Offensive coordinator Alex Atkins, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller and special teams coordinator John Papuchis spoke to the media on Monday. Below are the quote books and videos.

NC State scored on a long drive to start second half

“Yeah. First half was first half and they come out and I think it was a 10-play drive and I think there was one 25-yard ball that was just a one-on-one play that was a 50-50 play that we want to have. And then I think we finished the game with 11 missed tackles. But we had four on that drive. And so usually that combination leads to points and even the touchdown throw, we're in good position initially, just a beat across our face. So definitely didn't execute the way we wanted to in that drive and it was not much of a change about what they were doing offensively to be honest with you. They were just kind of running their own plays and our guys were prepared for it. They felt confident about it when we came off. After that series, there weren’t many questions about, ‘What should I do?’ It was more of, ‘I can't believe I just let that happen.’ And so we had to regroup a little bit and didn't want it to happen, but you don't want the one touchdown drive of the game to be at any point, but especially coming out at halftime.”

Who will start at defensive tackle

“Any of the guys that have played that are healthy, we're going to line them up. So if they're healthy, they'll be in there. If not, the other ones will be. But Dennis Briggs has played in there. He played in there all third down for just about the entire season. But starting the Louisville game, we've kicked him in a little bit more on regular downs. And then even last week, once it happened, with Coop (Robert Cooper) going down early, and I think I would say 75 percent, more of his snaps were inside. That's a pretty easy transition for us, for him. Obviously, the emergence of Josh Farmer has really helped. Malcolm Ray has really come on too. That’s part of just plugging it in and getting your best players where they can help the team. And that’s where Dennis probably can help us more.”

Back to first drive of third quarter, similarities to long drive to open 3Q vs. Wake

“No. Gave up a touchdown on the drive. And, listen, it's just football, you get 12 series and they scored one touchdown and that happened to be that half and definitely not something, I mean, we've got a routine at halftime that we go through. And there's been some times that we played really well on the first drive of the game and sometimes we played really well on the first drive of the second half. But we look at everything.”

Evaluating how Jared Verse played

“Jared was impactful. He gets the edge on blockers a lot and guys have nothing to do but try and grab them and hold them. He's keeps fighting through it. He's a good player. I think the time away, he was rusty on some of the run technique stuff, and that'll get better. He'll admit it. But he plays the game the right way and he's somebody we rely on to make impact plays.”

On Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei

“I’m into it this week. The statistics speak He's a lot more consistent in his completion percentage. I think it helps. They're really balanced right now. I think they got one of the better running backs in the league. They get their O-line back, they got two really good tight ends and they brought in a freshman slot that's built some confidence too with the outside receivers. So I think the surrounding pieces have done a nice job and they play well. They're undefeated for a reason, and he's a big part of it this year.”

Josh Farmer and the roughing the passer penalty

“You guys are so concerned about me. I really appreciate that. Josh played his most snaps in the Louisville game. And I thought he really came on in fall camp to a point that we said, ‘OK, he's ready.’ Because sometimes D-line development takes a little bit longer. But that Louisville game he played slow and he was very reactive and to see him come back out after that game, and put some really good games together, he's starting to hit his stride and starting to hit his confidence. He's playing with good technique, he plays with good effort. He's somebody that, he's full blown in the rotation now, regardless of the health of that position. He's earned the playing time, kind of like I've said about Pat Payton. At this point, he's established himself as one of the players that we rely on. On that play, I thought he played it, he'd beat a block. His eyes were up, ran through the play, and I'm proud of him.”

