NC State WR Noah Rogers: "I Can't Do That To My Team"
NC State wide receiver Noah Rogers met with the media to discuss the bye week, the upcoming matchup against Stanford, and much more.
NOTE:
So what did you do to relax on the bye week?
I'm really just trying to recover, get my body right, put on weight. I was with a couple of my teammates and just not trying to think too much about football and get my mind off it. So I can finish these last four weeks strong.
What's the receiver really focusing on over the next couple of weeks?
You know, just being exact and keep on making our young quarterback look good. I mean, that's really our biggest focus.
What's it like playing with guys like this?
I mean, playing with guys like Tamarcus Cooley, Devan Boykin... DBs are just gonna make you work and get you better every day. That's all you look for. And I feel like those guys make it harder to practice in the games.
You got to go up against Tamarcus every day during high school. Now that you're playing at the college level, what has he improved on the most since you guys were working at Rolesville?
Um, I really say his technique. I mean, because from playing him from so young, I said he had a lot of characteristics he could use in his game. And like just seeing him be able to grow and become a set DB other than just a full-on athlete is so great to see.
Did you stay in touch with him much when he was at Maryland?
Oh, yeah, definitely did. Yeah, I stayed in contact with him because I know... we possibly could be going through the same issues. But I mean, we stayed together, worked together, put good words of wisdom on each other. And man, that's my brother. So you know, I always got to keep contact.
What do you think is the biggest key for you to have success this weekend?
I'll say just starting fast and be explosive. I mean, we just came off a bye week and you know, my last opportunity I got in a game it was a fumble. I can't have that, and I can't do that to my team. So you know, you got to come out and make a play start fast.
How have you seen CJ continue to grow at each start that he's had?
I mean, I'm just telling that boy out there. He's a freshman. He's doing his thing. I was telling him like he's fresh from high school. This is high school football. Just think of it like that. You know, like, it ain't nothing bigger than what you think or what you're going to expect to see out there. All it is, is just muscle memory. You know what you're doing. And I just keep putting great words in his ear because he's a good player. He's going to lead our team to victory.
Late in the game against Cal skill guys made skill plays and that was how you guys rallied and came back. How can you build off that – as you said ,start early and make the skill plays early in the game. How can you build off that fourth quarter in Cal?
It's really just the way we finished the game. That's how you guys started. They start to finish and we just can't have any lackadaisical starts coming out. It's really as simple as that. We can't keep coming out flat and be in the game with people that we know we should be blowing out.
Is there a reason that y'all have struggled so much in the first quarter?
It's not necessarily a reason. Football is very occasional. You don't know what can happen. But I mean, for our end, it's just errors and mistakes. You know, we can't keep making errors that we know we're better than. So I'll say that's the biggest reason.
What do you see from Stanford's defense going in this weekend?
I'll say they're more of a zone team. Their strengths are definitely their front.
Are you guys thinking along the lines of trying to get bowl eligibility or just single one game at a time?
It's come to a point, we definitely want to go to a bowl game, but we got to think of it one by one. You can't just skip forward and look at the end of the season because you know, these last four games can dictate a lot of things moving forward. So it's just finish strong and come in every week, one week at a time. And from here on out, we could possibly go 4-0. That's our goal.
I asked about Tamarcus, but between him and Hollywood and KC, and Lex, it's a group of guys you've known for years and years. When you see one of those guys make a play, how does that make you feel?
Sure. It makes me feel real good just knowing that like, if my boy is doing it then when my time comes, I know he's going to be happy for me. It's just things like that. You just love to see you happy for your boy and him happy for you and it's also great to see when your team, you grew up with somebody and you can see them playing from high school up into college level and see all the work ethic they put in.
Does that relationship help you guys push each other?
Yeah, it definitely does. You know what I mean? We built a strong relationship. It's just football makes it nothing but stronger because we start to understand each other a lot.
I'm sure when you guys play certain teams in the ACC, you're like, I don't like those guys. There's little petty things from the past. When you play like Cal and Stanford back to back in their first year in the ACC, does it feel like an ACC game? It's like a non-conference game almost?
Honestly, when I go out there, I don't think ACC is a conference game. I was blessed today to come out here and play. I just think of it as an opportunity.