Several NC State players met with the media via Zoom following the Wolfpack's 30-29 road win over No. 24 Pitt.
NOTE: Click on each player’s thumbnail to watch each interview.
Devin Leary
Did today feel like the first time you were able to get out there with everyone you were expecting to have around you in a normal game situation? How good did that feel?
“Ever since last year, we faced a lot of adversity, even coming into this game. We had a lot of guys injured last year, so we weren’t able to have all the guys we wanted to have on the field. Today, I thought it was a great team win. I feel like the defense balled out. They helped us out a lot. Being able to see everyone on the field and go 100 percent was very exciting.”
Can you take us through that last offensive drive?
“We knew coming onto the field we didn’t have any timeouts, and there was about 1:44 on the clock. It’s just something we practice every single week: different situations depending on where the ball is, how many timeouts we have, how much time is on the clock… Usually in practice, we practice with under 1:40. We’re a tempo team. Being able to get everyone on the ball set and being able to have everyone on the same page was very critical in those last couple of seconds coming down to the game. On the last play, it’s like Coach [Tim] Beck tells me all the time, ‘Just give our guys a chance.’ As long as we give them a chance, it’s all we can do.”
How is it having a solid vertical passing game?
“Our receivers are strong, fast, and big dudes. Like I said, Coach Beck preaches to us all the time to just give our guys a chance. As long as they can get a chance, we’re fortunate enough that they’ll be able to make a play for us. Just put the ball in their vicinity, and like I said, they’ll make a play. It was very helpful for our offensive line to give me time back there and being able to give these guys a shot.”
When you know all eyes are on you, how do you stay relaxed, especially on that final drive?
“I kind of just take it play by play. We just have to go 1-0 every single play, and if I’m preaching that to my teammates, they’re going to look at me to approach the situation the same way. That’s how I take it mentally.”
Can you take us through the fourth-down play to Thayer Thomas that helped set up the touchdown to Emeka Emezie? What is it about those situations that makes you thrive?
“Fourth down and no timeouts, it’s do or die at that point. You have to make a play. It’s one of my favorite things to do. All the eyes are on me, the ball’s in my hands, and I have to make a play. Thayer did a great job and ran a great route. I had great protection. We were able to get the first down, and I believe we got out of bounds as well to stop the clock. That was a huge play for us, and being able to stay calm in those situations is very key.”
How big was Emezie’s performance today considering his dissatisfaction with his performance last season?
“Huge. I think Emeka is definitely his biggest critic, but the kid is a baller. He’s got so much talent. Being able to see him play today with so much joy and being able to get all the guys around him upbeat as well was very pleasing to see.”
What did you tell everybody heading into the last drive?
“Like I said, we were all aware of the situation. We were all aware of the score. We knew what we had to do, and going in, I just told them, ‘Let’s just go 1-0. Each and every play, we have to win the play and manage the clock as best as we can.’ I thought we did a very good job with it.”
How much does it help to have so many different targets that you can rely on?
“It’s very huge. I think it really starts in the offseason, just building as much chemistry as I can with every single receiver on our depth chart. Coach [George] McDonald preaches to them as well that every man has to be ready to go into the game because you never know when the next guy is going to be up. On my part as quarterback, you have to know how every guy runs his route. You have to have a certain amount of chemistry with every single receiver, and I think it paid off today."
Drake Thomas
What was the difference in preventing what could have been some backbreaking plays and creating big stops?
“After those big plays where they get a chunk of yards, it’s really key to move onto the next play. You focus on the task at hand. They get down in the red zone a couple of times, and we get big stops because that’s what we do. We can’t let the plays before affect how we play on the plays that are about to happen. We’ve just got to clear our mind, go out there, and do what we’re supposed to do.”
With all the talk about Pitt’s rushing attack and how physical this game would be, was it a matter of pride for this defense to come up and prove to everybody that you guys could match up with that physicality?
“For sure. Last week, we didn’t put exactly what we wanted on the field, and it was really disappointing to us and our coaches. We knew we had to come out and put our brand of football on display, and I think we did a good job doing that.”
