NC State running back Jayden "Duke" Scott met with the media following the Wolfpack's 48-36 win over No. 8 Georgia Tech Saturday evening.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Scott’s interview.
On the feelings after the upset win…
It feels great. I'd like to thank God for just the blessing that he gave me today, the opportunity. I'd like to think my O-line. They blocked their behinds off all day. It's surreal for my first start to be an upset. It’s a surreal feeling.
On the last time he approached 200 yards rushing and how it feels to do it against a top-10 team…
Shoot, the last time was probably in high school, probably in my semifinal game. It feels great. We game-planned it. Again, the line just blocked so well. The holes were there, and I just had to hit them.
On his mindset going into Saturday night…
I knew I had to come with a different mindset. I knew I was going to carry over my game. I knew I was going to be physical. I was going to run as hard as I possibly could. I had a chip on my shoulder; I was doing it for Hollywood [Smothers]. I knew he couldn't play. I knew there's nothing he would want to do more than to play, so I just knew I had to do it for him, too.
On showing out after spending a year on the sideline…
It's a blessing. There's so much work that went on under the lights, stuff that wasn't really recognized in that time period, but I just knew I had to keep my head down and just pray on it, and I'm just blessed to be here.
On Smothers’ advice heading into the game…
He just told me to be calm, be patient, and don't don't try to hit the home run because it's going to come, and it's going to develop itself. The funny thing is, right before I ran the 72-yarder, he was like, “Hey, this is the one. I can feel it.” Sure enough, it popped open.
On seeing the fans storm the field…
It was awesome, especially being a part of it. You always see it on TV and all that stuff, the fans rushing the crowd. It was awesome to be a part of it. I got to take some a lot of good pictures and just interact with fans.
On seeing the open field on the long run…
It felt like a routine play. Like he said, “Don't expect it. Don't try to just go for it. Just react to it. When you see it, you've got to hit it.” That's all I did every time.
On being the third player under Dave Doeren to rush for over 190 yards in a game…
It means a lot to me. It's a great start. From here, I just expect to get better and better. It’s just the start for it.
On the offense creating separation from Georgia Tech…
It's a “bend, don't break” mentality, so when they would bend a little bit and didn't break, we knew on offense, we're going to make them pay for breaking. That was our whole mindset every time that they didn't capitalize on being in the red zone where the defense held them. We knew we were going to strike back even harder.
