Dylan Parham: "We're Capable Of Being A Really Good Offense"

NC State graduate tight end Dylan Parham feels the offense is operating at a high level heading into this week's matchup against Louisiana Tech.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview with Parham.

Defeating Clemson, what does it do for your confidence moving forward towards that goal?
Yeah. I think it's big just the way we played complementary football, we played off of each other. Defense made some plays we needed at crucial times. Same thing with offense, special teams.

Like you said, it's just one game. It's definitely a confidence boost moving forward, but like you said, it's not our goal. It's just another step in the right direction for us.

Coach calls it a trap game. How do you guys stay focused and keep your mind and take care of the business at hand coming up this Saturday?
Well, every day he preaches, "Just take it one day at a time, be where your feet are. You can't control the past and you can't control what's to come. All you can do is focus on what you're doing."

So today we had practice, all we can do is come out there and try to be better than we were last Tuesday. And that's just the mindset for each week, no matter who we play.

Do you have enough upperclassmen, enough leaders, some good leaders that can help keep you guys heading in that direction, in the right direction, as far as this trap game is concerned?
Yeah. I definitely feel like we have a lot of older guys that... a lot of us have been around for a while and we got guys like Isaiah Moore for the defense and Grant Gibson and Leary on offense to keep the guys focused and basically keep the main goal, the main goal.

Coach Doeren yesterday made a point to call you out individually and talk about just how physical you were blocking. Just how much fun do you have, being able to get in there and be physical and, as I think he said yesterday, really push guys around?
For me, that's what's made the game fun for me, especially in college. After I put on the weight, I realized with technique and aggression and stuff like that, you can really get guys... moving guys where you want to put them.

Clemson had a really good defensive front. So I just took it as a personal challenge along with the rest of the line, just to make it a point of emphasis to be aggressive, master physicality, and try to win the line of scrimmage.

After a performance like that, as an offense against that defense, do you feel a new level of confidence this week? Not to say you're not always confident, but after that performance, where's the offense at?
Yeah. Going into the game, once again, we knew we were playing a really good defense statistically. They were one of the best in the country.

So I think moving forward, it just reassured us that we're capable of being a really good offense and scoring points and doing what the team needs.

I think as long as we just execute, it really just comes down to execution as to how good we can be and how many points we can score.

After being recruited to play quarterback, could you ever imagine that you would be at this point right now in your life where you're bulked up and the coach is talking about how physical you are as a tight end coming from a background as playing a quarterback at Southeast Raleigh High School?
Honestly, I can't say it's exactly what I pictured, but it's a big credit to Coach Thunder for transforming my body.

Over the years, it's just the progression, we call it, trust in the process. That's why I was able to gain like 50, 55 pounds in college and become what the team needed me to be. And it just worked out.

How much convincing did it take for you to switch positions? Because as a quarterback, you're the guy. And then all of a sudden they're asking you to make the switch. How difficult was that switch for you? And when did it really start to dawn on you that this was a good idea?
It didn't really take much convincing because I wanted to play as soon as I could, and after talking with Coach Doeren and Coach Thunder, they thought I could help the team elsewhere.

Obviously, they told me I had to gain weight, really had to commit to that if I really wanted to be successful at the position.

But I wouldn't say it took a lot of convincing. I just wanted to help the team win in any way possible. And if that was another position, I didn't mind that.

I want to go back a couple of games where you caught the touchdown, your first touchdown, and coach Doeren said afterwards that that was part of the reason you came back, to have experiences like that, to experience catching a touchdown in Carter-Finley in front of the fans. How big was that? Was it worth the wait? Was it as satisfying as you thought it would be to catch your first touchdown in front of the fans at Carter-Finley?
My biggest thing is really just, I just want to execute basically the play however it's designed to be executed.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a pretty cool experience to be able to do that in Carter-Finley. I take a lot of pride in blocking and creating space for other guys, but it definitely was a cool experience for sure.