Elisha Shaw: "We Want Fighters"
NC State assistant defensive line coach Elisha Shaw met with the media to discuss his promotion, the Wolfpack's defense, and much more.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
How would you characterize the last 12 to 15 years of your life has been like?
Thanks for that question, Noah. Characterizing it, I would just say crock pot, right? You got this plan, you got this meal that you wanna cook up and you got the plan for the ingredients and you got the recipe all together, but you gotta cook it slowly. It's not a fast track. And that's how I would describe, you know, my last 10 year tenure of just, slow cook. God slowed me down, wanted me to learn a little bit more? So I would just describe it like that, a slow cook.
Yeah, and then what's been the biggest thing you've learned through all the different coaches that you've been able to learn from, whether it was at Alabama in school or whether it was post-grad? You know, what's been the biggest thing you've learned?
Oh man, the biggest thing I learned just from a lot of the coaches that helped me out throughout my years and helped me get to where I am now. It's just the process. Find a process and turn it into excellence, the process.
Yeah, Coach, what's it been like this last year learning under and working with Coach Charlie Wiles?
Oh, James, thank you for that question. I love that energy. Oh man, it's just like the energy you gave me there. I mean, it's a blessing. When I open that elevator, I'd be able to go in there and mess with just Charlie. I got a nickname for him. I call him OG for you guys out there. But man, it's a blessing, man. We got someone who's been coaching football and D-line technique for longer than I've been born. I'm humbled to it. It's a blessing. I'm fired up to go help him and to grind with him. Man, it's the best partnership I could ever ask for.
And I got a follow-up for you. I believe you were at Georgia State with Jeremiah J.J. Johnson. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Correct. Correct. Correct.
So you've seen him in action. I know I asked Coach Warren about him earlier. Just what did you see from him your time there?
Oh, man, I saw a guy who was a student of the game. This guy was always in the office kind of. I was a G.A. at Georgia State. You're in that office way past the kids. That guy was in the office with me. He was always trying to, you know, steal some information. He always worked his technique. I think he's going to be a great, great fit to us. He's also going to be another guy who's able to spark fires for other men in our secondary. It's a great get for us. And thank you to NC State fans for helping us get J.J. Great get for us.
Wanted to, first of all, congratulate you on getting the position. But what does it mean to have that title of having, the coach name next to your name again? Because obviously this past year, you served in a slightly different role. But looking back at your time at Georgia State, you had the coaching official title there. But what does it mean to be known as an assistant coach now again leading these young men?
Oh, man. Just like with any other blessing, the only thing I think is responsibility. I got a job to do. I got a job to do. I owe Coach Dave Doeren. I owe these players here. I owe the fans here at NC State. And I owe all the alumni who kind of put blood on the bricks already. We have a lot of defensive linemen who are next level. I owe those guys something. I owe Brandon Cleveland something. I owe his family something. I owe Coach Charlie Wiles something. I owe all those guys. So, with the title, it comes with responsibility.
And I'm just fired up about that. And wanted to ask you, too, about, you know, working under D.J. Elliot so far and working under Charlton Warren as well. What have they kind of brought to the staff early on? I know you haven't had many days out on the field or anything along those lines, but what have you seen from them so far?
Oh, man, I've been around a lot of coaches, man, different kinds, just like you got dogs, right? You got different kinds of dogs with different temperaments. I'm fired up about D.J. He's very sharp, very, very sharp. I mean, you look at his resume, it kind of shows. He saw the game and coached the game on many different levels. I'm fired up about what he can bring to this defense, how we can help this defense evolve to play some dominant football games. I know our fans are ready to see that, but I'm excited about how we evolve this defense and allow guys like Brandon Cleveland to get one-on-ones and dominate one-on-ones, allow guys like Travali to be able to dominate one-on-ones, and put them in position. We got great guys in the secondary. Just putting these players in position, I think, is exciting for recruits. I think it's exciting for the Wolfpack Nation. For everyone, we're going to see some really good football. I'm excited for D.J. I'm excited that I'm next to D.J., helping him, just be able to paint this picture for this university and our fans.
