Timothy McKay: "It Means Everything"
NC State right guard Timothy McKay recently met with the media to discuss the upcoming matchup against Duke.
NOTE: Click on the video above to watch the interview.
The whole offensive line was working as a unit, what was that like from your point of view?
It was really fun. I know going into the bye week, Coach Doeren asked if we could play better, something we weren't doing very well for the bye week. But, you know, we really took it upon ourselves to really have fun out there and just play together as one. Because the offensive line is a finishing group where you have to be together. You can't have one guy messing up all five after you go to the same page.
How personally did you guys take that, you know, that challenge from here and say, do you guys need to step it up a little bit?
Having senior guys in the offensive line, it's our job to hold the offense to a standard. We didn't do that in previous games. So being able to do that Stanford game was really important for us, took it personal, and I'm excited for the team this week.
Speaking of, you're also one of the older guys on this team, you've been here a long time. What do you think Saturday is going to be like for you?
I think it'll be fun. I'm excited to go out there and just play with my guys and stay in-state school, playing Duke. They beat us last year, but we're coming this year, excited. A lot of emotion, but you've got to control it and just play your game.
Well, I know you're from North Carolina. What's it like, you know, having your family be here to support you all six years?
It means everything. My parents are 30 minutes down the street, so having them at every single game is really important. The support is always there. I can go home whenever I want, so I can't complain about that.
Who do you think is most likely to shed tears on senior day?
Hmm. Shed tears on senior day? I'd probably say Davin. Yeah, for sure.
Why is he that emotional?
He just puts so much into the game. I do too, but I just feel like he's really emotional and I think he’ll cry. Nothing against him.
Zeke Correll is also in his last year. How big of an impact has he made in just one year?
Yeah, huge impact. He's a really vocal guy and he's really loved this offense, so I'm glad to be next to him. He helps me out, I help him out, so it's a great addition we got from this year and I'm excited to see what he does going forward.
You were able to see some of the younger guards grow over this year. You know, like Kamen Smith and Val (Erickson) have played. What have you seen out of those guys and just how they've grown over the past year?
Yeah, Kamen's come a long way, you know, coming from Wilkesboro last year and just getting reps last game, a lot of reps last game. You see him really progress, really, really cool, really good for me to see. But he's out there just having fun, just playing his game, he'll let it loose. He has a bright future for sure.