How FSU responded after the penalty on the illegal punt, and also Patrick Payton’s development — does that help the move on Briggs inside

“The first one, it happens. Sometimes, Mike (Norvell) deals with the officials, Mike deals with the penalties, whether he's gonna accept them. But sometimes when the ball is in a certain place, me and him happen to stand together and, during that play, it became some third downs. It's like, ‘What do you think?’ Because, I'm the one calling the defense. Do you want to play the third-and-10 or do you want to make it a third-and-30? Do you want the field goal from here and all that so and then JP (John Papuchis) is going to chime in as what he thinks the strength is from a field-goal block standpoint, where the ball is. So with how we were playing on defense and with how they were playing on offense, and it just it made sense to keep moving it back. And then you got to defend, you know, you try to defend, a big-chunk first down there, or are you just trying to defend it like it's a third-and-medium and defend the short for the kick. I thought our guys played hard and they executed most of the night and that was a good drive for us because that's what was needed to win the game at that point. We needed to move them back, needed to make it for a challenging attempt. And so that's how that needed to play. And then the other one, with Pat, I think absolutely. It's hard up front. You want to rotate as many quality players as you can and when you're talking about a guy that has the flexibility that Dennis Briggs does, at the end of the year part of the reason we moved moved him to the Fox was because of our depth inside. And I told you guys that. It's about getting not only your best players but your best team on the field. So you got to make those decisions. I think we’re really strong here, we lack experience here. He's got the ability to do it. Let's make the move. … It helps when Pat's playing really well. We can rely on Jared Verse. Leonard Warner stepped up and gave us good snaps. Derrick McLendon has been solid. So it allows us to make that move.”

Tatum Bethune making impactful stops at NC State

“Most guys that play linebacker in the interior defense and offense are banged up at this point in the season. We have challenged Tatum. Coach (Randy) Shannon has done a good job with him in that group. But I've challenged Tatum, that you've shown the ability to be an impact player we just got to do it at those moments, that competitive excellence, when your best is needed, you show up. There were times in the run game that Tatum really provided some of that flash and knock back that we see from him. It was one of his most impactful, consistent games.”

On Jammie Robinson and how he has played better of late

“There hasn’t been many plays during the year that Jammie's missed. There are some times at his position, that’s part of why he is back there, that I'm going to ask him to do certain things that’s in the best interest of the defense. And he's going to do it. But the ball will find you. And I think the more that you play team football, the more that you play with a certain style and effort, the ball usually finds you. Sometimes early in the year, when you got Kalen (DeLoach) and Tatum (Bethune) and DJ Lundy tackling the football, that's not a bad thing. But there are plays that safeties are the primary fitters and I'm confident when he's that person, because he usually gets the ball on the ground. And it was good to see him get his hands on the football Saturday night too.”

On the 2021 FSU-Clemson game, the Seminoles built confidence in that environment

“I think always helpful when you can turn the film on and watch your players play against those players. And there's some familiarity there. I think that's happened with our staff now being here in year three, and having a lot of players that have still been playing for the last three years. And so it's helped us be able to show that tape, but our guys were confident going to that game. And they played with confidence when we had a lead late. And that's something that was all part of building our football program and all part of where we were and we just got to go finish that game. We had to finish it last year and we got to give ourselves an opportunity to go finish it this year. There’s not a team on our schedule that our guys are concerned about. Right now it's all about our mirror and making sure that we take care of the things that we need to take care of because we are good enough, and we've worked hard enough. Now it’s just about doing it day in and day out and making sure we maximize that competitive excellence on Saturdays.”

FSU offensive coordinator Alex Atkins

On situational struggles of FSU's run game vs. NC State

“I think Coach alluded to it, when you’re playing a real football games like that to comes down to a play or two, those situational third downs or like to not get in long yardage, it’s multiple things. You know, [if they’re] blitzing and got a bit of hold in there when it comes needing to stalemate and win that battle, a one-on-one block, leverage block, a call to get the front or like an ID situation. But it's not just a standard down, it's like we need this to you know convert third downs. You know that's what the tale of the game was like, when you play a real game it's coming down to a possession or two. And you watch all of college football, you got to be able to execute those critical situations. And then whether it be, you know, a third down, a run, a drop or blocking, all that, you know we just got to be able to do a better job when it’s needed.”

On NC State’s adjustments on second half

“Well I think, you know, turnovers was a little bit, kind of, counting there, that we turned it over and we didn't convert the third downs. But as far as what they did on defensively, they presented a different look, they kind of started playing a little bit more base-line coverage line coverage so we couldn't dictate a little bit, which kind of you know caught us a couple of times. But other than that it was just more coming down to the execution in needed situations.”

