WATCH: Fordham, Noonkester, Marshall & Smothers After NC State’s Win Over FSU (with transcript)

Linebacker Caden Fordham, Punter Caden Noonkester, Cornerback Devon Marshall and Running Back Hollywood Smothers met with the media after NC State’s 21-11 win over FSU last night. You can watch the vides and read the transcripts below.

Box Score
Quick Hits
Dave Doeren Presser
ACCDN Highlight Reel & Condensed Game

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Caden Fordham

Is there kind of a sigh of relief for the defense after putting up a performance like that?

Yeah, of course. I mean, we felt like we haven’t put a full game together as a defense, and I feel like we did that tonight. You know, they were on us all week about doing what we needed to do, just doing your job, playing fast, like we always say, and it showed tonight. We finally put a full game together, and it was awesome to play out there with those guys tonight.

You guys have obviously been banged up in the secondary. Jamel (Johnson) couldn’t play today. What was it like for you to see Devon (Marshall) go out there and play one of those best games ever?

Yeah, I mean, #6 played his tail off tonight, definitely helped us a ton. He’s a vet. He stepped up and helped us out a lot, but I mean, it’s always tough when guys go down, especially Mel, one of our brothers, but guys stepped up. I mean, you saw it tonight, especially like you just said, Devon, he played his tail off, so it was great.

Does this one feel a little bit better for you, kind of having bragging rights in the family now?

Yeah, yeah, it’s awesome. Dad played there, brother’s committed there now, so it’s awesome to get a win against them.

Was there a sense that if Castellanos, the quarterback, wasn’t scrambling that you guys were controlling what was happening?

Yeah, I mean, early in the game, a couple times, a couple of the rush lanes kind of got out of whack, and he was able to get out, and the dude’s talented. I mean, he’s really athletic, so he can hurt you with his feet.

Second half, we went in, made some adjustments, D-line adjusted perfectly. I mean, he wasn’t able to scramble near as much in the second half, and we found way more success with that.

Devon Marshall

After each play you made, did it feel like it got easier and easier? Take me to the mindset after each time you’re able to bat the ball away?

Yeah, I feel like I got a feel of them after the first drive of the game. So at that point, when I got a feel for them, they just kept throwing me the ball and I was able to make the play.

What was the biggest thing that made it kind of easy for you? How do you kind of get a feel for what they were trying to do?

I would say just watching film throughout the week, studying their tendencies. Then once I see them doing what they did on film on the field, then I just take it from there.

You told us a few weeks ago that you call it ‘Marshall Island.’ You love being deep and kind of on your own playing in some of those one-on-one situations. What were some of the emotions that were flowing through you tonight as you were making some of these plays?

Man, I was just having fun out there, you know, making plays for my team, my teammates coming out to me, celebrating with me. So it was a lot. I made plays early in the game. So I was just trying to remain focused throughout the game, just keep making more plays.

In a situation where FSU, obviously, I don’t know if they picked you individually or they just kept attacking you happenstance, but when they keep going at you, do you kind of take that personal?

Kind of, but you know, I was on #0 in most of the game. So that’s their guy. So I knew they weren’t going to stop throwing him the ball. So I was just ready for the ball really every single time I was guarding him. I knew I was hot.

You mentioned tendencies. What was the biggest tendency you were able to use and exploit against their passing today?

Just kind of like the receiver raising his chest a little bit. Really, I knew when I was playing off, it’s kind of like where he lined up inside, like outside the numbers. So I was just playing ball. I’ve been playing corner for a long time, so I could kind of feel things out.

Last week, you had a couple of big plays in the first quarter and then the defense just got tired. Today you had a couple of big plays in the first quarter and was able to kind of sustain it the rest of the way. How much does that kind of help setting the tone of what the defense wants to do?

I mean, you know, I look at myself as one of the leaders on the defense, so I feel like I got to set the tone and just keep the tone throughout the whole game and that’s what I did today.

With the defense having so much success, could you sense that they were getting frustrated? Did you see any kind of vibes change for them as the game went along?

Yeah, when Jackson (Vick) got that big hit in the first quarter, I could see that, I don’t know, they seemed kind of shook. And you know, we held them to three points going into the half, so we didn’t, as a defense, we didn’t let them get started or get rolling today. So I think they were frustrated for sure the whole game.

Y’all held them to one of their lowest scoring outputs of the season. After all of the struggles and injuries this season, just how validating is it to do that and get the win?

I mean, it feels good, you know. After last week, as a defense, we knew we had to step up, play our best ball, and everyone on the team did that today, so I’m proud of us.

Caden Noonkester

Ever had a punt like that before?

No, I cannot say that I’ve ever done that before. I’ve watched my fair share of fumble recovery, so I tried my best to imitate that on the play. It’s a result-driven business, so I got the result done. I’m sure a lot of people could criticize my technique, but yeah, I got the job done, I guess.

Obviously, you kicked the ball, and you may not have been happy with the kick. Obviously, it was a little bit short, but what did you see? How did that play kind of play out?

It wasn’t the ideal punt, obviously, by me. So, I’d like to get better on that one. First of all, I see the balls in the air. I hear some some oohs in the crowd and then watch the ball hit their player’s helmet and bounce towards me. I guess, instinct took over and I thought I could get there before their guy and, you know, apparently, I did. So, it was a good outcome. So, I was able to take a negative situation and try to fix it. So, that was good.

What does complimentary football feel like for you guys? Do you feel like you played it today?

Yeah, Coach Doeren preaches complimentary football to us every week. It’s the offense getting their job done, the defense getting their job done and then special teams helping each side of the ball be in the best situation to start their series.

So, complimentary football is obviously very important, and I think we were able to show it tonight, and I was able to help the defense a little bit with putting their guys inside the 20. We have a great coverage team. Jake Mann, he does a great job snapping the ball. Matt McCabe, he does a fantastic job calling the protection, calling the coverage. I really think that we just have a great unit up there. It helps me be able to do my job to help with complimentary football and I think we were able to see that tonight, and it’s definitely one of the keys to victory for us.

Going back to that one point, it’s bouncing backwards, opposite of where you want it to go. When you were going to recover it, was there anything in your mind, or was that like pure instinct, ‘I’ve got to go get it?’

I would say that it was definitely pure instincts. I grew up a soccer player, I played goalie, so it kind of reminded me of a little goalie slide there. So, yeah, it ended up being the perfect technique for the situation. So, glad I kind of had that in my bag of tricks.

Hollywood Smothers

Coaches talked a lot about wanting to play a complete game, complimentary football. What was it like today to see it come to fruition and have offense, defense and special teams kind of all playing off each other?

It was great. Whenever we play complimentary football, like our best football, the results is a winning game. It wasn’t pretty as we wanted it today, but W is a W.

It felt like the offense was a little bit more dynamic when (Will) Wilson and Duke (Scott) some touches as well. How important do you think they’re going to be to the future of this program?

Very important, whenever you can get the run game going, it’s always good for the offense. And, we got a pretty good quarterback, so the run game just opened up the past game, and just gets a flow for the offense. So whenever we can get good runs, three or four yard games, and just move the chains, or get positive runs on first down, it just starts drives off better.

Bowl eligibility means you get another game. You get more money, exposure. Just speak to that and how proud you are to be contributing to a team that will reach the postseason.

True, we always decided to play football. It’s just another game. We were working to get bowl eligible. It’s just another game with my guys, the seniors, and just to finish out the year.