Cary Angeline: "As A Tight End Unit, We're All Playing Well"

NC State tight end Cary Angeline is off to a strong start to this season, with eight catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns through three games. He was particularly good in NC State’s win against Pittsburgh, with four catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns. 

Angeline spoke to the media via Zoom about his start to the season, and here’s a full breakdown of everything he had to say:

You were involved in the passing game last year, but you already have three touchdowns this year.  Is getting more involved in the passing game something coach Beck talked to you about?

Maybe a little bit. I think it’s just a tribute to coach Beck’s system, getting players in the right positions, the right matchup, stuff like that. So I think it’s more just coach Beck’s system and just finding the right play calls in the right spots.

With Devin Leary, I think five of his 14 touchdowns dating back to last year have been to you. What’s that chemistry like, and does it help some stability at quarterback?

I definitely think we’ve built a good connection since we’ve been here. We’re both northeast guys. He’s from Jersey, I’m from Pennsylvania. So we kind of have a connection through that. We’ve been taking tons of reps since last summer. It was good to see him get out there playing fast and confident. 

Coach Doeren said that practices leading up to Virginia Tech, something was missing. What did you guys fix?

I think maybe after that first win, we might have kind of gotten a little complacent. Coach Doeren made an emphasis after the Virginia Tech loss to have a really hard week of practice, really physical week of practice. That’s what we did last week. I definitely think that helped us out [on] Saturday, and this week is another physical type of practice week just to get ready for UVa. 

He also said some of the players were calling out their teammates and that was a good thing. How hard is it to call out a teammate, and what goes into your thinking?

I definitely think we have some great leaders on this team. If they see another teammate slacking or doing things that lack effort, they’re going to call them out. I definitely think that’s something we may have been missing a little bit last year, and it’s definitely good to see. We have some good leaders on this team. 

You played with Sam Darnold at USC.  Do you see any parallels to that situation and how Devin has developed with you guys?

Maybe a little bit. I definitely think both quarterbacks have a little bit of that wow factor. Some of the things they do make you look twice. So I think that’s a little bit of the similarities between them. I think Devin’s playing great, and hopefully we can just keep this thing rolling. 

You and Dylan Parham have both had some success on the seam on deep routes.  Is that something the defense is giving you, or is it something that’s built into coach Beck’s offense?

I think it’s a little bit of both. If coach Beck notices a certain coverage, or sometimes it might just be the play that he calls. Yet again, that’s kind of just hats off to him for making the right play calls in the right situations and just seeing what the defense is doing and adjusting. So we definitely like coach Beck a lot.

Does having other tight ends healthy free you up to get more involved in the passing game? 

I definitely think it’s nice to have all three of us rotating and staying fresh. I think as a tight end unit, we’re all playing well and we’re all doing things we should be doing in our roles. So it’s definitely good to see all three of us playing well.

Dylan Parham seems to be even more involved in the passing game than he ever was.  What have you seen from him -- not only through the season but through camp -- that’s allowed to make such an impact on the field?

He’s one of my closest friends here, and it’s definitely been great to see how much he’s developed and become a great tight end. It definitely helps us out. He’s a really physical run blocker and he can do some things in the passing game, as well. So he’s been playing really well. 

Coming off the win, can you see that the preparation in practice is at the same intensity level or higher as it was going into Pitt?

Definitely. I think from going on out, I think we’re going to make the standard how we practiced for Pitt. I think all the coaches are making it an emphasis to have a physical Tuesday/Wednesday practice so that by the time the game comes around, we’ve already had those physical practices and it’s just easy when the game comes around.

Have you noticed a difference in intensity all the way throughout the roster?

Yeah, definitely. Coach has talked about it a lot, but the scout team has been doing a great job of giving us great looks. There’s some good young guys on the scout team. They’re definitely helping us out a lot getting prepared.

You all have two wins.  What does a come-from-behind-win do for the team going forward?

I think it’ll give us a lot of confidence. Pitt was a great team; they’re ranked top 25. They have a very physical defense, and it definitely felt very good to go on the road and get a big win. I think it’ll definitely just help out our confidence going in throughout the season.

What’s the journey been like for you? 

It’s definitely been a long journey. Obviously out in LA, things are much different. I’d say it was more of a culture shock going from high school out to LA than it is LA to here, because it’s a little bit more calm here. It’s been an easy transition and it’s been good.

What’s different about the way Devin Leary throws the ball this year?

He’s obviously always had a huge arm and that’s part of his development. I think he’s learned when to zip it in there, put some touch on it, and he makes it very easy to catch the ball, because he’ll put it right on you a lot of times. All you have to do is put your hands up and it’s right there. It’s definitely easy catching balls from Leary.