Robert Scott

“Robert showed his toughness. He was limited throughout the week and it was still a questionable decision, but once he made his mind up to go, he went and, it was a couple of times you can see he was kind of going through [it], but his toughness shows. Even last year he had to go through a little bit of something like this, but what's good is that he didn't have any setbacks you know so he was able to come out pretty clean which, moving forward, means he can get better moving forward. You know Rob is a tough kid.”

On balancing using key players vs. just running the offense

“Absolutely, there are certain guys that showcase that reliability that you're going to go to. It becomes, you know, players are not plays and that’s what it has to be. And those guys want those moments, but it's just learned behavior right now. I'm watching this cycle kind of go through since I've been here, it’s first ‘can you even win a game?’ And then it’s ‘can you win close games?’ And now it’s ‘can you win close, good, can you beat good teams when it’s coming down to it.’ So it’s that continued process of learned behavior as we’re going through. And it’s hard lessons to learn. But just like I’m pretty sure coach said, when you come in here and you look at the players on Sunday and you can see it in their eyes, the correction it’s ‘let’s not allow this to happen again’ which gives us confidence.”

On NC State bluffing checks

“The same thing when I’m talking about line coverage, when they line up where you can’t tell the depth of safeties or corners, and then right before the snap you need to get into whatever it was going to be before you check it again, also using the clock, so you’ve got to kind of rely on basically the instinct, like I talked about last week, reaction. Because we’re not being given that pre-look that we had planned to that look. And that does cause problems. But I thought, even toward the last half of that last drive, I started to see the eyes kind of pick it up a little bit and do a better job. A lot of it was, we had a play call where Rob was down-blocking a 4, we had a counter call and he gave up a little too much penetration that would’ve been good. So I give credit to those looks, but also say, the critical situations being able to win the 1-on-1 matchup in that moment that you’ve won before throughout the game but then when it came down to it, did you win it when it counted? So that caused some structural problems when you’re able to change the coverage right before. I thought we adjusted to it fairly well, but then it seems like you adjusted but you don’t have success because you might’ve lost a block. So it all kind of encompassed together.”

On Jordan Travis’ emotions after picks

“Jordan is not really overly emotional. Sometimes you’ve got to save him from himself of beating himself up. He takes it personally, he takes it like ‘it’s on me.’ We got to do a good job of understanding that it’s on all of us. We could’ve put you in a better situation, we could’ve put you in a better read, we could’ve done so much to prevent it. It’s not just you going out there to make a mistake. Mistakes are going to happen. Just like I’m talking about Rob down blocking. I’m pretty sure he had every intention of doing it right, but it didn’t happen in that moment. I’m pretty sure Jordan didn’t go out there and say ‘you know what, on this play I’m going to go out and make some adversity for us. No one has planned. So just to not beat himself up and move on with that next-play mentality.”

On what went wrong on the final offensive play

“So Mycah was running a fade route from inside slot position, and the guy looked like he was set up a gate like we knew it was. Like it wasn’t a checked-to play, it was already in the route. And the guy jumped outside of him late. And when Mycah tried to release outside late, Jordan had already saw pre-snap that the guy was inside, so he was going to it already. So, the guy, it was a great play by him, there’s nothing taken away from him because he showed, went outside leverage and made a hell of a play, man. So, shoutout to him.”

On Clemson’s defensive line, experiences vs. NC State and LSU

“We saw them in practice, too. Fabien and Coop and Verse. We’ve had some good work vs. good D-linemen. It’s just a real ballgame, it’s where you come play big-boy football. Not to discredit any other d-linemen that we play, but it’s a real ballgame. And to win real ballgames, you have to block really good defensive lines. So the challenge will be accepted, let’s go practice and make sure we can adequately block it.”

On Darius Washington at guard

“I had it pre-planned to make sure he got in there. It was already set that we were going to have a rotational period, they knew that. Wanted to get Darius some work in there because he’s starting to, he was healthier. I wanted to get some guard work, but he could play all five position, so I wanted to make sure we got a man in. And also just his speed and athleticism, playing a three-down front, I thought he’d do a good job getting to those ‘backers, reaching, things like that. I thought that could display some of his strengths in his game, too, so I wanted to make sure we got him in there to kind of spell a guy, too.”

