NC State safety Brody Barnhardt recently met with the media to discuss the Wolfpack's start to the season, the upcoming matchup against Duke, and more.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
What was your welcome to college moment?
Definitely that deep ball against ECU post. I mean, coming in I knew, obviously practicing against our receivers, I know how it is. It's college, so all these guys are great athletes. So, I kind of know what I signed up for and I'm ready to attack that task at hand.
What was it like being able to earn the start this past week?
It was a good feeling, considering last year I didn't play much at all going into this year. Coach Warren coming in, helping me a lot at the safety position, very good coach. He's helped me a lot, so I think going in there I was pretty confident going into the game.
What's the biggest thing I guess you've learned about yourself, especially last year not playing a whole lot?
Composure. I feel like I would have been a lot more nervous playing these games. I feel like I'm pretty mellow and even toned throughout the whole game.
You guys have won a couple of tight games, comebacks. What did you learn about yourself and as a team going through that?
Our whole team, I mean, we don't back down. We're down in the game, Wolfpack's going to fight and you know we're going to bring it. So, along with the coaches, Coach Warren and Coach Eliot, great game plans at halftime, switching it up. They did a tremendous job.
What do you think makes these halftime adjustments so successful?
I think throwing off the offense, coming out, showing them one thing all half and then showing them a whole different thing the second half. Really just throw their offense off.
Is this just another conference game or is it against the guys 20 minutes down the road?
I guess every game's a big game. We want to go 1-0 every week and that's what we're planning to do this week.
The focus is obviously on the proximity, but you have a chance to go 2-0 in the ACC. Road wins at that. Do you sense this week is a golden opportunity for NC State to sort of create some separation?
Oh yeah, no doubt. I mean, this week's a really big week for our whole program. I mean, if we beat them, we'll come out being one of the top teams in the ACC. So, I mean, it's big.
What kind of teacher is Coach Warren, especially in the locker room at halftime? I mean, there's not much time to teach. It seems like the things that he's saying really pays off.
He's a military type of coach, so he's on us. But, I mean, he's teaching us everything we need to know. He's going over different calls they might call, different situations, and everything we need to know.
Has it helped having Ronnie back there with you as another young guy?
Yeah, me and Ronnie going through the same thing, both being younger safeties that are playing. But good thing we got J.J. and Rente, some of the older guys in the safety room, to kind of help us with whatever we need.
Yeah, how much do you think you've grown from that East Carolina game to now?
I know it's only been three weeks, but it seems like a decent amount. I mean, getting a lot more reps the two games after ECU, I mean, really just making me feel more comfortable. Just different little things within our schemes and stuff just made me feel a lot more comfortable.
