ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL KICKOFF

July 21, 2021

DeWayne Carter

Duke Blue Devils

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Last year you played in stadiums that were basically empty. What was that like? How much are you looking forward to actually having crowds? How much does that add to the experience?

DEWAYNE CARTER: Yes, sir. Great question.

I mean, I've answered this earlier today, I said the most thing I'm looking forward to is having my mother and father back in the stands to witness a lot of my firsts which they missed last year.

It kind of weighs on you when you are at your home stadium, you got people doing the wave, but it's cardboard cutouts. You know how the crowd can play into momentum swings in a game, everything else that goes into it. It's going to be a great feeling.

Q. Chris and Victor moved onto the NFL. What did you take away from them on and off the field?

DEWAYNE CARTER: Most importantly on the field, I took away from both of those guys how they pursue the quarterback, how they pursue the running back, how they give their all every snap no matter what the score may be.

And then off the field in the film room, I have a very intelligent position coach named Benjamin Albert who imparts that knowledge on them, and then seeing how they carry themselves in the film room, how they prepare, how they study teams, how they study scheme, how they study individual players. It's kind of something that stuck with me from day one. That's really what I took most away from them.

Q. Every school that you face has an experienced quarterback. I don't think I've ever seen so much quarterback experience before. How does that complicate your preparation as a defensive player?

DEWAYNE CARTER: Yes, sir. Actually going back to my recruiting days, my parents and I, we talked about how the ACC is so wide open, it's straight athletes back there.

Pursuing the quarterback week in and week out will be something we prep for every single year, but this year in specific. I mean, you got guys from UNC, Miami, Georgia Tech, whoever it may be, we game plan, put in different schemes, different games. You have to adjust how you pursue the quarterback in terms of, when you do get back there on those wide-open things, you can't just run out because you know those guys will be able to spin, break more tackles. They're more elusive.

It plays into the mind game, the mental game of the game each week. So that's really what it is, more mental preparation from our coaches, which they do a great job.

Q. 419 points allowed last year. What are the key elements in practice this year to get that number as low as it can be on game day?

DEWAYNE CARTER: Yes, sir. This year what you're going to see from this defense is a defense that likes to fly around, run to the ball, play hard. We're going to be disciplined. Emphasis for us is tackling, as well as stopping the run. That's what we lacked in the back half of the season. This year our focus is disciplining, strength.

When we get down the line, you get in November, December, whatever it may be, we're not going to have those lapses.