On losing Treshaun Warn, possible return of Ja’Khi Douglas

“I mean, Tre’s a ball player. Toughness. The way he ran, he had some good runs he made. Even the one where he went down was a great run. So, having him in there always helps because he’s also the leadership in that room, that steady eddy. So hopefully he heals up and we get him back pretty quickly."

“With Ja’Khi, Ja’Khi tried to jump in there a couple of times in practice last week, got to protect him from himself. But no man, we’re going to go through the process and give them day-to-day and hopefully we can use him. But as of now, we’re still trying to work through his progress to see if he will be available. But if he does, it helps us because Ja’Khi is a multiple go. He plays receiver. He’s played receiver and caught big balls in big games, he’s also played running back and has had big runs in big games. He’s definitely a weapon for us if he’s healthy.”

On personal foul penalties committed by Dillan Gibbons, Mycah Pittman

“You play right up to the line. And there’s an edge. There’s a line you’ve got to get to. And those two are veteran players. And they both took ownership in the moment, they knew went to right over that edge. And you don’t want to take that away from them, because that’s why they’re in the position that they are where they’re fighting, toughness mentality. But you also got to make sure they understand that there’s a line, we’ve got to get to it, if we can get to it. So it was not purposefully done, they both showed immediate remorse, and I took it there so just correction and trusting that it be corrected. You’ve got to let them be them, but you also got to understand what hurts the team. I don’t think either one of them were overly selfish, I went a right half-step over the line than I needed to go.”

On wide receiver drops

“No trust is lost at all. Complete trust in them. We still maintain, we still want them in critical situations. On Sunday, nobody knew more than them about what they had to do. We’re talking about learned behavior. Because this a group that’s been together like, one time, and that’s the first time it’s been like that in the game. So it’s the ‘now what’ mentality. We went through that. I’d love to have learned it with a win. But whether you win or lose, you still have to learn that lesson whether we made that play or not. So, what now? Where is the response level of ‘we did that, we didn’t have the success we wanted, so who are we really?’ And that character shows up. Moving forward it’s a unique challenge. I think, I say I think, I know they’ll answer it because I’ve been with them here these last two days and I’ve been there prior to Sunday. I’m looking forward to them taking ownership and moving forward in a positive way.”

On Maurice Smith handling nose guards

“A lot of that comes from, Mo had to do a lot, last year I think he played at like 268. He was a smaller guy. He had to do some things in the offseason, there was a reason why he couldn’t hold the weight. So we were able to get him with doctors, get all that figured out, and he’s been able to maintain the weight. And he’s also a veteran. Mo was here before I got here. He’s played a lot of football and been around it for a while. As his confidence is building, as he’s starting to get his body in shape to go play at the size he needs to be able to hold up against those nose guards, he’s doing a better job. And Mo’s still got football in front of him. He was a guy who got here before I got here and he’s still going to be here next year with me. He’s a guy that, I mean, he’s going to continue to get better and we saw that natural progression of him being able to hold his own. So I like what he’s doing. And also, Kayden Lyles coming in, bringing him competition in the offseason. And that changed his focus level. I’ve got a lot of respect for Maurice because we brought in an older guy, a veteran guy to challenge him and he didn’t bat an eye. This day in college football, he said ‘bring it.’ And he used it as an opportunity to get his mental part of the game a lot better, now he’s making a lot more calls, IDs in the fronts. And his confidence is through the roof. Mo is doing a good job for us.”

On how the team responded to Ryan Fitzgerald after he made the field goal

“It was a critical sequence in the game. We were able to get a stop on third down and had an opportunity to set up the punt return. For Ryan to be able to go out and make a big kick in a big moment at the end of the half, I thought it was great for him. And then to see the team’s response, it was really good. There are a lot of guys in that locker room who are pulling for him, that want to see him do well, that empathize with the struggles that he’s had. That speaks volumes of what this team is all about. This is not a group that points fingers or lays blame. It is one that comes together. That is what we hope to continue to have as we move forward through this season.”

