Brian Nelson: "I Love Being An Underdog"
NC State cornerback Brian Nelson recently met with the media to discuss his development, competing against the wide receivers, and much more.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
You probably didn’t know much about NC State, what have you learned since?
I learned a lot, man. It's a great place. We have a great program. We go by the motto of HTT, hard, tough, together. So, we really live by it every day and do our best to be a brotherhood and just grow.
What has this corner competition been like so far?
It's been a good competition, man. Just having great guys around me. Devon Marshall, Jamel Johnson, it's a great competition just knowing that we're all going to need each other on the field no matter what, who's starting or not. We're just going to need each other as brothers.
What was it about Brian Mitchell and the staff that made you want to come here?
Yeah, man. Like, when I first got here, it just felt like family. It felt like home. They really showed major love to me, expressing to me how they want me here and I'm needed and I'm just the right fit for them. So, just really, like, seeing the type of resources they have, just the culture here, man, really brought me here.
What’s it like going against those receivers, obviously a lot of hype about a lot of them. What's it like playing against them every day?
Man, like I said, it's a good competition regardless. Noah Rogers, Wesley Grimes, Keenan, Terrell Anderson, man, they're the great receivers. And so, I'm just coming to practice every day, ready to work, knowing it's going to be a good competition.
Some of the transfers have talked about arriving with a chip on their shoulder because they wanted to get recruited higher out of high school. Are you kind of in that mode, too?
Yeah, for sure, man. Out of high school, I was recruited late. I didn't really get that many offers until my senior year. So, I was fortunate to go to college and go to a D1 school. So, just always having that chip on my shoulder, just knowing, school is overlooking me. And so, I mean, just, I'm ready to work wherever I go.
I get the impression that you guys feel pretty confident about your team, even if the outside expectations are a little lower. Do you guys feel like you kind of have an ace in your pocket where you're going to kind of surprise people?
Oh, yeah, for sure, man. I love being an underdog, regardless of what the media says or not. Just being an underdog is just like a great chip to have on your shoulder because you get to prove people wrong. You just get to, bloom out of nowhere and just show people what we're really about.
Getting four interceptions is a very good number. What is it about your ability to get the ball in the air?
I live by that, man. Just being a ball hog and just getting the ball back to the offense, I really live by that. And that's all I really want to do, which is make plays for our team and build trust throughout the whole team, just knowing that they can depend on me and just know they have a baller out there.
Do you set numbers for how many pass deflections or how many interceptions you want to get a season? Or is it just kind of, you know, winging it?
Sometimes I try to set numbers just knowing, like, not trying to limit myself, but just knowing, like, it's a high expectation. Just knowing, like, just going out there and doing this is going to send me to a higher place. And so just really setting a number really helps me to go out there and work harder.
You obviously were able to improve yourself because of last year. How much do you still feel like you have to prove?
I have a lot to prove. Just, no matter what I did last season, that's the last season. So this is a new year. So just knowing I have to get better and improve myself is just, it's really, I take that to the gym because, like, people are depending on me and people, some people have gotten me. So just knowing I have to prove myself really matters to me.
Who's been the toughest guy to defend in camp so far?
Man, like, they're all good receivers. So, I mean, that's really a hard question to answer. Just, no matter who's in front of me, they're all a good competition. They all have their differences.