NC State cornerback Devon Marshall has been playing really well, and he recently met with the media to discuss his play and this weekend's game against Pittsburgh.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
The defense has been beaten up for most of the season. What's it been like seeing some of the younger guys step up into positions that they're not used to playing in?
I mean, it's just football. It's going to happen every season. We say at the beginning of the season to stay ready so you don't have to get ready. The young guys have been ready for the moment. It's just their time to go out and show them what they can do.
You guys on the outside have been pretty solid and steady all year. How much have you guys embraced that, knowing that the guys in the back end just keep going down and keep getting around?
Yeah, in the corner room, the three of us who have been playing we've been healthy, thankfully. We've just been trying to do our part every week and play the best that we can play and just try to pick up the back end as much as we can and try to make as many plays as we can and really just help the safeties too because all the safeties are young. So we're just communicating to them, just showing them how to play and what to do.
How important has that communication between you guys been, not only on the field but in practice, trying to figure out where everybody's going to be?
It's been extremely important. Like you said, the safeties haven't played much, so we have to constantly talk and really speak after the play. If we blow an assignment or mess something up, we have to really sit there and install it in their minds because we can't have that mistakes on game day. We've been on it a lot recently, so we don't blow any coverages.
Was the bye good for you? How did you enjoy the bye week?
The bye week was good. It was a good time to recover and get our bodies back. We did a lot of meeting and talking as the back end too, so I feel like we was able to catch up and get a head start on this Pitt game.
You have a lot of positional versatility in your pass, but what is it about corner that you appreciate the challenges?
I've been playing corner my whole life. I just like being on the island. I say Marshall Island. I just like the one-on-one match-ups. I embrace playing press man, off man. I think it's just fun. I like the challenges we make the play and celebrate.
It's pretty stressful, isn't it? Playing one-on-one out there on the island by yourself. How stressful is that?
It's not really stressful for me. That's my job. It's what I do, what I take ownership in. For me, it's not stressful at all. For other people, it's not as stressful.
The three of you have been rotating a lot, how much has that helped staying fresh throughout a game?
It helps me a lot. When I go back out there, my legs are ready to go. I'll probably take one drive off, play three, take a drive off. It keeps my body refreshed. I'm able to see the offense from the sidelines, just look at how they're moving. I feel like I can play better throughout the game.
Pittsburgh made a quarterback change this season. What have you guys seen from him so far going into this one?
I know he's a young quarterback. He can run. He's talented, but he's young. All the defensive schemes, you just have to switch it up for him.
You mentioned using the bye week as a secondary to meet and get on the same page. What did those meetings look like?
It's just looking at film, looking at practice. It's really just looking at the mistakes that we made.
Not really looking good, but all the bad. Just trying to correct those.
Who put that together?
Obviously it starts with the coaches and practice, but as players we did it ourselves too, just so we're even more locked in. Throughout the season we've been meeting as players, but it's really just the team. Coaches, players, we all know what the issue is and just trying to get that together.
Is there anyone in the secondary that's really stepped up into a leader role, or is it more of just a group effort of all the guys?
I would say it's a group effort. In the corner room, three of us that played, me, Jamel, Brian, and you got JJ Vick. So really, and even the guys that's hurt, like Rente, everyone just, we're just trying to get better.
What's your perspective on having possibly six games left? Did you think about that much during the bye week, knowing that it's that point of the year?
Obviously I think about that. There's only six games left in my career. I know this has to be my best six games of my life. So I’m just ready to step into those games and play my best ball.
