The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/846301
JULY 2017 ■ 83 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2017 had this big vision of what we could do to take this team to the next level. I feel like we can reach that this year if we keep work- ing hard and doing what we have to do." Kentavius Street: "The freshman year is a humbling experience, especially fall camp. That was something completely different that questioned how much you love football. "I'm just like Justin — I was just trying to get in and learn the ropes from Art [Nor- man], Mike [Rose] and all the seniors." Now people are saying you guys are one of the best defensive lines in the country. When you hear that, what do you think? Hill: "I think we have one of the best de- fenses in the country. I think this 11 could be a great D, not just the front four. It starts with us, but I feel like it takes all 11 of the players on the field to be a great defense." Jones: "We are just out there having fun. Everybody else says that it's the best defense or defensive line in the country, but nobody here looks at it like that. "We are just, 'These are my dogs making plays,' and I'm just right there with them." How does it feel to come in together and go out together? Hill: "I think it's special. Chubb didn't start with us at first, but then he came right in and did some good things for us." Chubb: "Over time you build a brother- hood with the guys. You see them at their highs and at their low. "We know the impact we can have on this university this season. It's going to be special." What kind of relationship did you each have before getting to NC State? Chubb: "I've known Justin since eighth grade, and we were working out together. When we were trying to figure out what college to go to, we went all over North Carolina, and we just fell in love with this place. We both talked about it and talked about where we want to go. I feel like we wanted to be together." Everybody but Kentavius committed in the summer. Did those that had picked NC State work on Kentavius until he committed? Hill: "I was first to commit so I was recruiting him to come here." Jones: "I was trying to recruit him, but he never answered me back on Twitter." Street: "Justin is lying because he hit me up about NCAA Football [video game] before we got here on the official visit. He told me about me about how we were going to be on the rosters. "I think the first we all collectively met was starting summer school. That is how we built a bond. All the memories we built, the great times; like Chubb said, the highs and lows." Chubb: "I never liked Kentavius, still don't." (Laughter) What were some of the challenges you faced when you first got here? Chubb: "Street needed motivation, a lot of motivation." (Laughter) Hill: "I was here in the spring before they had their first camp. It was just a tran- sition from high school to your first college practice, and getting used to what they are doing and how they do it." Street: "Everything comes all at once, from being here from like seven in the morning to nine at night. You can't get used to that overnight. You have the demands of the coach and coordinators. It's a lot of pressure on you immediately." Chubb: "I looked at football in high school as something I did to pass my time. When you get here, you feel like it's a job. It makes you realize that if you really love this game and want to be successful you have to do whatever it takes." Jones: "In high school I played outside, and then moved inside here. In practice, I went up against guys like Alex Barr and Tyson Chandler. Taking double teams from those two 350-pound people was a hum- bling experience." When did college football begin to click for you? Hill: "Mine came a little bit before them because at the beginning I was probably the worst defensive lineman to ever come through NC State. I remember the game my freshman year at Clemson. I don't know where it came from, but it just clicked. I had the best week of practice that week. I was locked in, ready to play. I feel like that Clemson game was probably that game." Jones: "I think it clicked for me over the summer before my junior season. I know my freshman and sophomore years, I wasn't playing as good as I thought I could. Then I saw everybody else making plays — B.J., Chubb and Street — and I didn't want to let anybody down. I started working harder to pick up the slack." Chubb: "I think it clicked for me the same as Justin, going into my junior year. My freshman year I didn't play that much, but my sophomore year I was out there not really knowing what I was doing. Going into my junior year I focused on the things I needed to be doing, the small things." Street: "Just like Justin and Chubb, it was the same year for me too. My fresh- man year was the first time being in Divi- sion I football, and it's fast. My sophomore year, I got moved to D-tackle, then moved back to end toward the end of the season. "Then my junior year, I actually started having confidence in knowing what I am going to be doing and how I am going to do it. Our confidence went sky high, and you can tell. Chubb: "Except when you took your helmet off [after a sack, drawing a flag.]" (Laughter) How would the other guys describe Bradley Chubb? Jones: "A ticking time bomb." Street: "Energetic, loud. Very, very, very short temper; a one-minute temper." (Laughter) Hill: "He's working on it though." How about Kentavius? Chubb: "Laid-back, quiet, observant. Funny when he wants to be." What about Justin? Chubb: "Talks too much." (Laughter) Hill: "He's the clown of the group." What about B.J.? Chubb: "The technician." Jones: "The old head." When Chubb said he was coming back for his senior year, what did that mean for you guys? Hill: "There was some excitement that he came back. I didn't know, but I had a good feeling he was going to stay with us be- cause of the brotherhood that we had with each other. We have some stuff to finish." Jones: "Everybody told him we have your back regardless. The fact that he did come back means he knows we have unfinished business and he knows what we can do." How did you guys handle having a posi- tion coach change from Ryan Nielsen to Kevin Patrick going into your last season? Hill: "At first, it was different, going from one coach you've had for three years and then switching. I feel like over time we've gained way more trust in him since that first time we met him. We had to get used to him and the way he coached. I feel like we're picking up pretty good with him." Chubb: "At the beginning we were all mad. How could he leave before our se- nior year? But then we understood he had to make the best decision for him. We came together and encouraged the young guys to trust the new coach. We still had to trust him, too. We collectively worked on trusting him. "I feel like we are all at a level of trust where we can go up and talk to him about little things that we want and he wants from us. We all work together, and going to the next level we are going to have coaching changes all the time. This is good prepara- tion for that."