Wes Goodwin says Death Valley was 'electric' during win over NC State

On the performance of the defense after the Wake Forest game:

“You saw the heart and soul of our team, just the grit, the leadership.  And perseverance, just battling and going back to work while having the play-by-play mentality. It was really cool to see.”

On how this game impacted potential recruits:

“No question (It influenced the recruits) Just the atmosphere, it was electric in there. Credit to our fans; they showed up and showed out.  With the lights going and the atmosphere, there's no better gameday atmosphere than that.”

On how the defense prepared after Wake Forest:

“We went back to work. Everyone knew it was going to be a great atmosphere.  Gameday and night game in The Valley, you don't really have to motivate the guys for that. We just went back to work, mastered the basics, and got better with our technique and discipline. The guys responded. (We) coached them hard, and coached the details, and obviously, it showed up on Saturday.”

On what Boston College presents to the defense:

“It's gonna be a great challenge. It'll be a great environment up there with a night game and a red bandana game.  Just another stepping stone for us as a team. Win the week and go 1-0. I think last year they threw for 311 yards on us, and with a veteran quarterback who played really well last week, it'll be a huge challenge. Zay Flowers is a really good receiver in this conference, so that'll be a good challenge for our back seven.  It all starts up front-- win the line of scrimmage and control explosive plays on the back end.”

On run defense:

“I think with the talent we have up front and the mindset that we have. That says a lot about your defense, and we talk about physicality, and there's no better measuring stat than rushing defense, I feel like.  We're up there, and hopefully we will continue that trend in the second half of the season.  Just controlling the line of scrimmage makes them one-dimensional.  But on the flip side, teams have gone away from running the ball. I think we're ninth most with passes defended at 196 or something, so there's a flip side.

On being the defensive coordinator at Clemson:

“It's huge. It's not a one-man show. There's a reason we have a whole staff devoted.  We have great resources throughout our building, whether it's bouncing stuff off of the offensive guys or the guys in our room. Being able to get a second viewpoint from guys you trust and put in the time and work.  It's a huge resource, no doubt.”