NC State WR coach Joker Phillips met with the media to discuss Fall camp, the receiver room, and much more!
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full press conference!
On the receiver room...
A lot of energy, a lot of juice to understand that I have to; I'm going to have to build it up. I think that's what makes this thing fun for me, as a guy who's in year 38. It makes it really fun that you have to start over. Basically, every year we have here because we've had some good players here who have left. And with that, new challenges arise. I think that's helped me in my career.
Is there a theme, like speed or good size, or anything you see where, up and down, you have a lot of them?
We will have to mix and match. We got size, we got speed, we got some small guys too with quickness. So we will have to play a lot of guys. I mean, we played five last year. We'll probably have to play more than five this year to get a feel for what those five and those other guys look like. See what the rotation is, because it's a big stage. We've got a lot of guys who have been on the big stage. Other than Keenan, JoJo's played a little bit; he's been on the big stage. Other than Keenan, that's it, and so we have to find out who's ready for that big stage. And it's probably seven or eight guys that we feel like we could play. They all have different skill sets, and we have to figure out which one to use and when.
What have you seen from a guy like Davion Dozier coming in from App? How do you see him fitting into that rotation you're talking about?
He is, he is. He's been very consistent. He's probably one of the more consistent guys, along with Keenan. Keenan's the vet there. He's the leader in the room and understands the offense. Davion figured it out really, really early and could play a lot of different positions. And he will help us, help us on special teams. And the one thing that, in my career, I've tried to pride myself on is that I don't want receivers who can't play special teams.
One thing that's saying is, you can't play special teams, Coach Goebbel was saying, because you're not fast enough or tough enough. Which one is it? So we've got guys with those body types who can play on special teams. They're physical; they all can run, and they're not afraid.
On if any freshman receivers could play this year...
Copper’s got a chance to play. So we sell them on that during recruitment, and if you come in and you can play for us, KC played as a true freshman. I mean, we played Terrell and Keenan as a true freshman, Teddy. So we've played a lot of true freshmen throughout the years that I've been here. I think it was seven in the last five years that's played. Terrell Timmons played as a true freshman. So we're not afraid to play those guys. And the further away you are from the ball, the easier it is to play. It's hard to play. What Spike did last year is really, really hard to do. That close to the ball. What CJ did as a true freshman, that close to the ball, is really hard. The further you're running back is easier, easy to do, and wide receiver is easy to do. So what Preston did last year, being a tight end, as close as he is to the ball, I think that's tough. But the further you are from the ball, the easier it is to play. And we've been able to get those guys prepared and ready to play.
What have you seen about the way that CJ's maybe been able to build a relationship with some of these new guys throughout fall camp?
That was important throughout the whole offseason, not just fall camp. The good thing is he was familiar with two of them, Chance Robinson and JoJo Trader. So that helped. And then Bullet came in, who was the running back. Davion Gause was always on there.
So Davion Gause. I don't know his name, but Bullet did. But one of the things that CJ decided to do is take those guys in. A couple of them stayed with him the first month before they could find housing, and they created a bond. I think it's been good. What we've had to do in the training camp is also play a lot of those guys. There are a couple of times when CJ's come to me and say, "Hey, I need to see these guys with me today." And I think that's helped me understand who he feels comfortable with, too. And those guys have to get ready to step in the huddle with him. Some of them are young. Some of them are transfers. We know what Keenan can do, but we have to get the other guys, and the guys he feels comfortable with, ready to play.
What do you feel like maybe G5 and FCS transfers bring that freshmen or even other P4 transfers don't have?
They're hungry. They're excited to be at this level. You guys were just talking to Tyran Warren. He's played at Alcorn State. Just give them everything you can; they are appreciative. Ty has busted his tail off for us. He's done a really good job at it. He can play at this level. The thing that he has to do is understand how to play at this level. It is different. It is different. The stadiums are different. The fan bases are different. The intensity is a little bit different. I think he's finding that out. He'll help us this year in some capacity. He's a really good special teamer, also. He can knock the top off coverages. He's run a couple of big posts for us. He's a guy who can really stretch the field for us.
