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Player Quotables: Maddox Talks Ohio State
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Pack Pride</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State safety Andre Maddox met with the media today to discuss the upcoming Ohio State game and here's a sampling of what he had to say.
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Safety <!--Default NodeId For Andre Maddox is 1445093,2004-->Andre Maddox
Are you going to be able to play this week?
Yea, I'll be able to play. I'm fine. I actually practiced yesterday.
Do you feel the excitement surrounding this game? Do you feel the excitement around campus?
I haven't witnessed anyone come up to me asking about this game yet, but I think it will happen as the week goes on.
Do you think there is as much or not as much excitement as last year?
I think there is. They are coming down here. It was an instant classic last year so I do think there is a lot of hooray around this game. They don't often play away from home and from what I've heard this is as far south they've played in the regular season in a while.
Ohio State seems to be a different team this year. What do you see from them?
There are some similarities. I know a lot of their running backs are back but they lost guys on the offensive line. They lost guys on the defensive line, and they lost <!--Default For Craig Krenzel is to ignore-->Craig Krenzel. He was one of the main ingredients with them beating us last year. He made some very good decisions last year, but they have a pretty decent quarterback coming back this year. He's done okay for himself in the first two games that he's played. They are a little bit of a different team, but they still have those weapons. Even with <!--Default NodeId For Santonio Holmes is 1200482,2004-->
Santonio Holmes... look at him.
Talk about what you've seen from them on film. Do they go downfield more this year, based on what you've seen against <!--Default For Cincinnati is to ignore-->Cincinnati and <!--Default For Marshall is to ignore-->Marshall?
Oh yea. They are throwing the ball deep to Santonio Holmes... him especially. They scored two deep touchdowns on Marshall, and I think this guy is not afraid to throw deep to Santonio Holmes when you've got a guy like him who'll make plays when the ball is in the air. I think he's got a little more confidence, and I think the coaches have a little more confidence in throwing the ball down the field.
What kind of quarterback is [Justin] Zwick based on what you've seen on film?
I think he's a pretty good quarterback, although he's thrown I think four picks in his first two games. I still think he's got a great upside and the ability to throw the ball deep. He'll take off on you if need be.
Talk about what kind of defense you'll play against a quarterback who wants to throw the ball deep.
I think you want to get pressure on this guy. You don't want him to have too much time to set up and throw the ball deep. We need to get pressure back there and make him uncomfortable... throw an incomplete pass or throw it to us.
Talk about their ability to win close games in the past couple of years. What is it about a team like that?
What can I say? It's luck. They have great athletes.. I'm not going to say it's all luck. They've had great athletes and they've had great defenses in the past.
They play a lot of games at home. They don't often play away from home and they have that crowd behind them. Them playing at home helps them in close games and that adds to the fact that they have great players.
Is it too bad that this is the last time you guys would meet, probably for a long time?
Yea, I guess that is true. I don't think they like to go on the road too much so... I heard somewhere they wanted to get out of this game. It would be great for us to play those guys every year.
You've made a couple of references that <!--Default For Ohio State is to ignore-->Ohio State doesn't like to go on the road to play games, which is accurate. Is that something Coach Amato made you aware of or something you picked up on?
No, that's something I picked up on my own. They have a big stadium and they use that stadium to their advantage. That's something we as players pick up on our own. We don't need a coach to tell us that.
***** "Beating [<!--Default For Ohio is to ignore-->Ohio State] would be great for us, great for this program, and great for recruiting."
-- Andre Maddox
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--WTF, when did we get the reputation of playing no road games?
edit: this is a free link from Packpride.
