Zonovan Knight Postgame Press Conference
Zonovan Knight came close to the 100-yard plateau in two of NC State's first three games this season. Saturday at Virginia, sophomore running back finally got over the hump, rushing for 101 yards and two touchdowns to help the Wolfpack to an impressive 38-21 victory in Charlottesville.
Here's what Knight said about his performance and the victory in a postgame session with the media:
Why did the ground game take time to get going and what changed once it did?
"We didn’t get off to a slow start. It was just a matter of the running backs being able to be more patient. Throughout the first quarter we started to pick up on them trying to overrun the football. We sat down as a group, us players not even with the coaches. We talked to each other and said ‘we’ve got to slow down and kind of read through our blocks.’ In other games, they were kind of there as soon as we got the ball."
How encouraging was it to see the defense getting stops while the offense got a little stagnant in the second half, especially when Alim McNeill got his pick six?
"That was extremely big for us. We got off to a bad start in the second half just not being able to move the ball, running or passing. Especially that play with Alim, that was a big motivation for the offense. After that everybody was just kind of like ‘let’s go.' So that was a huge factor in us being successful offensively in the second half."
What's the level of confidence on the team after a win like this and how good can this team be?
"We have tremendous confidence. I think we can be truly top in the ACC this year. I think we could’ve done that last year. It's just a matter of this year having true leadership, not guys that just when they play good want to lead. This year, even if they’re not playing anything like that, they’re still trying to lead and motivate players when they are on the field, even on the practice field. I think that’s the difference between this year and last year."
What goes through your mind when you're fighting through contact and gaining big chunks of yardage as you were on the final, game-clinching drive?
"That just came from high school. I came from a Wing-T offense, so we were taught my whole entire career to just run your feet through contact. I think that’s kind of stuck with me because I’d done that for four years throughout high school. That’s still the kind of mindset that I have. Even coach (Dave) Doeren this week talked about YAC -- the yards after contact. That’s something we strived on doing against Virginia this week."
With 184 yards passing and 179 yards rushing, was that the kind of balance your offense is looking for?
"We want to be able to hurt people in every aspect of the game offensively. That’s something that we work on every week in practice and I think we’ve been doing a good job lately."
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