WATCH: NC State WR Terrell Anderson: ‘We Need to Start Fast’ (with transcript)

NC State True Freshman Wide Receiver Terrell Anderson met with the media after practice yesterday leading up to the Wolfpack’s game against Norther Illinois this Saturday. Anderson caught his first career touchdown against Clemson this past Saturday.

You can watch the video ABOVE and read the transcript BELOW.

So what do you think of going from playing at Grimsley a year ago to scoring at Clemson for your first touchdown?

I mean, I felt good. I mean, it felt good scoring, even though it was late in the game. But Coach Doeren preached, playing hard all four quarters.

I just went out there to just show what I can do and just help the team any way I can. It’s nice to get back to the practice field after a tough loss.

What’s it been like in practice so far this week?

Today was our first practice. We all came out with a different mindset.

We all need to start fast, offense and defense. We’re doing more 11 on 11, offense versus defense. We’re just getting each other better.

And we look forward to changing the narrative Saturday.

What was the message in your room on Sunday when y’all watched film?

Yeah, I mean, all of us, all our guys, we did what we could. When the ball came our way, we all made plays.

And we drew pass interferences and we caught well. So, I mean, we are just trying to do whatever we can do to help the team and come out on top of the game.

It seems like you and Keenan (Jackson) have been doing particularly well in blocking for the run. Is that something you’ve been focusing on and taking pride in?

Yeah, we got ‘one more’ here, and my ‘one more’ for the past three weeks, it’s just been body-on-body, and matching the receivers, matching the whole receiver room, energy when it comes to blocking. So I’ve been working on that myself, and it has showed the past couple games.

What do you think is the biggest adjustment so far to college football?

I mean, everybody was saying the game speed, it’s faster. Yeah, I think faster, but to me, it really, it feels like high school to me. I just gotta, once I get my signal, get my play, I’m ready to go.

Other than that, it’s just your preparation, how you prepare yourself before the game, after practice. Take care of your body and stuff like that. So I just gotta learn to take care of my body more.

Are you seeing leaders step up this week?

Yeah, we got a lot of leaders on the team. In my room, Dacari Collins is a very vocal dude. He keeps everybody motivated, and Jakolbe Baldwin.

They both are leaders for me and the young guys, we got a younger group, so they just leading the way for us, and we just follow them and try to make plays.

Is there more competition this week in practice?

Yeah, I mean, I don’t really know about the competition and stuff. I’m just here to make plays and do what I can do, so.

Isn’t it kind of cool seeing a recruiting classmate like CJ Bailey just step right in and lead the team the way he did?

Yeah, I was glad to see CJ, his first start last weekend, but I’ve been knowing CJ for a minute now, and I trust him.

He’s my roommate, and after the game, I told him he had a good game. I think he did good. I mean, well, nothing really he can’t do other than make the plays that he made, but I mean, yeah, I’m proud of CJ.

What’s something about CJ that you would really only understand if you were his roommate?

He’s sitting in the room going through the playbook all day. He focuses. Me, CJ, Christian Zachary, Jimmar Boston, we sit in the living room every day, go through the playbooks and just get understanding of the offense to come out and perform.

You visited NC State countless times before actually coming here. Has there been anything about the NC State experience that has surprised you at all?

Yeah, I mean, no, it’s really the same thing from me being recruited. All the coaches feel like a family here, and they’re trying to get us better, and we’re trying to fix things that’s the bad things that’s going on right now. We’re just trying to turn things around and finish the season strong.

Thoughts on Northern Illinois

I mean, I think they’re a good team.

They beat Notre Dame, so, I mean, yeah, we’re just watching film, getting better. We’re just focused on what they’re doing, the things that they’re doing, the defense that they run, a lot of quarter coverages, they’re taking away the deep shot, so we just gotta take what they give us.