Justin Joly: "It Has To Be On Us"

NC State tight end Justin Joly met with the media to discuss his recent play, the road game at California, and much more.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

NC State, in one sentence, obviously the two games, the last two you have lost, but you were really close. It's not like it's miles away. How are y'all finding that balance and saying, okay, look, we can do this. We just got to shore up certain things. 
I would say, apart from the execution that we have, we need to find out where we're lacking. For us, it's in turnovers. We just have to emphasize it. We do emphasize it every week. We have to make it a really deliberate situation. We have to go after it and attack it. We're talking about our defense. Strip it, even if it's after the whistle. Just keep going and nag at it so we can be like, hey, we've got to really take this seriously. 

You've made some big plays up the seams, I guess, in the past couple of weeks. Do you feel like you're growing as a weapon in this offense? 
Yeah. Whatever opportunity I get, I just make the most of it, whether it be blocking, catching, or recovering. I'll just be there and do my best.

Are you and CJ kind of getting along? Some of the other guys together, are you getting along? What is that like? Does he grow? 
Yeah, me and CJ, we really do have a bond. We even have a handshake. You guys haven't seen it yet. It'll be there soon. Just having him throw the ball to all of us, it gives him faith. It's like, yeah, those are my guys. I'm going to go out there and catch it no matter what. 

You talked a little bit about the turnovers. Cal, as a team, has the most turnovers in the ACC so far this season. When you hear that, what do you see on film that they've been able to do to be able to create those turnovers as well? 
Just the strain that they have. The strain, they have hard work. Even if you're blocking them, they're going to still try to make their way to the ball and try to strip it and get it out. We just have to emphasize that on our end too. 

Do you feel like the turnovers are more of – are those coming because of more mental mistakes than physical not being in position or whatever? 
Honestly, it's definitely mental because it's like we know what we have to do. It's just we have to go out there and execute it. Having the ball in our hands and having to make sure that we take care of it is something that's mentally there. Physically, our bodies are fine. We're not tired. We've got to stay there mentally. 

It’s a trip to California for an ACC opponent. How crazy is that? How are you looking forward to it? 
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I went East Coast to West Coast my freshman year. We played against Utah State way back when. I know what the fight's like, but Cals gonna be something. I ain't never been a cow. I'm looking forward to an In-N-Out or something. 

Did the 2022 UConn team rip it off at the end with five wins? Just totally turned around their season? 
Honestly, yeah, they did. They turned it all around.

Anything you draw from that?
Honestly, it's just like a brotherhood. It has to be on us. I know people aren't very excited about – or not even excited. They're disappointed in us, and I completely understand why. I'll take an apology. I apologize to everyone out there. We need to expect more from us. We're going to go out there and put our heart on the field and give it our all. I feel like we can turn it around.

How have you seen Dante grow as a tight end in the last couple months? 
My boy, Mr. Daniels, the man himself. I've seen him grow crazy. Obviously, he got engaged. Shout out to him and his fiancee, Regan. It's like, yeah, between him, he can catch. Obviously, if y'all can, please put his hurdle clip in there. Him catching the ball, him blocking. He's just become the all-around tight end. Just playing football with him and sharpening the iron side-by-side. It's amazing. 

We just talked to Hollywood about the play that he had this past week. He had five missed tackles for us this past week. I think you have eight this season, and that one game is kind of approaching you there for the team lead. What do you see from him as far as a guy that's elusive, and what does he have for this offense as well? 
You just said it yourself. You said he's elusive. I'm like, yeah, that's a boy that can move. He's twitchy. He's low to the ground. I'm trying to tackle what's hard. I'll play fisher. I'm going back to my days. I'll give it to him. He got it. He's going out there, and he just does his thing.

It's all natural. It's not like he has to think about it. 

Justin, statistically, you're one of the best contested catch receivers in the country. What's the key to winning most battles? 
If you want the ball, just catch it. It's as simple as that. It's in the air. If you want the ball more, go catch it. 

Do you take pride in your physicality at the point of catching the ball? 
Oh, yeah, no, of course. It's like a rebound. Who's like Shaq? Shaq's going up for a rebound. You've got to go up and get it. If you want that ball, go get it.