LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
NC State's Bishop Fitzgerald and C.J. Bailey met with the media following the Wolfpack's 30-29 road loss to Georgia Tech Thursday evening.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch the players’ press conference.
Bishop Fitzgerald
On what went wrong on the Wolfpack’s last stand on defense…
Just not being able to contain the quarterback. We worried about man coverage we had on the back end, and then we were going to have a spy play for the quarterback. We've just got to execute better next time down the stretch.
On his interception…
They tried to run a little smash concept rollout, and honestly, I was just in the right place at the right time. Tips and overthrows, you’ve got to get those.
On how NC State was able to contain the run…
Just good eyes and trusting everybody in your fit. They do a lot of eye candy. It’s just trusting everybody with their fits and just doing your job.
On moving on from the one-point loss…
It's going to be hard. We meet tomorrow to just get this game out of the way. We'll get an off day, trying to get our minds off it, and then come back ready to beat UNC.
On focusing on stopping the run…
That was a whole emphasis this week: stopping in the run and trying to make them pass. You know, they have a dual quarterback system. [With Haynes King] in the game, we're expecting run. That was just kind of key mentality in the game. We loaded the box and did our best to stop the run, and I feel we did a good job with that today.
On success coming later in the season…
We've been playing desperate, trying to get this win. When we play desperate, everyone just plays a little bit harder. I think that's been one of the keys. We’ve just been flying around, stopping the run. You've just got to keep doing a good job of that next week.
C.J. Bailey
On his rushing touchdowns…
Those guys were running a lot of zone Blitz. They were like dropping guys out and covering our receivers and our routes. They lost responsibility for me all game, and I took advantage of it. I got my three touchdowns and everything. Those guys were really in coverage covering our guys, and they just gave me the lanes to run. My O-line held up for me every time and made the lanes open for me.
On the message in the locker room…
The message was just keep playing. Things are going to go wrong. Things were gonna happen. I said just keep fighting, and that's what we did. We fought to the very end, It came down to a field goal. Our mindset was just to keep going. We know things are going to go wrong. It happens all year. It happened all year. We've been fighting and battling adversity all year, so just bounce back and just go make plays.
On the offense’s confidence…
I was very confident I was going to get done there. I already knew what the first play was going to be, and I made the most of it. That play is guaranteed to work, so I knew that was going to get a big completion. It was really about that next play. I missed on that bang route; I led him too far, and maybe if I'd hit him, he would have gotten the field goal. I had confidence the whole time. As long as those guys on the sideline and as long as my teammates have got my back, shoot, we can do anything. They’ve got our back, and we can do anything, and I've got theirs.
On recovering from throwing interceptions…
Like I said, mistakes are going to happen. I definitely didn't plan to have three interceptions. I'd never thrown three interceptions in my life, but it happens. I have guys around me telling me, “Let's go, you're good, let's keep going. Things are going to happen. We’re going to overcome it." It happened. That's why I listen to my guys, my teammates, because they know what's best, and they know what to do in those situations. That's why I'm gaining that confidence and staying confident as I go on because those guys are helping me out.
On the defense stepping up…
I was telling my guys on offense all day, “The defense is playing their ass off. They're playing their heart out, and it's our turn. We've got to go score.” The message in the locker room at the half was go get a touchdown on that first drive, and we didn't do it. We see our defense playing hard. We've got to play hard, too. I'm glad it came in the fourth quarter, but we've got to start earlier. That’s how it's been all year. We got to pick it up earlier than the fourth quarter because we tried to turn it on, but it'd be too late.
On passes being knocked down at the line of scrimmage…
No, it's really been like that all year. Every D-lineman’s going to put their hands up. It’s about me just getting it over them. Sometimes, things aren't there, and I'm pumping, and their hands get up at the right time. It just happens. I'm never frustrated over a batted ball, and my coaches are never frustrated over about a batted ball because it happens when people put their hands up.
On scrambling…
I noticed that as the game went on. We didn't really plan on using my legs this game, but they opened the lanes up. They were dropping a lot of guys in coverage, so I took advantage of it. I learned a lot during the game and just used my legs to help the team out.
On staying optimistic over close losses…
We're hurting ourselves. We’re suffering self-inflicted wounds every time we take these losses. Our mindset every time is just to try to bounce back and go get a win. We’re going to win this game at North Carolina. We’re going to get our win against North Carolina because it means a lot to us. Things go wrong all year, but this game right here is important.