Ikem Ekwonu: "How Can I Leave A Legacy?"

NC State star left tackle Ikem Ekwonu discusses the matchup with rival North Carolina, his potential pro football decision, and much more with the media.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

From the last time we talked you weren't really sure if you were going to be part of the Senior Day festivities. Have you decided yet what you're going to do?
Yeah, I decided I was going to walk this Friday. I talked to my family, talked with Coach D, and I decided regardless of what I decide to do after this season, I definitely want to have this moment.

So it's no indication of what your future plans are, it's just in case you want to be a part of this?
Yeah, just in case.

Ickey, obviously as an in-state player, playing North Carolina, did they recruit you much out of high school? Also, what does this game mean to you?
Yeah, they recruited me and my brother a good amount. I know I visited a couple times there, but honestly it definitely means a lot for me, just like every game this year. I definitely want to finish the year strong, and in order to do that we have to win this Friday, so I guess my main focus is really just finishing this season as strong as we can.

When you play a team like that where you imagine emotions are going to be high in a rivalry game, and you talk about the importance of the game for you, how critical is it to kind of manage those in terms of penalties and things like that?
Oh, yeah. Well, being disciplined has been a focus for us even since the offseason, eliminating penalties, eliminating just beating ourselves has been a big focus. Just having discipline is something that's been instilled into us by Coach Doeren and the staff since the offseason, and I'm sure this game won't be any different discipline-wise.

Can you just tell me what you think the difference is between this in-state rivalry with North Carolina compared to the in-state rivalries with Duke and with Wake Forest? Why does this one maybe stand out a little bit more than the other rivalries?
I'm not really sure. I guess maybe since our programs have had a little more success on the football field than I guess other programs maybe, but honestly I can't really speak on that.

This is the rivalry I kind of just grew into, because I didn't really focus too much on college football until I started getting recruited, so I didn't really notice it until I got here, but I just feel like it's important. Anytime you play a school that's so close, that you know people from, I got a lot of high school friends to go to Chapel Hill, so it's always going to have that aspect to it, always going to have that pride to it, so I feel like just the fact that you know it's a school, 30 minutes down the road, you always want to put on for the city, put on for your area of North Carolina.

Coach Doeren's talked a few times about you guys wanting to go undefeated at home, and having that still a possibility, also getting to 10 wins, all these things. For you as a player, how much do those things mean to you, to kind of have that opportunity to stamp your legacy on the history of NC State?
Yeah, it means a lot to me. Building my legacy here is something that I've been thinking about ever since I got here, just how can I leave a legacy? How can fans and how can my family name, the Ekwonu name, just be remembered at NC State, and how can this team be remembered?

So that's something that's very important to me, just being able to look up NC State Football and just have a little Wikipedia page article about this team and just what this season meant to us, so, yeah, it's definitely important for me to leave a legacy here.

I know you're a big team guy, but you were named one of the finalists for the Outland Trophy recently. How big is that, and how important is that for you this season?
Yeah, that's big time. Even in the preseason, I was talking with Coach Garrison, just one of my main... one of my biggest personal goals is winning the Outland Trophy, so just the fact that I'm that much closer to it, top three, it just means the world to me.

It's nice to get some recognition for my play this year as well, but yeah, I know NC State hasn't had a recipient of that award since, I think it was 1979 with Jim Ritcher, so bringing that award back to Raleigh... it would mean everything to me.

Going into this season, what were some things you really wanted to show on tape, like some things you were really trying to prioritize and show improvement in, and how have you felt like you've done in those areas?
Yeah, so all offseason I really focused on being more consistent in pass protection, just being more consistent in my pass set, throwing my hands, just everything involving pass pro, I wanted to be more consistent in that, and so far this season I feel like I've put that on tape.

I feel like I've been a lot more consistent in just like my set recognition, just my technique, everything that involves pass pro, I feel like I've put that on tape this year. So, I definitely want to finish strong and show everybody that I can improve, I'm still improving every day as a player.

When they have the little highlights of you on Twitter knocking people over and doing all that stuff, how much do you pay attention to that, and have there been any that kind of had you like, "Wow, that guy just Tweeted something about me?"
So one of the guys I look for at the next level, he posts a lot of NFL clips, is Brandon Thorn, and I can't remember which game it was, I think it was maybe after South Florida, but he posted a clip of me that game, and that just meant a lot to me, because this has been a guy, Brandon Thorn and Duke Mayweather especially, have been guys I've been following since high school, so it was just really nice seeing that recognition from some of the guys that I idolize in this position, so that was big time for me.

What could possibly bring a sure-fire first round draft pick back to college, in your estimation? What would possibly bring you back to college, you being a sure-fire first round draft choice?
Honestly, I guess that's a question for a different time. My focus really is just focusing on this week, focusing on finishing my time here at NC State, however long that is as strong as I can, so that's something that, that's a question I'm going to have to talk with my family about and with my coaches and kind of just come to a decision after the season.

That's a really good question, though.

What have you seen from North Carolina's defense?
They have an experienced group up front. A lot of those guys have been there, we played against them three years now, and I feel like they've changed some things from their scheme, some things off of film as well, but really just the experience on the front line, the front four, and the linebackers as well, are definitely something that I've noticed as I've been watching film.