Several NC State players met with the media following the Wolfpack's 35-31 home win over Virginia.
NOTE: Click on each video above to watch a specific interview.
Running Back Hollywood Smothers
Hello. In the first half, you only had 25 rushing yards in the second half, 115 on 12 carries. What was the biggest difference for you in the second half, and how much do you kind of just enjoy being able to put the offense on your back a little bit and just run like that?
I'll just say I think the offensive line just got more comfortable. Just, you know, got a more understanding of who they were going to and just being out there. They got a feel for it. So the guys up front just got the job done, opened up holes for me, gave me some space to work, and just took off from there.
Obviously, we just saw Sean come and pretend to give you a water bath. Just what's it like to play on a team that has so much fun and that's so supportive, regardless of what side of the ball they're on?
Just to let you know, the locker room we got, like I grew up with Sean Brown, honestly. Just everybody's here, just family, and we support each other. Like, just coming out of that second half, Sean Brown said, like, you keep making plays, and I'm going to get the defense together. Just the camaraderie of this team, just, this is where it needs to be. And, it wasn't how we liked it. It wasn't a pretty win, but it just shows the grit that we have and the love we have for each other to keep fighting.
Hollywood, obviously, you ran a lot, but CJ had two touchdowns as well on the ground. When you have a quarterback that can expand in his game and run like CJ has, speak to how helpful that is for the offense and for you as a running back.
Yeah, the baby giraffe can run a little bit. But it's great to have him. You know, just he's a player.
Everybody knows, like, CJ's super talented. He can change the game in many ways. He can beat you with his legs, beat you with his arms. So it's just great, having somebody like that that they got a game plan for and watch out for. It just makes my job ten times easier. And I want to shout out his leadership even more. Just he was a big differential in that second half in the locker room just talking to us and bringing the energy.
Hollywood, how much have you set off of the last six games last year kind of going into this year? You seem like you're striding those last six games. How much of those carried over into this season?
Not much has changed for me, I want to say. Like my preparation stayed the same. My hunger stayed the same. Just trusting the process. Just knowing it comes with ups and downs. A lot comes with it, a lot don't. Just trusting the process. I'm just staying faithful, like, trusting God. Like God's with me in every battle. So just, I just go day by day and just work in the locker room and just spread that belief out throughout the locker room. And it's been easy for me just, coming up with a plan and, like I said, just trusting the process.
What is it like when you have that adrenaline of getting carry after carry after carry and you see your offensive line opening up holes?
I'm just, just I want the ball. So that's what I'll be telling them is just, my offensive coordinator trusts me, the team trusts me to run the ball. So, and just doing whatever I needed to do to win. God made that happen for us. And like I said, just doing whatever, like, whatever I needed to do to put us in our best situation. And the guys up front made it easier for me. Hollywood, thanks for joining us today. Man, thank you all for listening. And that concludes NC State's post-game press conference.
Linebacker Cian Slone
Cian, what was the biggest difference between the first and second half on getting off the field on third down?
I feel like just our mental focus. I feel like we kind of came out with it. Maybe we were a little fluttered on defense, but we kind of honed it in, kind of realized the situation that we were in, and we all kind of came together in the second half. I was really proud of how we played in the second half on defense.
Just a follow-up. Who was kind of the most vocal later in the locker room at halftime to kind of correct that and get off the field?
I would say Caden Ford and Sean Brown. Those guys have been our heartbeat of the defense since I first got here. And, yeah, they just kept on being them, and they pulled everyone up to the standard. So we really needed that when we came out flat in the first half.
Yeah, after kind of those struggles in the first half, was there – individually for you, was there like a mental aspect of like, okay, we didn't do great. I really have to make a big play.
I wouldn't say that. I feel like we all just kind of had to hone into our 1 of 11th. I mean, if we're doing our job, and we're doing our job inside the scheme, like the plays are going to happen. So we just kind of had to not panic and not feel like we had to make a Superman play. If we're all doing our job, like we got a great scheme in. So, yeah, it was just we kind of found that trust, and I feel like we all kind of took a deep breath in the second half.
