Emeka Emezie: "The Sky's The Limit"

NC State brings a deep, talented receiving corps into the 2021 season, with every wide receiver who caught a pass last season returning as well as some promising young players coming in.

Chief among that group of returners is Emeka Emezie, who decided to return to the Wolfpack for his “super senior” year after catching 47 passes for a career high 738 yards and five touchdowns a year ago. This team will look to Emezie as a leader on and off the field.

Emezie spoke to the media ahead of Thursday’s season opener against South Florida, and here’s a full breakdown of everything he had to say: 

A lot of the younger players on this team have said they view you as a leader and a role model. What does that mean to you?

It means a lot that they’re able to say that. I try to give them any tips and advice that I’ve been through since I’ve been here. I really do look up to all of them, so the fact that they’re able to say that about me just means a lot. 

When you were a young receiver, you had guys you could look to and learn from in guys like Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers.  What did you learn from those guys that you’re trying to pass on? 

The biggest thing is just being consistent and being dependable. And the main thing that I can’t teach them also that I try to tell them is you’ve got to want it. You’ve got to want to be able to be coached to be great. The guys that want that gravitate towards me, so it’s easy to be able to lead those guys that really want it. You can see who wants it. That’s some of the things I learned from them is just understanding that you have to want it to be able to have it, and from there just being disciplined, being consistent, and being dependable. 

Coach Doeren is entering year nine. That’s a long time for a coach to stay in one place in college football. How have you seen him change from when you first got here to now? 

I just feel like he’s been able to adapt to the players that come in. I feel like it’s been a different group. You’ll see it; every single year is a different vibe of a team, so he’s been able to adapt and really just be able to be accustomed to the different teams that we’ve had, and be like ‘OK, maybe this worked with the last team, maybe we have to try this, maybe we have to try that.’ It hasn’t been the same thing every single year. He’s been able to understand each team and each dynamic of each player, and kind of just adapt to all of us, which, as a head coach, to be able to understand that and go with the flow of the team.

How fortunate do you feel to have played for the same coach for your entire career?

It’s awesome, just being able to be consistent with one guy and being able to understand what his values are to the team is amazing. So being able to have that is really just a blessing. 

Can you let us know about the injury that kept you out at the start of fall camp and where you are health wise going into the season opener? 

I’m 100% ready to go. So you’ll see out there on Thursday excited to play. 

The wide receiver group is really stacked. Are there enough footballs to go around to keep you guys happy? 

Everybody’s happy. I feel like it’s not a competition between us. I think, learning about this group, we’re all just rooting for each other. It just keeps us upbeat, keeps us positive. There’s a lot of great players, but wouldn’t you rather have that problem than the other way around? It’s a blessing. 

Have any of you guys taken Devin Leary out for dinner or anything, trying to get some extra favors with him?

I’ll make sure I fist bump Leary, I’m always around him. I try to be around Devin as much as possible. 

How good can this group be? 

The sky’s the limit for us, honestly. I feel like we can accomplish anything we put our minds to, so that’s what I just try to tell everybody. 

You’ve got a lot of veterans on offense. How do you feel like you guys are looking going into Thursday? What’s been the impact of being able to work hands on with coach [Tim] Beck for a full offseason?

So the gelling part, every Saturday throughout the week in the offseason, we try to run routes as much as possible with each other, whatever the case may be. So we’ve always been able to have chemistry throughout the season; it starts with the offseason. And then with coach Beck, I look at him as a great leader. I honestly do look up to him a lot. He’s very disciplined; he’s very organized with the way he runs the offense. That’s why I feel like we’ve had success, because he knows what he wants, and he demands it out of us and expects it out of us, and that’s what we’re able to give to him. So he’s a very confident leader and I put my trust in him. 

What is the importance of having Devin Leary back? 

Devin’s just a leader. He’s very confident. People look up to him, so I feel like as an offense we know, and as a team, everybody knows that everybody looks to him. If he’s in a good mood, everybody’s in a good mood. We kind of go by the vibe of Devin. He’s our leader of this team and we go to him. So to be able to have somebody like that with such importance to the team and such huge character of the team is amazing. So it’s awesome to have a quarterback like that, a true leader. 

How important is to begin the year 1-0?

It’s everything. I feel like we try to win every single game just [to be] 1-0. That’s really the mentality you have to have, just win every single day and then when it comes to Thursday, just win that day. That’s a big thing we preach, I feel like, personally, just win today, whether it’s recovery or whatever the case may be. So when Thursday comes, just become 1-0 that day. 

Last year, you guys started the season 1-0. How important was that? 

I feel like every year is a little bit different. So I can’t speak too much to it, but it is huge to go 1-0. I feel like every week’s important. You’re trying to win the game at the end of the day. So just win it, put one one more point up than the other team. It’s huge, 1-0.