Coach, speaking of D.J. and the evolution, right, that's something that he spoke on, talking about, like, the next steps for this defense and this program, right, is finding ways to change, to grow, all of that. What do you see that evolution looking like for this defense? What do you see those next steps in your mind's eye as to what this defense will look like in the next few months?
Yeah, Coach D.J., he got a great plan. The plan that he gave us as his assistant coaches is just being able to discuss, being able to put our players in positions to be successful in this defense. That's what I'm super excited about. That's what it looked like. We're, as we all know, we're trying to really decrease the time with the quarterback having the ball. We want him to make a decision, make a decision early. And also be able to blur his passing lane. So I'm excited about that and what that would look like. Just coaching the technique to our d-lineman and just decreasing that quarterback time to throw. I'm fired up about it.
Have you always been this energetic? If so, can I get some of that? You can have it all if you're watching NC State football, because that's all we're going to get, 100% of nothing. But for all, you mentioned, working with Charlie Wiles and just how long he's been in this profession. But not only him, this staff has so much experience. As a younger coach, who obviously loves this sport, how important is it for your own personal growth and development to get to learn from guys like that?
Oh, it's huge. Like I told you guys, crockpot, right? Not the difference between the crockpot and the air fryer, right? Or the deep fryer. I'm not trying to jump out so fast, right? I mean, one, Raleigh is a lovely place. NC State, lovely place. This staff is so seasoned, but not only that, great people, right? You go find coaches who know all about the game, right? But these coaches, they can teach you about game, teach you about life, and you enjoy every moment of it. I love that, all right? But the opportunity just to sit underneath this wisdom and be able to soak, and be able to bounce things off of Coach Charlie Wiles, and be able to receive things off of him, to be able to create this great recipe that works, right? Because one thing about Charlie, his recipe is proven, right? I only want to take that from him, add to that, and create a recipe that works, create a recipe that NC State loves.
Coach, DJ talked about building relationships as being a new defensive coordinator. Have you seen that already, just in the staff meeting rooms, and kind of be able to get to know him a little bit better before you guys really dive into evolving this defense?
One more time, say that one more time.
Yeah, he talked about relationship building and how that's important to him. Have you seen that already, in the time he's been in NC State so far?
Yeah, I mean, I can tell that's huge. I just to tell you, whenever you got changed, of course, you have guys who want to hit the portal. They utilized that option, and DJ embraced it. Each one of the kids, I don't care what he had to do, he fought for them. He showed them what he knew. He also paint pictures of what a meeting would look like with an NFL scout. Like I say, he brings a lot of value. He's a hungry recruiter, and I love that about him. That's a good combination to add with guys like myself and other guys on his staff. He's a hungry recruiter, very sharp as well.
How much did that turning point in your life where you were able to get a non-football scholarship to Alabama shape everything that has become for you as an adult?
Oh, earn, not giving. Earn, not giving. And even when you earn it, all right, even when you earn it, all right, the result of that is only temporary. Sometimes you have to re-earn it, right? But one thing we did back in my college days, we'll win and then get back to the start line and try to go win again. And that's just been my life. Earn success once. If life says, hey, I want you to earn another outlet, you take the same process, excellent, and you earn it again, and you earn it again and again. That's legacy-driven.
Yeah, coach, you guys added four guys this year, incoming players, obviously you can't talk about them if they're not on campus, but just in general, what were you looking to bring in out of the prep and then the JUCO ranks this year?
Oh, man, just like Coach Dave and a lot of our coaches on the staff talk about, we want men who have something to prove. We want fighters. Guys, I tell you now, with this transfer portal nowadays, you know, things get so pretty, right? Things get so neat. Everything has to be so perfect, although this world is imperfect. We want guys who can show up and fight, no matter the course, show up and fight. We want guys with something to prove. That's what we're all about at NC State. That's what we're all about, fighting, fighting, fighting, and putting food on the table. That's a lot of things. We talk about that a lot. Whatever it takes, guys, to put food on the table. So I got to have a certain kind of guy, a guy who's a fighter, a guy who's got something to prove.