Yeah, actually I have a two-parter. One, do you remember the last time you had an interception?
It's been a while. Oh, yeah, it's been – shoot, I think it was in junior college.
Just your thoughts on the defense in the second half. Is that close to what you think you guys can be? Is that near the level you hope to be?
Yeah, I mean, I feel like that's the standard. I mean, obviously there's still stuff that we need to clean up across the board. But it's just like the leaders on defense and like the trust that we all have in each other and our coach, I feel like that really showed in the second half. And if we can play like that, I mean, we're going to be hard to beat.
Edge Sabastian Harsh
Yeah, Sabastian, this week Coach Eliot talked about the importance of third downs and getting teams in third and long situations. But y'all kind of struggled getting off the field today. What were they doing or what were y'all not doing, that kind of made those situations difficult?
We just got to win our one-on-ones up front, get after the quarterback. There's no other way of saying it, especially me. Like, I hold a lot of that responsibility, getting to the quarterback. And so I think just up front we got to win our one-on-ones, help out the back end and their coverage, and so play in tandem.
Yeah, could you just take us through the mindset, what you guys were talking about when it became clear that it was going to be that one last drive and NC State had to punt there at the end of the game?
Yeah, so, Coach Eliot talks a lot about being tough, bowing up, and you could see it looking around the guys in the huddle coming out on that last drive. It was, all right, like, these guys are ready to go. And so I think just playing every single play like it's your last, that's probably the most important thing, and just not giving up, that's it.
Hey, Sabastian. What was the message at halftime? It seemed like the first half Virginia was converting on almost every third down. In the second half, they were all held at 50%. What was the biggest message for you guys trying to get off the field?
Yeah, it was just being physical. There's a lot of times, up front we were getting moved away, and so just being physical up front especially, and then just leaning on guys, leaning on everybody else on the defense. Trust that everybody else is going to do their job.
Sabastian, going into the second half, in the first half Morris looked comfortable. What were the adjustments that were made that made him uncomfortable in the second half? And can you talk about the leadership on defense that seemed like it changed everything?
Yeah, so it was just simplifying the game plan, going back to just playing hard, tough football. Being able to lean on the leaders on the defense, Sean and Caden, helps out a lot. Those guys are really vocal when we're out there. A lot of the guys rely on them, and so having two tough guys like that on the defense, it makes it really easy to come out and get a hot start.
Linebacker Sean Brown
Hey, Sean. Cian just said that you and Caden were the biggest leaders at halftime, kind of correct, on third down. Virginia started 10 of 13. What was that conversation like, and how did you like the response kind of from the rest of the defense holding them to three or six in the second half?
We just knew that we weren't playing to our standard as the defense. The offense was doing their thing, going out there, scoring points, doing what they're supposed to do. And just defensively, we were laying them down. And we're just letting the defense know that the way we're playing right now is not this is we got to cut that shit out. My fault to curse, but we got to cut that out, and play our brand of football.
Yeah, Sean, you guys seemed to make a lot of adjustments. I know the little screen out there to the running back with the lineman pulled, you busted that play up in the last drive. That was a play that gashed you a few times. What was the key to making those adjustments, and how big do you think that was in the victory?
Sure, it wasn't really no big thing to it. It was really just doing your job. And that's what the adjustment was going into the second half. We knew that we had to tackle better and just communicate better as a defense. And once we know that we do that, nobody can mess with us.
Sean, I know you haven't watched the film, so this is purely like a gut reaction. But where do you think this defense is right now, and where do you think it can be as the season progresses?
As the season progresses, we're going to be one – we know that we can be one of the best defenses in the nation. And what we just put out there, we know that's not who we are. And we know that when we come back and we got – what we put out there, we got to eat that on Sunday. You know what I mean? That's our brand of work, and we know that's not how we play football as NC State Wolfpack. And we know that when we come in on Monday, we got to be ready to work.
