Through the first month of the season, NC State’s offensive line has started to find its rhythm, and right tackle Teague Andersen has been at the heart of that progress.
From going up against his own teammates in practice to facing new challenges in a new-look ACC schedule, Andersen is settling in at his position, and as for what he sees in practice, he didn’t hesitate to praise edge Cian Slone.
“I knew he was going to be that good,” Andersen said. “Him and Bash (Sabastian Harsh) have just been really, really dominant up front, and not surprising at all. The level of competition keeps me going, and I feel like it’s helping me every single week going against other really good talent.”
That competition has been critical as Andersen adjusts to new opponents in a new conference. He has already begun preparing for what he expects will be a physical matchup against Duke’s defensive front.
“They’ve got a couple really, really good guys—97 and 7—and their backups are pretty good as well,” he said. “Just seeing their speed off the edge and their physicality, it’s gonna be a really fun week.”
NC State has already experienced a tough road environment this fall, something Andersen believes will pay dividends in the trip to Durham.
“I feel like it helps a lot because the atmosphere is probably going to be pretty similar,” he said. “It’s right down the road, so I feel like it’s gonna [feel familiar].”
When Andersen isn’t on the field, he keeps his focus on football. Even his days off revolve around the game.
“I usually just relax, watch other games,” he said. “I love the game of football, so just being able to watch it honestly helps me a lot—just getting in the game-ready boots and all that. Recovery’s been big.”
That attention to detail has shown up in the run game, where NC State has cleared 200 rushing yards in each of its past two outings. Andersen credits the line’s chemistry.
“As an O-line, I feel like we’re really dominant up front,” he said. “We’re five as one right now, which is nice. We’re all really connected, so I feel like if we just keep doing what we’re doing, we’re gonna have a really explosive season.”
The Wolfpack had to learn quickly from the season opener at East Carolina, where the Pirates threw a dizzying array of stunts and blitzes at them.
“They had a bunch of stunts—the most different... I’ve ever seen in my life, the most different blitzes,” Andersen said. “They were just throwing everything they could at us. Just knowing what we have next has been really good.”
That growth mindset has become the theme for the offensive line. Andersen says the group talks daily about getting “one percent better,” and he sees everyone making strides.
“We all have our ‘one mores,’” he explained. “Whatever your one percent is, just trying to get better every single day. We’re a lot better [than Week 1]. We’re getting experience, and I feel like that helps a lot.”
For Andersen, the mental toughness NC State has displayed in early comeback wins is just as encouraging as the physical progress.
“We definitely need to start faster on offense and also on defense,” he admitted. “But it just shows our grit and our want-to every single time we get on that field, knowing that we’re going to end up winning this game.”
That belief was clear in the win over Wake Forest, when the Demon Deacons opened the game with a kickoff return touchdown.
“First play, we just looked at each other—we’re like, now what?” Andersen recalled. “We’ve been here before. What are we going to do? We’re going to go down, we’re going to score, we’re going to win this game. It doesn’t matter how down we are—we’ve been in that situation before and we can execute out of it.”
As NC State prepares for Duke and Virginia Tech in back-to-back weeks, Andersen’s confidence reflects the larger growth of the Wolfpack front. With cohesion, competition, and belief in one another, he sees even bigger things ahead.
