NC State DL Isaiah Shirley met with the media to discuss how the program has changed since he arrived, mentoring the transfers, freshmen, and much more!
NOTE: Click the video player above to watch the full press conference!
On the new players adjusting to spring practice...
It's been cool to see some guys step up and get into new roles and really embrace those guys leaving, what those guys taught us, and then some things that we're doing differently now that's going to make us better. So it's been exciting. It's been good.
You're one of the few guys who's been here multiple years. What's it like, kind of seeing your own evolution in one program?
You know what? It's special. I've chosen NC State to come here and play good football, be around good people, and get a good education. And that's what I'm doing. There are a lot of things going on in college football, but that's what I've been able to do here. And that's why I've stayed here, I love it here.
Is there a sense, building off of that, where this is your time? Is your window now?
Yeah. I mean, yeah, there's definitely some time for that. I mean, like, I'm an older guy now, it's time for me to start stepping up, leading guys, and being able to serve guys, because you know that now, as you're an older guy, you have some things about you that you can help younger guys with. So definitely on the field and in the leadership sense for sure.
You guys are well into spring drills. How do you keep pushing yourself through these drills? Does it get monotonous at times? Does it get hard? How do you kind of motivate yourself to get through practices?
Well, I think that, when you get into anything like this, it's easy to fall into that monotonous. But if you remember the goal and what we're trying to do here, we're trying to do something we've never done here before. And to be able to do something you've never done, you've got to do different things.
So that's what goes on in my mind. I know it goes on in my room. And Coach Shaw, I mean, he instills all that into our room and then Coach Eliot and our defense. And then ultimately, Coach Doeren as a whole, just to remember the end goal.
What's it like seeing Coach Shaw in a bigger room, staffed up?
Coach Shaw, man, I'm excited for him. It's fun because I remember when he got here, he was a GA, and he was helping me out, teaching me some things. And now to see him grow as a coach, as a young coach, and be able to step into that role like nothing really. He's really just stepping in there. I totally missed the beat. I bring an injury every day. I'm excited for him. And I'm glad he's coaching us.
What has it been like to teach the 18 and 19-year-olds the Wolfpack way?
It's been fun. I get called Uncle Shirley. So that's cool. I grew into that. So, I mean, it's been fun to be able to mess with the guys a little bit, play around with them, but also, like, let them know, this is how we do things. And it's just been, like, a full circle moment, if you will.
How much different is this year compared to last year, knowing the verbiage, knowing all the things that DJ Eliot wants to bring to this defense?
No, it's night and day. It really is, because last year, we had old players, but we never played in that defense. Now we have old players who have played in this defense. They can help the young guys. When he says, Isaiah, I want you to do this, I know exactly how he wants it to look. He doesn't have to show me on video.
And that's where we're able, like he said, to take strides toward building this defense into something special.
Coach Doeren mentioned all the former players who are here today, and a lot of them are great defensive players in the NFL. How motivating is that for some of them?
It's truly motivating. I mean, seeing those guys out there coming to watch us practice, it, like, it helps you remember, like, what they did here. And you just don't want to let those people down, people before you down. You want to leave the jersey in a better place. And I think that's really what it means to me.
