Defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot: "We’re Emphasizing Intensity, Focus, and Finishing"

NC State defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot met with the media to discuss the Wolfpack’s second-half defensive struggles, what the unit is focusing on during the bye week, and much more.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full press conference!

Just your thoughts on the first half of the season thus far.

We’ve played well in the first half of games, and we need to play better in the second half.

That’s been the emphasis: making sure we execute, finish, and play at the same level in the second half as in the first.

It’s been our emphasis all week, and it will be next week as well.

What’s been the common denominator behind the change in play from the first half to the second half, from your point of view?

It’s really been something different every time.

Is it a missed tackle? Is it a missed assignment? Is it a good play by the offense?

It hasn’t been one thing.

We’re really emphasizing intensity, focus, and finishing.

Tackles for loss haven’t been as high as you’d like. What has caused that, from your point of view, and why haven’t you been able to get into the backfield as often as you’d like?

One, we’ve had a lot of misses.

We’ve had our opportunities to get back there, and we haven’t made them.

Two, we’ve got to be assignment-sound. We’ve got to make sure that guys are executing the calls.

Then, as coaches, we’ve always got to put them in position to make plays.

In a situation like this, do you immediately start scouting Stanford, or do you work on things internally first?

We’re working on us right now.

We’re really trying to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to be the best team we can be right now.

What was it like for you to see Ziggy get his first career start this past weekend?

It was awesome.

Ziggy played great. It’s good to see a freshman out there.

He’s a guy with a lot of ability, a lot of enthusiasm, and a great attitude.

It was good to see him go out there and succeed.

When you’re working on yourself at this point in the season, especially during a bye week, is it easier to build on what’s already working or focus more on fixing mistakes? Is there a balance between the two?

There’s a balance of both.

We meet with each player individually and talk about what they’re doing well and what they need to improve on.

Then we met with the whole unit and showed them a video and some statistics on what we need to do better and what we’re doing well.

We’ve really focused on building on our strengths while also working on our weaknesses.

Has anyone surprised you through the first six games on defense, just with the way they’re playing?

We’ve had some guys really step up.

I think Elijah Satchell has really stepped up as a true freshman and played well.

He was here in the spring and had a good spring. Then he moved into training camp and had a good training camp.

He’s really taken it to the next level since the season started.

Is this a good point in the season to reevaluate who needs more playing time and figure out how certain players can have bigger roles moving forward?

Exactly.

We’re not only evaluating what we need to do schematically, technique-wise, and assignment-wise, but also personnel.