NC State tight end Dante Daniels met with the media to discuss his development, the Duke matchup, and more.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
Dante, what do you think has been the biggest difference in run blocking from week one to these last two games?
Honestly, just like trusting the guys on the team. We go out there the first week, everyone has jitters, obviously. But I think the more we go into the games and the more weeks we go, I think we just get more comfortable in our c-team. Just play football and that's when our luck goes up from there.
What's it like to see Cody block against the run?
It's awesome. Honestly, I love everyone in my room. Cody and Justin, those two guys are just great dudes and great football players. It's awesome to see.
How has Gavin Locklear helped you improve just this past offseason and these postseason games?
Gavin, honestly, is like your biggest supporter and biggest critique at the same time. He's an amazing dude. He pushes excellence from us, really. Basically, every single game he tells us, he's like, we should be the reason we win this game. That's our mentality every practice, too. We should win the practice ourselves.
A lot of the coaches have raved about the tight end groups. Fans are excited about what you guys are doing. Do you sense an enthusiasm with building within the group and you guys being the difference maker in the game?
Yes. Compared to last year, I think this tight end group is more bonded this year. I feel like we feed off each other. Say if Cody is having a great, proud game, it feeds off of Justin, it feeds off of me. We just overall feed off each other and support each other. If Cody and Justin go and make two catches, we can go and make two catches. We can do everything together, basically. I just feel like this tight end group is way above everyone's expectations. I think we're going to keep exceeding those expectations.
Also, there's a depth to the group. A lot of people talk about Justin. Justin was listed as one of the great tight ends in the country. Fair play. You guys have got a lot of depth. Did you see that in the build up to this season? Should it have been a surprise?
I don't think it should have been a surprise. I think having three senior tight ends in the room is very lucky. Most schools don't have that. I feel like if you separate us to different schools, we can all start somewhere else, too, if we wanted to. I feel like having Cody and Justin in the room, everyone should have expected greatness from us right away.
Anything about Duke? You scouted Duke. What are your impressions of them? They have some good guys on the edge defensively. What are your impressions of the Blue Devil defense?
I think they're an awesome team. I think they play well together. I know as a tight end group, we have to stay strong at the edges. Their number 97, and number 7. Great players right there. I just think we've got to stand our own ground and just play Wolfpack football.
Having some comeback wins this year, I know maybe you're not starting games the way you would like, but what does it say about just kind of the mental, the determination of this team that you guys are 3-0 at this point?
I think it just shows the grit of our team. It actually reflects the captains we have on the team. We have four great captains on the team. People are like, oh, you guys are captains, and just because of their name or whatever, but these guys show they're real captains, and they push and feed us. If people on a team with position groups, we lead in their group, too, because we're captains. I feel like it just reflects on how great our team is with them.
How much value do you put in these in-state ACC rivalry matchups? It's kind of bragging points at this point, right?
Yeah, we want to be the best team in the state, obviously, but we don't worry about every game past the next game we have. Basically, we're more worried about this game, not worried about Virginia Tech next, because we're worried about this game first, then we go off from there. And that's it.
