Two of NC State's top players on offense spoke with the media about the start of fall camp.

Ikem Ekwonu

Coach Doeren has talked about pancake blocks and how you’ve accumulated quite a few of those bottle of syrup awards. Have you talked to any local pancake restaurants about an NIL deal? 

Not yet. I try to keep my head clear of the NIL stuff so I can really focus on football right now. But hopefully an opportunity like that comes across my desk, and I’ll definitely be willing to see it through. 

What did you find encouraging out there, especially with the offensive line in particular? 

I think all the groups are moving as a unit. I feel like this year, we have a lot more depth than we’ve had in years past, from the ones all the way down to the fours. I feel like everyone can play, everyone’s out there getting better. We’re not making a lot of mistakes, and the mistakes we do make, we don’t make them again. I feel like we’re definitely headed in the right direction. 

Do you hear the noise out there about this team? 

I try and drown the noise out a little bit, but it’s kind of hard. We all have social media. We all have Twitter and all that sort of stuff. It’s good that we’re finally getting some recognition, but we know at the end of the day it’s going to be the NC State [players] that handles their business out there, it’s not going to be the media. So we’ve just got to make sure that we lock in, stay locked in, and focus on the task at hand. 

What’s been your biggest focus this offseason? 

It’s definitely been my pass set. I had to get better on my pass set, timing with my hands, my hand punch, and all that sort of stuff. And then just playing faster, really. Being able to analyze the field a little more, being able to read fronts, read formations, look at the safety, and just take the next step mentally and physically. 

You’ve got a couple transfers at your position group. What have you seen from them? 

Obviously the big transfer that came in was Chandler Zavala, and he’s grown a lot since he’s been here. He came in, obviously we all welcomed him, and he’s been a great asset to the team, great teammate, great player. I’m really excited to see what he does this year. 

Thayer Thomas

As a playmaker for this year, how much better is it going into this year with Tim Beck’s offense having had a fall spring and getting a full fall? 

I think last year, coach Beck was still trying to figure out his personnel. Even though I was here for a couple years, bringing in his new offense, he just wanted to see who his playmakers were. So I think he has an idea of that now, so it’s more of fixing the little things here and there, instead of trying to figure out personnel. So it’s a lot easier to just focus on the little things and get better at the little things every day. 

What are those little things for you personally? 

Just understanding defenses. Obviously I know how to run routes, it’s just understanding what defenses are playing and how to run each route based on the defense that they’re playing. And then obviously being on the page as Devin. That’s big. Luckily he’s healthy, and hopefully we can have him for a full season, because he’s a great player. He’ll help us out a lot. 

How much does having the spring and summer with Devin help? How has that relationship developed? 

Me and Devin go back to when he first got here. I remember two years ago, around this time, he was a three. He came up to me and was just asking me, ‘What should I do?’ I just told him to put his head down and keep working, ‘Your time will come.’ I knew his time was going to be here. We throw two or three times a week, have a great relationship, and I feel like that’s going to carry over to the field.

There’s a lot of guys that have taken advantage of the NIL, but it seems like you’ve really embraced that.  What are some deals you’ve looked for, and how much have you enjoyed that process? 

I wanted to do some things before fall camp started, because I know once the season started, my mind’s here. I’m always going to keep the main thing the main thing, but obviously local companies have reached out to me for certain things. I obviously want to take advantage of that, because my time here is limited. So I’m just going to try to take advantage of that as much as I can, but also keep the main thing the main thing. 

Is this the strongest receiver group that you guys have had since you’ve been here? 

I’m not going to sit there and say that, because I’m going to get older guys texting me later. Obviously when I came here, my redshirt freshman year, that was a really close, strong group. I would say this is the most depth we’ve had. I look back in the room, we have like 21 guys, and 15 guys could go out there right now. It’s really deep, a lot of competition. But I feel like it’s good for me because I have an overview of everybody, so they sort of respect me. So even all the young guys that have all the talent, they always ask me questions of what to do, because they just look at me as a big brother. So I have a lot of responsibility in that aspect. I’m trying to get myself as ready, as well, as all those young guys. So it’s a lot of responsibility on my hands, but I’m up for it.