NC State football will field one of the best starting linebacker trios in the country this season, with one of the key members of that being Drake Thomas. Thomas will look to bring his own unique skill set to help the Wolfpack’s defense reach its potential this year.
He spoke to the media via Zoom this week, and here’s some highlights of what he had to say:
So far in the preseason, the linebacker group, you, [Payton Wilson] and [Isaiah Moore] has gotten a lot of attention. Some people are calling it the best group in the ACC, and possibly in the country. What makes this group so special?
We’ve been playing together, I guess this is our third year playing together now, so we’ve got a lot of chemistry. We’ve come pretty close together over the past two years, just continuing to build that bond that we have. We know how every single one of us is going to react to certain things on the field, so it’s easy to bounce off of each other and understand where we’re all coming from, [and] feed off each other based on that.
What are each of your individual strengths?
We all have strengths and weaknesses, obviously. [Moore] is super smart, so before plays or during the plays, or before the plays because you know he’s talking, he’s letting us know what he’s seeing. I’m taking in what he’s seeing, evaluating, and I understand what I’m seeing. Payton’s doing the same. Isaiah gets us started. Payton, we know he’s going to get to the ball, he’s going to play hard, he’s going to be where he needs to be. I think they both trust me to be where I need to be in the play, so a lot of times I’m feeding the play back to them and setting the edge so they can really trust me to do that.
Does the fact that you guys have so much experience make it easier entering fall camp, and what have you made of the defense?
I definitely think it makes it easier, knowing what we’re going to get from each guy out on the field, but we want to continue to get better each and every single day. You don’t want to become complacent; we want to keep on building on what we have and keep on getting better every day.
From the defense, as far as what I’ve seen the past few days, I’ve been really excited about what I’ve seen. We’re out there, we have a lot of energy, we play hard, we play fast. We’ve got a lot of depth, so it’s been fun to watch and fun to play with everybody.
What are the main one or two things you see that have improved with the defense?
All of those things come with experience. Communication is there; it’s gotten a lot better. Everyone knowing their assignments has been really good, and then honestly just depth in general. We have so many guys that have playing experience, and it’s really good to see that, too.
You’ve gotten a chance to play with your brother here in Thayer, and now Lex is committed to NC State. How special is that for your family?
It’s very special. Obviously you don’t see that very often, where three kids even get to go play a college sport on scholarship. That’s rare to see. So it’s really exciting. I’ve really enjoyed my time here with my older brother, and I was so happy for my little brother when he decided to come here. So my parents love this place, my family loves this place, everything to do with it, everyone involved. It’s really a true family atmosphere, especially now with all three of us, my little brother committed and us playing here.
You, Payton, and Isaiah are the starters, so you get a lot of the attention, but what do guys like Vi Jones and Jaylon Scott bring?
Vi is really versatile. He brings a lot to the table that we might not. So if you put him out there, you kind of get a different feel for what he’s trying to do. So he can obviously rush the passer, he can cover. He can play the run, too. So he’s really versatile and he’s good at what he does. Jaylon has gotten better every single time I see him on the field. He plays hard, he’s physical, he knows the playbook, so it’s really fun to watch him play, too.
