Wilson: No tension between Pack offense, defense

N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson held his weekly news conference Tuesday morning.

He praised running back Toney Baker, said there is no friction between N.C. State's offense and defense, and explained how wide receiver Owen Spencer gets so wide open for deep balls. Here are excerpts from Wilson's news conference:

Q: Can you talk about the job Toney Baker has done for you guys? It seems like, especially on Saturday, he ran with a purpose.

A: First you have to credit the offensive line. They allowed him to get a few yards to start off with. Then Toney went to work. He is very impressive. I feel like Toney, he's always been an NFL-caliber running back in my mind, and I used to watch him when he used to play when I was younger. It's just amazing to be on the field with him. He's a momentum changer in a way, with the way he runs the ball. He runs the ball hard. He has an extra, sixth gear that he puts it in. He's a big kid, he doesn't look like he would have that burst. But he can run away from people. I'm definitely impressed watching him play Saturday. . . .When I first got here in the summer time, Toney was my running partner. So he and I would be on the same bungee cord rope together. I was with him or Andre Brown every day. It was definitely exciting to run with those guys, because they had so much power and speed. It definitely helped me. And hopefully I helped them a little bit.

Q: When one unit on a football team is performing well and another is struggling - offense or defense - it's not unheard of for the unit that's not struggling to be resentful, or for there to be some friction between the two units. Has that been the case at all with this team? Why or why not?

A: Not at all. Why? I think because of Coach O'Brien, and just the nature of the players, the character of the players on the team. You've got to credit them for recruiting the guys they recruited. And also the guys that are here now that have been here for a long time, the seniors and stuff. I feel the character of the players is what keeps everybody together and everybody believing and trusting in one another. Offensively, you look at it, and no matter what the score is - if it's 150-47, or it's 45-42, or if it's 7-3 or 6-3, it doesn't really matter what the score is. We want to score more points than the other team. And we want to go out there each and every time. That's our goal and we came up short. I think there's not tension between offense and defense, or between offense and special teams, or defense and special teams, or whatever. We have to stick together, and everybody's a part of everything. We're all in the weight room together. We're all in classes together. We're all on the practice field together. The only way we're going to get better is like Coach always said, just circle the wagons and keep believing, no matter what the situation is.

Q: How does Owen Spencer get so wide open?

A: He's got a knack for it. He works at it every day, just studying film, studying certain moves he can do to get open, but also just, he's got a knack for the ball. When he gets that play call, whether it's a run play or a pass play, he wants to work hard each and every time. The same with all our receivers. But also, his acceleration is phenomenal. He's a professional, NFL wide receiver for sure, and I like throwing the ball to him.

Q: There are some guys who are faster. You mentioned acceleration. Is there something about knowing when to turn yourself loose?

A: There's two different types of speed. A lot of people have football speed, and then there's natural speed. He's got both of them. He's got that natural, low-40 time type speed because he's got those long legs, and he just gets there quickly. But also, he knows when to hit the jets, when to time it up and slow pace the defense a little bit, and then burst and get out and get open. And he does that really well.

Ken Tysiac