How big of a hit was it to give up the long touchdown on the second play of the game? What was the reaction on the sideline, and how did the team respond?
“We knew it was a huge bust. We needed to communicate and line up quicker. It wasn’t like they beat us deep. It was more that we needed to get aligned, we needed to know our responsibilities, and we needed to make plays. After that, we knew it wasn’t a big deal. We just had to move onto the next drive, and after that we stopped them the next couple of times.”
How proud are you of the secondary in how they responded, especially considering how banged up that group is?
“It was great to see. You’ve got guys with no backups, and you’ve got backups in, and they’re making plays. You’ve got a new freshman nickel playing hard, and then he gets the targeting call, so it’s the next man that steps up. Then Taiyon Palmer comes in and has a PBU at the end of the game. It’s big-time plays like that. It’s good to have confidence in everybody in the three-deep that can go out and make plays like that.”
What can this win do for the team moving forward confidence-wise?
“It can boost our confidence a lot, but it just proves to us that we are who we’ve known that we are. We all know we’ve been capable of this, and we’ve just got to keep a level head, get back to work tomorrow watching film, correcting mistakes, and get ready for the next game."
Emeka Emezie
How strong would you say the chemistry is between you and Leary?
“It’s crazy because back in the summer, we couldn’t come in for two weeks, so we ran routes with each other every single day. It was probably 100 degrees, and I’d come out in sweatpants and sweatshirt, and he’d be out in long sleeves. We’d make it as hard as possible, so when we get in situations like that in practice every single day, we go at it and always try to get everything perfect. It’s always been there. We’ve always worked hard together.”
Dave Doeren said your role wasn’t what you wanted to be through the first two games and that you had to be patient, keep fighting, and keep working. Can you go deeper into that assessment and why you were able to be successful today?
“We were running the ball a lot, so I was doing everything the team needed from me, but I felt like I could help the team a little bit more. I just worked really hard. I really want to do good for this team. I want to have an impact on this team. It was tough because it felt like all the work I did in the offseason wasn’t paying off, I just had to talk to the right people: Coach [Dantonio] ‘Thunder’ [Burnette], Coach Doeren, Coach McDonald, my mom, my girlfriend… Everybody helped me so much to get to where I am right now. When my opportunity came, I was blessed to make that catch.”
How much fun is it to be a part of a vertical passing game?
“It’s amazing. Coach Beck really harped on that. He said, ‘We’re going to throw the ball deep.’ I felt like every single receiver that played really got the deep ball. Being able to make all those deep balls today was really huge, especially going down the stretch. On that two-minute drive, we do that every single day, so it was nice to finish it out like that.”
What was going through your mind on that final touchdown play?
“I wasn’t even supposed to be the play. Devin saw something that he liked, so he went up to Coach, and he said, ‘Let’s do that.’ Coach having faith in him and him faith in me was a blessing, especially during that point in the game. We all have faith in each other, so for all that to happen was a blessing.”
How do you assess Leary’s play?
“He’s just so confident in himself. He’s a confident player when we come out to practice. Even in the two-minute drive, he was just so calm. It’s good to see from your quarterback, so you get calm, too. He knew where to go with the ball. He read his reads well. It boosted the confidence for all of us.”
Did you know that Leary had that in him?
“We believe in all of our guys, to be honest. Devin has always had it. I’ve always believed in him. I believe in all our players: the O-line, the running backs, Thayer on the fourth down, Devin Carter, Cary [Angeline] on his catch… It took everybody, defense as well. It’s just having confidence in all the players. Devin played really well today. He was poised, and we do that in practice every single day during two-minute drills, so it’s nothing new.”
Would you say that touchdown catch was the biggest play of your career?
“Probably. I’d say so. There are too many plays. I feel like every play in my life is like the biggest play, even going to the offseason. That’s where the biggest plays happen. Nobody’s reaching out to you, and it’s hot, so you’ve just got to go out and do it. You’re losing 10 pounds a day. I feel like that’s where the biggest plays come from. When you get in the game, it’s so easy because you’ve done it so many times. In the game, though, I’d say that’s the biggest play."
