideline, he catches too. And Hollywood's just all around good blocker, so I feel like just knowing who's behind is really important, knowing where the ball's going to hit my head, back side, my head, front side. Just being locked in on who's behind us and making sure we do our job. If we do our job, it doesn't matter who's behind us. 
 

It seems like all three of them have done really well in pass protection this year. How much does that help an offensive line having a running back that can pick up? 

Yeah, a lot. It's really special having a running back just going in there, just throwing their hat in there, being 200 pounds, hitting someone who's 250. Like, it shows us a lot. It really shows that they're here to play, and it just makes us play harder, too. 
 

Makes it a little more comfortable for you. 

Yeah, for sure. It's fun, too, seeing those types of people.