Derrek Pitts: 'There's high energy on this team'

NC State’s 2021 defense already brings back a wealth of experience from last season with 10 defensive starters returning, and it has added a couple of transfers who should be able to make an immediate impact – with one of those being former Marshall defensive back Derrek Pitts. 

Pitts, who has familiarity with Tony Gibson and is expected to play corner for the Wolfpack, spoke with the media after practice this week.  Here’s some highlights of what he had to say: 

How have you felt that you’ve fit into this team and this defense? 

Coming in in January, it’s always tough getting to learn everyone with the new names, new faces, new culture and everything. Just being around the team as much as I can be, so I just picked up learning that. And these guys on this team, they’re not selfish. Friendship wise, they’re open to anybody. They were open to me when I first got here. So that was a plus just coming in here. 

And then the defense, I played this defense my first two years in college, so it was just like a re-train of thought for me, just getting back into playing football how NC State plays. 

Having that familiarity with the defensive coordinator in your past, how much does that help you get going a little quicker? 

It just builds off the past trust that we had. So we already had past trust, so I didn’t go out there afraid to make certain plays. I just went out there with coach Gibson and coach [Brian Mitchell] trusting me to make those plays. So it was just more so back to the train of thought of how they want things to be. 

How have some of the veteran guys on the defense helped you make the adjustment to NC State? 

I thought coming in was going to be a lot harder, just because I thought I was going to be out there figuring things out on my own. But [Isaiah Moore], [Payton Wilson], [Tanner Ingle], [Drake Thomas], [Tyler Baker-Williams], I’ve seen how they play football. They play with no hesitation. That’s how I like to play my game. So just going out there and seeing those guys fly around, not make any mistakes, and if they did make a mistake, they knew where they messed up and took coaching very well. So I just fed off their energy and played the best I can play every down in practice. 

What do you think of this defense? 

This defense played at a tremendous level last year. As a grad transfer coming in, I came in and just built off of their chemistry. They’ve got a great chemistry. Day one, I came out in the spring and it was crazy, you see people talking all over the place. Coming from where I’m from, there’s not many chatters going on on the field, just one person doing their assignment. But on this defense, they showed me there were no secrets, people are out there talking just to be talking. But it’s good just knowing that the defense communicates at a high level like they play. 

What attracted you to NC State? 

I actually used to watch them a lot last year. It was just like ‘Man, how can I get back to an environment just like that?’ Even when there’s no fans out there, you were just looking at the games and feeling like the stands would be packed. There’s high energy on this team. Everyone made plays, and there was nobody out there that didn’t make a play and they were upset about the outcome. It was just all love on and off the sideline. Me watching as a peer, I just enjoy seeing that. 

You’ve played corner and safety, but what’s your comfort level playing corner for coach Gibson? 

Coach Gibson, you have to know him to understand him. It doesn’t matter where you are on that field, he can put me at D-Line, I’m only 190 pounds and he’ll expect me to do that like I’m 300 pounds. It’s just the high level of competition around here. You have no choice but to keep up, and if you don’t keep up, you fall. So it’s just switching up into a different position, I just had to keep my competitive attitude, go out there every day and just work, just focus on my craft, and bring others along with me. 

What are coach Gibson’s best qualities? 

He’s cut throat. That’s what type of person I am. He established that into me as a freshman, just going out there and seeing how he was. When we’re in practice, he wants everything at 100%. If you’re not doing everything at 100%, you might not make it to that starting lineup and that depth chart the next week. So he does a great job of keeping people on their heels, but also letting them understand that it’s this game that’s important, just because you’re out there loafing around, that next person behind you wants to play very badly. If he has an opportunity to come in and play that role, and does excellent at that role, things might change down the road. But he’s a great person all around. His personality’s great outside of football. He’s a great mentor to me and some of the other players on this team. He’s just a great man all around.