LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
No. 16 NC State linebacker Drake Thomas and quarterback Devin Leary met with the media via Zoom following the Wolfpack's 45-42 loss to No. 12 Wake Forest Saturday evening.
Thomas recorded eight total tackles with two tackles for a loss and one hit on the quarterback. Leary completed 37 of his 59 pass attempts for 408 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
NOTE: Click on each player’s respective thumbnail to watch each interview in the player above.
Drake Thomas
"We’ve just got to finish strong. We’ve got two more games which are big in-conference games, so we’ve just got to put this one behind us and move onto those. We have the opportunity to control those two games completely."
"We talked about us needing a stop. I don't know how many third downs they converted on that, but we’ve just got to get off the field and we didin't. So we didn't do what we were supposed to."
“It was probably a combination of things. I've got to go back and watch the film on it."
"We've showed all year that our defensive mentality was 'next man up,' so everyone needs to be prepared to play. When someone goes down, everyone who's been behind the guys who've gone down are doing a great job stepping up and playing. There’s not an excuse to make about injuries. It's got to be 'next man up.'"
Devin Leary
"Not really. It was really everything that we practiced. I just don't think we were making our layups and executing well. Penalties hurt us, leading us to not get on rhythm. We just have to make better plays and win the one-on-one matchups, and that took us a while in the first half."
“It's tough. We knew what was at stake in this game. We knew what we could've accomplished. We’ve just got to get back to work. There's not much to it. We can't go back and change anything, as much as we would like to, but at this point, we have to control what we can control. We still have two more games left, and we have to win these and see where we land."
“I would say the same thing as the Miami loss: execution and not hurting ourselves. We had a good amount of penalties which is not really like us. [It’s about] making plays on the perimeter, me doing a better job at making decisions, and [me] getting the ball out a little bit faster. It comes down to the last couple plays, as you can see. [Wake Forest] made them, and we didn't."
"I mean, it was really everyone, I don't think it was one particular guy that took us all in. Obviously, everyone was emotional coming into the locker room and frustrated. Everyone knew we could've done better, but everyone also understands what this team is about and what we still want to accomplish. Obviously, this is a tough one, but we just have to get over this hump, get back to work tomorrow, and put the film to bed. This is the time that leaders have to step up, lead, and understand we still have two more games. They're very important, and we have to go 2-0."