Emma Sheppard
Redshirt senior defensive end James Smith-Williams speaks to the media at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. Smith-Williams spoke about the upcoming football season.
During ACC Football Media Day at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, graduate defensive end James Smith-Williams sat down with the media to talk about the upcoming season, his journey through the program, his role as a leader and much more. Here are some of the highlights from his interviews:
On recent legislation allowing alcohol sales at Carter-Finley:
“I can’t say too much about it because I’ll be playing while they’re drinking, but I think it will help us have a rowdier crowd, and we love that as players. I’m excited for it.”
On his relationship with redshirt senior defensive lineman Larrell Murchison:
“I love him. He’s a great football player, he’s a great guy. We’ve grown very close. I would say that every day he does something new, I’ll do something new. We’re trying to copy each other or teach something that we learned. It’s helped us both grow. He pushes me to get better, and I push him to do the same. At the end of the day, we love each other. He’s my brother, and I know no matter what happens, he has my back and I have his, so I’m excited. I’m excited to play with him.”
On being chosen to wear the coveted number one jersey:
“It’s really exciting. When you look at the guys [that wore number one] before me, the Jaylen Samuels, Steph Louises, those are guys that are really respected in the program, so it’s kind of a blessing to be seen the same way they were.”
On his position changes and positional flexibility:
“I actually played safety [entering NC State]; I played nickel. I think I can do everything on the field. I have the speed to play everything else. I think where it really comes in handy is I’ve played every position group on the field, so I know what the secondary sees, I know what the linebackers see. That translates over to me playing defensive end because I know what to expect, I know what to see.”
On former NC State players he feels a comparison to:
“I’ll say a hybrid: a lighter Kentavious Street, and [Bradley] Chubb is a comparison I’ve been drawing pretty often just because the nature of the positions we’ve been playing is the same.”
On balancing his passion for professional life off the field with football:
“I think one enhances the other. I don’t think it’s a battle between, ‘Am I going to work at IBM, or am I going to play football?’ I want to play football, that’s what I want to do. I think you [should] put yourself in a position to succeed no matter what it is. That’s why I pushed for an internship [at IBM], why I pushed to do well when I worked there and why I love the job offer, because it gives you other options if football doesn’t work out. But in the same breath, things from football roll over; the traits, the hard work, the dedication, that goes into work, and then in the same breath, working there teaches me things on the field, like new ways to approach things. So, I think it goes hand-in-hand.”
On head coach Dave Doeren’s impact on himself:
“I think coach Doeren has a standard, and that standard is raised every day. He set the bar high. He’s shown us also what it’s like to be a man, handle your business. I think that’s reflected on the field as well … He sat me down when I was a freshman, and you know, I was a freshman, I didn’t make the most sound decisions in the world, and he said, ‘Hey, what are your goals? Write them down. What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to do here?’ And what I wrote down is what I’m trying to live out now. Those things that I wrote down are what matter most to me.”
On whether this season is a “rebuilding” or “reloading” year:
“I think our take now is that we reload at NC State. I don’t think there is ever a rebuilding year. We’ve been getting guys from recruiting classes that are great, guys that you guys haven’t seen yet but I’ve practiced with, so I know what they can do. I see a lot of the traits roll over, like [former wide receiver] Kelvin [Harmon] does this, well now I’m seeing [junior wide receiver] Emeka [Emezie] do it. From top to bottom, everyone just keeps growing and keeps building.
For more from ACC Football Media Day, check out Technician stories on head coach Dave Doeren and offensive tackle Justin Witt.