NC State wide receiver Keenan Jackson met with the media to discuss his team-first mentality, the Wolfpack offense’s second-half struggles, and much more.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full press conference!
What’s it like six weeks into the season with the way you’ve been playing?
I’m really just trying to do my job.
I’m just trying to do whatever the team asks me, whatever the coaches ask me, and whatever my teammates need me to do.
That’s my mindset going into each week.
I just had a conversation with Joker the other day. I don’t care about personal numbers or accolades.
I just want to know what I can do to help this offense and help this team get better every week.
What were some of the biggest issues for the offense in the second half, particularly this past weekend?
I mean, y’all saw it.
We were struggling to move the ball. We were struggling to run the ball and struggling to throw it.
We know we can’t put our defense in a bad spot like that, especially when we get the ball first in the game and know they’ll have the opportunity to get the two-for-one coming out of halftime.
We can’t spot them a touchdown. We were moving the ball well in the first half.
If we take care of the ball, whether we score or punt on that first drive, that changes the game. If we don’t give them that free touchdown, we get the ball back.
I think we got the ball at 14-7 and were driving past midfield with about five minutes left.
So if it’s 14-0, that’s an opportunity to go up 21-0. That’s a big deal being at home.
It’s conference play. We can’t be making mistakes like that. We can’t put our defense in bad situations.
We know that we’ve got to be more disciplined as a team overall.
As a leader and captain on this team, how much have you tried to rally the group this week with the bye coming up?
It’s definitely a good time for a bye week, just availability-wise and mentally.
We have this bye week to focus on ourselves and clean up what needs cleaning.
As far as rallying the troops, I feel like everyone has the right mindset.
I feel like we all know that we need to step up and do better.
