Porter Rooks: 'I think the sky's the limit for all of us'

Coming off a freshman season that saw him make an immediate impact with 24 catches for 276 yards, NC State’s Porter Rooks is looking to take another step forward as part of a deep, talented receiver room. 

Rooks spoke with the media after practice this week, and here’s a full breakdown of everything he had to say: 

What are some offseason steps that you made to improve this year? 

I’m just kind of doing all the little things right with coach Thunder, all of the other trainers, running, grinding out the summer together as a team. We looked at developing all aspects throughout the season, so the receivers get together and kind of work on our craft, things like that. 

If you could just pinpoint one thing, what would it be? 

I would say my consistency blocking. That was big for me my freshman year, so I’m looking to really improve on that. 

How much better do you feel the connection is between you and all the receivers with Devin Leary now, as opposed to in the spring or last fall? 

We took a leap having him back at full stride, and he was pushing us hard just to get that chemistry down. As a group, we kind of felt like we’re a really talented unit. We can really do some special things. So we are all really excited about the season.

How much of a lift is it to have Emeka Emezie back on the field? 

He’s a great leader. He comes to work every day as the same person. He comes with that mentality and he brings that to the receiver room. It affects all of us. 

How good can you guys be heading into the season? 

I think the sky’s the limit for all of us. We have so many people we can target. It’ll be endless what we can do. 

How important is Thayer Thomas? 

We all look up to Thayer. He’s been here for a while. He’s been around college football for a while. So it’s nothing but respect for everybody, and we all help each other. 

There’s a couple receivers in some of the younger guys coming in like Julian Gray and Micah Crowell who are in a similar position you were a year ago. Have you tried to help them and mentor them? 

Oh yeah, no doubt. I tell those guys, ‘Just let me know what you need. I’m always here for you.’ Everybody has their own path. I realize that. But those guys, I try to take them under my wing because I just went through it in the past year. 

How would you assess your freshman year, and what’s an individual goal you have? 

My freshman year was a good year. It’s just something to build off of. It’s nothing to get complacent about at all. But this season, I feel like I just want to stretch the field a little bit more, take the top off the defense, show my speed. I feel like that’s kind of underrated.