NC State offensive coordinator Kurt Roper met with the media to discuss the offense, the Wolfpack's win over ECU, CJ Bailey, and much more.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the press conference.
On the offenses performance against ECU...
There's always good and bad things to correct, things that you try to praise, and I think we made a lot of plays. We had some explosive plays. We made plays down the field, which was exciting to see, and then we weren't consistent enough in finishing the drives, whether that was a play call, a penalty, something, or lack of execution to stop the drive.
We just didn't finish those drives, and we all would have, you know, felt like we played a pretty complete game if we would do that. Turnover in there at the end of half is something that we've got to try to try to eliminate those things, but I think you see we've got some talent, and we've got some guys that are playmakers, and we did some positive things.
What was it like calling plays from the booth again?
I think there's, you're always excited and anxious, and you hear players talk about it all the time. As soon as the game starts, all that's gone because now your mind is in the moment at hand, right? But obviously, I was excited about the opportunity to call plays again, thankful for that opportunity, but it's not the first time, so it wasn't a new experience, but I'm glad to be doing it, fortunate to be doing it.
What are the biggest areas that you feel like you need to improve in the run game from week one to week two?
I think that East Carolina did a lot of good things up front to make it challenging for our guys, and it was kind of a feast or famine game. We had some explosives and started off good, but it's the consistency and staying off of edges and me trying to put them into the best look for a run that I possibly can.
How did being upstairs kind of change your communication with CJ, kind of in-game picking those things up?
It's really, I'm talking to him straight through his headset during the whole drive, so that communication is the same. The difference is obviously in between series where we can't sit down and see each other face-to-face, and Matt Sims is doing that for me now, and he does a great job. Matt and I have been together since 2010-11, so he knows, we're all on the same page with that, so Matt's helping with those things, but it's the, what you lose being in the box is the emotions of the game, the intensity of the game, the look in a player's eyes.
Is he feeling good right now? Is he not feeling good? Do I need to bring him back? Is it confidence? Is it correcting something? Those things you miss, but you know, I learned from Cud a long time ago, and you can just see so much better. I haven't called it from the field. I've called scrimmages on the field, and you just don't see as well. I don't care what anybody says. You're not going to see as well. The other things are the positives from being down on the field.
Is CJ's progression as a quarterback a little quicker than maybe most in your estimation, the way he's progressed?
I think, yes. Yes, to answer your question, but even more than that, I think it was where he was when he got here, too. He's played football at such a high level for so long. He was coached really well in a passing offense at a really competitive high school, obviously an elite high school, and so he came in pretty far along, and I've said it, a lot. There's a lot of people that can throw a football. There's not many that can pass a football, and passing a football incorporates 22 moving parts, a concept of protection, a defensive coverage, a defensive pressure, and you've got to make a split decision in 2.8 seconds, and his brain does that. He sees that, and you know, I'm fortunate to coach him.
We've heard a lot about Teddy Hoffmann's offseason, but seeing that jump for him in week one, what were your thoughts on his play?
Well, it was impressive. The plays that he made, you can see how strong he is at the point of catch. His hands are really good. I think he's powerful. He can separate. He can change directions, but again, I go back to a guy that's played high-level football for a long time, been in a lot of competitive situations for a long time, so, while college football is different, the game day didn't shock him. It wasn't too big for him.
Your first initial thoughts on Virginia, was it interesting where you could see the game through the mindset of maybe Tim Beck a little bit?
Obviously, Tim has hired a new offense coordinator, so it's a new system, so it's not exactly what Tim did here that I was a part of, but, those relationships help with communication and things, but I think they're really physical. I think they play hard. I think they're heavy up front. I think they compete. You look at what they were able to do in their first game, shows you that they've got a talented football team.
