Kenny Soares, Jr.: "Today Was a Good Start, but Next Week Must Be Better"
NC State linebacker Kenny Soares, Jr. met with the media following the Wolfpack's 56-10 win over Campbell Saturday afternoon.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Soares’ interview.
On the defense making week-to-week adjustments…
It feels good that we're able to flip a switch when we need to, but in my opinion, it's never good enough. We have to be able to do this week to week, not take a week off, be able to do it every single week, and stack the days together. Maybe today was a good start to it, but next week's got to be better, and the week after has to be even better.
On setting the tone early…
I pride myself on being the most energetic person on the field and to be able to carry that with me. This being my first year here, at Northwestern, we didn't really pack the stands as much as we do here, so there, whenever you have a home game, you always bring your own energy. I kind of brought that kind of chip on my shoulder, being able to be here, just carrying that energy through to my brothers, and making sure everybody's able to feel me so that we can work together on the field.
On staying locked in after holding a 42-point lead at halftime…
You've just got to continue to play hard every single snap, no matter who's in the game. If the starters come out the game, the backups know the plan. We play every single day in practice: ones, twos, threes. Whoever's on the field knows exactly what to do and where to be, and they pride themselves on being able to play with the same physicality, no matter where you are on the depth chart. In my opinion, no matter who's in the game, there's never any type of slack that our defense should have.
On the names on his eye black…
This is for my grandmother for breast cancer awareness month. She passed before I was born. This is my mom's mother around when she was in her teen years, a little bit younger, maybe. I've always been a big advocate for breast cancer awareness, just seeing it being within my family, and I know a lot of other families are also dealing with it as well. Even with our coach, [D.J.] Eliot, his daughter just died from cancer, a different type. I'm just [willing] to [show] that awareness and show some love towards that community as well.
On having the platform to highlight cancer awareness…
I feel like we have one of the biggest platforms in the country to be able to voice our opinions and show who we are as people and where we come from, so being able to show our interests or what we believe in can also affect other people that tend to watch us. It could be one of the little kids in the stands who's calling out 33 or [C.J. Bailey’s] name, Justin Joly, or [Caden Fordham’s] name, and they just look up to us as figures in the world. We have a lot of effect on how people may think, so I feel like just being able to bring that positive outcome within the world helps everybody.
On having Eliot back...
It's amazing. We had him gone last week, but this week, him being back, stepping into his role again, being able to be on the sideline, and just seeing a smile on his face, it means a lot to us as a defense because we consider him obviously family. He brought me in here, and I have all trust within him as a coach. To see him down brings me down, and to see him up, it just puts a smile on my face now that he's back, just being a coach and being able to be that leader for us.
