Nov. 22, 2011
Opening Statement:
"NC State is a team led by Tom O'Brien. I have a lot of respect for Tom and his coaching staff. I know Tom and have played against him before. I know we are going to face a team that is well coached, physical, and a team that gets after it defensively. David Amerson is an outstanding player with a lot of interceptions who is strong in the secondary along with Brandan Bishop and Earl Wolff. Their linebackers are playing very well with Audie Cole and Terrell Manning as well as J.R. Sweezy up front. They are an impressive sound defensive football team that plays hard every play.
"Offensively they are very multiple. T.J. Graham has been an outstanding special team's performer. Mike Glennon is starting to settle into his role as the quarterback. James Washington, their running back, had a great game against Clemson. Watching them play Clemson and what they were able to do I am hoping they aren't able to do that again this weekend. They force turnovers and capitalize on those turnovers. We know it is going to be a tremendous challenge but I know our guys will work hard this week and be ready to compete."
On De'Onte Arnett moving to the starter at left guard:
"After watching him in practice the last few weeks I went into the game last week wanting to get him some snaps at guard. I like his athleticism. I want to be able to see him and evaluate him to see what he can do in the game. I have seen things in practice. Some of it had to do with others in front of him that weren't playing as well as we needed them to. I thought he deserved an opportunity."
On NC State QB Mike Glennon:
"He is a very tall guy at 6'6" weighing 232 pounds. He stands in the pocket and has a quick release. He knows where to go with the ball and has good command of what they do on offense. He is big and has a good arm and can make all of the throws."
On redshirt freshman center Sal Conaboy:
"I thought that Sal did some good things. He had a tough matchup on Saturday with their nose guard. He has some good feet and he battled. I am anxious to see him again this week. Bennett (Fulper) won't be able to make the trip either because his hamstring is worse than we thought. It is about a six to eight week deal. That happened in a drill; he slid his foot and pulled his hamstring."
On the offense's struggles since putting up 45 points on Clemson:
"I think that we haven't taken advantage of opportunities. We had opportunities to get points but didn't get them. We very easily could have had 28 points (against Wake Forest) if we had taken advantage of opportunities and made plays. We haven't been able to make plays and take advantage of opportunities, that is the biggest thing. The Clemson game has been the game that we scored the most. Some of that is what they were doing on defense and us being able to take advantage of it."
On missing extra practices because of missing a bowl:
"When you take a look at our injuries I think you will see that a lot of the guys who would have benefitted from bowl practices have gotten a lot of time already. Usually what happens with bowl practices is you try to get the young kids more reps. But because of injuries our kids have gotten a lot of reps. Even the linemen on scout team they have a lot of reps just because of numbers. Depending on what bowl game you go to sometimes the number of practices can be limited because of final exams."
On individual players that will be solid building blocks going forward:
"Joe Vellano, I think Joe has been and warrior and leader. He gets after it each and every day. We won't have him next year but I have been impressed with Austin Walker and what he has done on special teams. A.J. Hendy, Alex Twine, Marcus Whitfield have shown some things these last few weeks. Andre Monroe has done some good things. Matt Robinson is a guy along with Dexter McDougle in the secondary. Matt Furstenburg, Max Garcia are some others. I think Max has done a great job. He has been dealing with some injuries but he doesn't complain and goes out there and plays. He wants to be on the practice field. I know that Kevin Dorsey didn't have his best game last week but he can be his own worst enemy. Sometimes Kevin tries to do too much instead of just letting it happen. Justus Pickett, C.J. Brown and Danny O'Brien all we can build around.
"I probably left out some off the top of my head. I hope that people understand that to be successful in football or in life it is all about team. You can't do it as individuals. Everyone has a role and they have to execute it to the best of their ability. Not everyone is going to be a go-to guy. Nothing is guaranteed and you have to work for it each and every practice. I hope that the players have learned that lesson through this year. That is something that we will continue to work on. We want to be competitive in everything we do and develop the mentality that you hate to lose."
On people being critical of his style of discipline, and if with all the scandal in college athletics it's better to be on the side or overly disciplinary than under:
"I care about our young people and want them to be successful. Not only today and next year but 30 years down the road as well. If people want to be critical of me and what I stand for that's fine. But I only ask two things out of people, to be on time and to do what's right. That's what I tell kids in their homes. I had a parent call me this morning. She asked me some things about her son, she told me to keep doing what I'm doing and that she appreciated everything I'm doing for her son. That is the only verification I need. I don't need the outside world telling me. I know that what I'm doing is right for these young people. Asking people to be on time and do the right thing and have discipline and structure in their life is so they can go out and be successful in life. I think I have unfairly been criticized for that but everyone is entitled to their opinion. All I'm trying to do is make these young be the best they can be in the classroom, on the field and off the field. Also I need to get them to learn to be part of a team. For the rest of their lives they will need those things."
Sophomore Quarterback C.J. Brown
On if it's tough getting up for the last game of the year based on the team's record:
"You know, this is just our last opportunity. We're going to try to take advantage of it, and we want to go out with a win. No one wants to go into the offseason as losers, and going out with a win sending the seniors off the right way would definitely lighten the mood a little bit."
On what has been installed by Coach Edsall and his staff this season:
"It's all about responsibility. You come in and you don't really know what to expect, but you know you come in with boundaries and guidelines. You learn what's expected of you, and this is how things are going to be done. You have the discipline factor, and the high expectations coach sets for you. He's set that, it's been made clear, and everyone is going to buy in."
On how he's developed as a quarterback this season:
"Well ever since camp and even in the spring when [Gary] Crowton came in we've been adapting to the new offense. I've been learning new terminology, reading defenses, getting more comfortable standing in the pocket, and just developing as a quarterback and a leader on the field."
Junior Defensive Lineman Joe Vellano
On if he's surprised with how the season has unfolded this year:
"Yeah, I mean obviously the injuries didn't help us at all, and a lot of different depth changes on the defensive side. But we have a lot of guys coming back and some good stuff for the future. All the freshmen gaining experience has been a huge positive."
On the play of NC State:
"Well their quarterback is pretty good. They also have a pretty good running game, and the biggest thing I think is that they have really started clicking as a unit the last couple weeks. Especially last week watching them on film, they look like they have some tall wide outs, so they're pretty solid."
On how ending the season with a win would feel:
"It would be huge to go out on a good note for the seniors, sending them out strong and just keeping a good taste in your mouth for next year and just hitting the off-season on a good note."