On Alex Mastromanno’s punt and if he thought he could make the first down

“There is probably a little bit of overthinking and maybe overcommunicating. If you look back at that play, it was the first play of the fourth quarter. So we were able to have that third quarter to fourth quarter transitional time. In the sequence of the game there, we are up four and backed up. It’s fourth and really long. NC State, their MO is to be aggressive on the punt-block unit. So we kind of talked through what the block scenarios were that we would see. It ended up being a return setup. But just by the way in which they aligned, there would be one free guy off the edge with operation and scheme. That’s going to be how it goes. I think it spooked him a little bit. The guy was not really going to be in a position to block the kick. But I do feel like he felt it, and it spooked him a little bit. So he pulled the ball. Now, his reaction after that was all instinct I guess, to take off and run. We talked about it yesterday, he just didn’t feel like he could get all the way there. He didn’t realize or think that he had crossed the line of scrimmage and went ahead and attempted the punt. Obviously a critical play in the game and one certainly that we would like to have back. But it was one of those things where I think he was trying to operate with the right intentions and lost track of where he was on the field. But we can certainly learn from it.”

On if NC State showed them something that prompted them to do the punt return decoy and how well executed it was

“The first part in terms of why, there are certain teams that we may pull that out and think that it would be a good part of the game plan. This particular week, it fit. NC State is a directional punt team. Sometimes, they struggle in terms of where the ball placement is. When a ball is kind of all over the place, the ends and the guys running down to cover, the guy that we call the adjustor in the slot, they will go to the returner. We thought we would be able to influence their guys because of the little bit of ball placement and consistency. In terms of execution, it was phenomenal. A lot of the things had to happen correctly on that play. We had to get lucky in some regards. The ball had to be kicked over to the numbers where Pokey was. That was a big part of it. So the kick placement set up – the fact that the ball was on the correct hash that we wanted them to run it off of. There were a lot of things that had to kind of fall in line for us to be able to do it. But I thought the guys did a phenomenal job in terms of execution, all the details of it, things that are going to go unnoticed from the TV copy. Azareye’h influencing the inside release of the guy he was blocking. Mycah Pittman doing a great job of selling him inside. Sidney Williams, Brendan Gant, Malik McClain, LT all did a phenomenal job in terms of holding their blocks and making good decisions to not peel back and block somebody behind the play. All of it kind of fit and set up a score right before the half, which was a huge momentum play for us. It was one of those things that all of the preparation, the guys did a good job of executing in terms of the details. Because we got the right play, right situation, right moment for it to happen.”

On when they will know that Fitzgerald is consistent again

“As we have talked about here before, he has had some good weeks of practice. Obviously leading up into the game, he had struggled in both of the previous couple weeks in game scenarios. But we know it’s there, because we had seen it. And then for him to be able to go perform – he looked comfortable in pregame. He looked confident and comfortable throughout the course of the game. It’s not been a physical issue with Ryan. He just needed to get a little bit of confidence back. Hopefully that game triggered some confidence in him. Each game is its own game, and each week is its own week. But we are going to continue to pour into him moving forward and continue to coach him. I think we know what his physical skill set is. We just now have to see that at a consistent level. I think hopefully Saturday night will lead us in that direction.”

On Patrick Payton

“He’s a hard worker, he does prepare. He was down early in the morning on Saturday morning before breakfast watching film by himself. There’s a lot of things he does in terms of work ethic that prepares him for the moment. But I do think there are some guys and it’s a hard quality to quite put your finger on to describe, but do have playmaking producing components to their game. He’s a guy whether you’re talking about scrimmage or whether it was his very first play of the season he was in against Duquesne, he just finds ways to make plays. He’s always around the ball. It’s not necessarily pointing at one thing and saying that’s why. He does have a great instinct for the game, he does have a great football aptitude, he does have a high football IQ. He’s a smart player, he’s a hard worker. I think it’s when you combine those ingredients that you see production. For him for example, he played 34 plays and he had production, either a tackle or the pass breakup on seven of the plays. For a defensive lineman to be impactful on 20% of the plays that he’s in, that doesn’t happen often. His production and when he gets on the field, he’s taken advantage of every opportunity, every rep.”

