LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
NC State safety Tanner Ingle and tight end Trent Pennix met with the media following the Wolfpack's 28-14 win over Florida State Saturday evening.
Ingle led the Pack defensively with 13 total tackles, spearheading a unit that held the Seminoles to 2-for-16 efficiency on third downs. Pennix caught three passes for 97 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
NOTE: Click on each player’s respective thumbnail to watch each interview in the player above.
Tanner Ingle
After losing Tyler Baker-Williams before the game and Savion Jackson during the game, the defense still held the Seminoles to 14 points for a two-touchdown win. How big is it for the defense to continue to rise to the challenge?
It’s becoming a theme for us, really. It’s just [about the] next man up regardless of the situation. Props to [Devon] Betty tonight. Props to [Joshua Pierre-Louis] tonight. Regardless of how much they played throughout the season, everyday in practice they come out and prepare like they’re about to play in the game. Just bringing that to the field, they did a good job today.
What is it about this team that allows you to adjust to any situation like how you had to adjust to a different quarterback you’d originally prepared to face tonight?
We trust our coaches. We don’t waver what they say. We don’t argue with what we say. If our defense is in a hole, we have full faith in Coach [Tony] Gibson. Whatever he wants us to do when we go out there, we’re going to do it 110 percent. As far as adjustments-wise, the coaches go and make what they have to do, they tell us to do it, and we execute it. That’s all it is.
There was a lot of talk about the expectations for this season, and where you’re sitting now, you’re one game away from taking first place in the Atlantic Division. Is this where you expected to be?
Yes. This is what we worked for. Throughout the summer, we worked, and this is what we worked for. We want to win a championship. If we don’t expect to be here when we start the season, there’s no point in starting one.
When you’ve got Devin Leary throwing the ball like he is and reaching the end zone as consistently as he does, how much energy does that give you and the defense when it’s your turn on the field?
It’s like watching an artist out there. Leary’s just dotting people up out there. It keeps up the morale. It allows us to get a break. Leary does a great job of managing the ball. It allows us to be not winded when we go back on the field.
How do you approach the next game, even with the importance and stakes, to ensure the approach is the same?
One day at a time. [Dave Doeren] always says to be where your feet are at. When we wake up tomorrow and watch the film, we’re going to be on the film. We’re going to watch the film, correct what we need to, and move on.
What does it mean to beat Clemson and Florida State in the same year?
It means a lot, especially that Clemson win because, since I’ve been here, we were yet to beat them until this year. It’s just exciting to see our team progress. It’s exciting to see where NC State is going with our football program.
Trent Pennix
You said earlier this week, “We hold the pen, and we can write our own story.” As the story continues, how does it feel to still control your destiny after this win?
It’s a really special thing. Like I mentioned earlier this week, we have a really special team. I had all the faith in my guys that we were going to pull out this win, regardless of any circumstance. Of course in the game there are going to be highs and lows, but it’s a four-quarter game. We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game. We just went out and finished, like we always do.
When you were one-on-one with the opposing defensive back on your touchdown reception, did you know you’d be able to beat him?
Honestly, yeah I did. I did. It was a perfectly called play. Everybody executed on all their levels, and it just opened up to a great catch.
There seems to be a rotation of players that have stepped up in the wide receiver and tight end room. Is it hard to know when it’s your time to step up?
You’ve just got to be ready when your name is called, even if you’re not in the game. When I’m not in the game, I just look and see what my position group is doing, learning off him and playing through him. When my number is called, I know what I’m doing and I go 100 percent.
In your position group, do you think you and Christopher Toudle are the biggest mismatches in the ACC against opposing linebackers?
I definitely believe so, as well as [Dylan Parham]. We have so much talent in that room, not just all three of us. Using everybody in that room on special teams, offense, anywhere. You can really use the whole room, and Coach [Todd] Goebbel has no problem with anybody in the room. It really makes it easier for him to put the guys in, and he knows that they’re going to do their job. I just go out and play my heart out for him, even in practice.
Ingle said earlier that watching Leary is like watching an artist at work. How much fun is it to play with Leary with the level of confidence he has?
It’s so much fun. Coming [into the program] in 2018 with Devin, I've seen him grow and grown with him. We're just building that chemistry every year. We’re becoming more of a family. Not even just me and him, but just the whole offensive unit. You can really feel it. You can even see it on TV. Everyone is a family, and we’re there to play for our brothers and not be selfish.
How much does this team embody the blue-collar mentality Doeren's preached at NC State since his arrival?
I feel like it’s very important that we’ve got to embrace next man up. Everybody has got to be ready for that time and moment. Coach Doeren alludes to it, but we’ve just got to be patient and know every game is going to be a four-quarter game. Nobody is going to hand you a win. You’ve got to go in with the mentality that you’re the best team in the ACC.