On Payton's recruitment and if he’s exceeded expectations

“The 2021 recruiting class was certainly challenging, especially for us as a new staff. We had never seen in person or met in person. You were really going strictly off of game film. The game film even in that case was limited especially in their senior year because of all the COVID restrictions. So, you really did have to do your homework. You were trying to make your best guided decisions based on people who had seen them or people who knew him. Going off the film work, we knew he was long, he was athletic. Getting to know him over the course of that recruiting stretch you could tell he was a smart, thoughtful kid in the recruiting process. None of that has been surprising. But we really feel fortunate for the majority of that class. We have had some guys come in, without seeing them in person, they have done a nice job. Pat’s a guy that continues to improve. One thing I will say about Pat, and it’s a good lesson. Last year, he redshirted. He didn’t waste the redshirt. Meaning, he knew there was no real expectation in ever going into a game. But the way he approached the meeting room and the practice field was as if he was. It’s a good lesson for all players, especially young players in a program for when you’re not really in that role and playing, how do you approach your day to day? Pat, I thought, improved throughout last fall, which set him up to be further ahead in the spring. Which has now allowed him to continue to develop in the first year he is really out there playing.”

On Payton’s commitment

“It wasn’t dramatic. He was put in a tough situation, too. He was committed to another school that was far from here. He was kind of like, ‘shoot I can’t go visit. I don’t necessarily know if I want to go there that far away from home if I haven't visited.’ He was very excited and open about the idea of coming to Florida State and when we felt really comfortable with the offer and how he had progressed his senior year, I think from his family’s perspective and his perspective, he was excited about the opportunity we were going to present.”

On Leonard Warner's play

“I have been pleased with Leonard’s production and his contribution to not only what he’s doing on the field, but what he does off the field. He does have that veteran leadership presence. He is an older guy, he is coming off a disappointing injury that he had a year ago that held him out. For him to be able to come back and contribute has been terrific and I’ve been proud for him. But when you go through a season, especially on the defensive line, you are going to have injuries, you are going to have guys who need to step up and fill roles. His play has increased at a time we needed it to. He brings toughness, he brings an edge, he brings a dependability to the position that you need. I’m happy for him and his continued development and what he brings to the team. He wants to make sure he leaves Florida State to the best of his ability.”

On players getting redshirt and watching Jermaine Johnson and Keir Thomas

“I think it’s critical. I think when you have veteran guys that have good work ethic, who are obviously talented players. For you to have the opportunity to observe them and see how they got about their day to day and take the good things they do and try to emulate them. Maybe even some of the things you look at and don’t like and say when I’m in that position, this is how I am going to do it. Anytime you have those role models and leaders in the room, it does provide an opportunity for the young guys to learn from. Jermaine (Johnson) and Keir (Thomas) were guys who were impactful and did great things for this program. For Pat to have the opportunity to emulate that and to learn from those guys can’t be underestimated. I think that was important. And let me say this about Jermaine and Keir, they invested back into the young guys. If you watched at practice, they were trying to leave a mark and leave an impression on Florida State. They would try to coach those guys in pass rush or drill work. They would try to help them become better players, which I think says a lot about who they are.”

On challenges DJ Uiagalelei presents

“He’s obviously a quarterback who has running ability, especially designed quarterback run ability, which is always challenging. That extra hat you have to account for in the run game is critical. Plus the big, physical nature of who he is a little bit unique. It’s not just perimeter run style plays that you might from some running quarterbacks. There is going to be a downhill, physical run game from him. It does present a different style of challenge. But it’s something that through the course of the week, we’ll do a great job of preparing for.”

On Will Shipley

“I have a very high level of respect for him as a player. As a kick returner, he’s one that I have circled that we have to be on point in everything we do in terms of our coverage. As a running back, I remember a year ago, I really felt like he was the difference in the game in the second half when they started to get something going a little bit. I thought he was the one who was the catalyst of some of those big plays. I have a high level of respect for him as a player and the way he plays the game. We are certainly going to have a challenge in the run game, but I think it’s pne that our guys will be excited about facing the challenge.”

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