North Carolina State University Athletics
Senior Spotlight: DT Thomas Teal
12/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. - In just the past two seasons, defensive tackle Thomas Teal can see a vast amount of change in the approach to NC State defense on the field, as well as in his personal efforts.
“Between last season and this year there is a lot more detail now in practice than before when I first started out. Personally, since I’m an older player, it’s important for me to pay attention to details,” Teal said.
“Younger players tend to just go out and play, versus when you get older, you pay more attention to details because you get coached to pay attention for so long,” Teal added.
In a recent press conference, head coach Dave Doeren mentioned that Teal is, “playing the best football I’ve seen from him.”
“I can agree with Coach Doeren. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better from last year to this year with my technique, using my hands and just trying to be more accountable to my team and to myself,” Teal said.
Having played in every game since the start of his 2012 campaign, the redshirt senior takes great pride in competition and accounts that to his drive to help his team win.
“I hate to lose at anything so it makes me play harder and focus more when I am on the field,” Teal said.
For someone who has played at a defensive tackling position for more than 10 years of his football career, Teal has grooved a simple but effective mindset and thought process for when he is in competition.
“My general mindset is to just make plays, to see the ball, get the ball and tackle anything I see move,” Teal said. “My thought process before the ball is snapped is that I first look at the offense and see what they’re trying to do to us. Then I pre-snap read the stance of the offensive linemen, see how big the split is and if the guys are leaning forward or sitting back.”
To be a collegiate athlete takes many hours of time and commitment to a sport, and the hours per day Teal dedicates to NC State football shows his passion for the sport and his dedication to his team.
“A typical day during the season for me starts with waking up in the morning, getting a good breakfast and heading to a film session, I get there around 6:15 a.m. After the film session is over I get taped and go to practice,” Teal said.”
“At practice we start off with a little first down pass rush to get warmed up. Next we do some key drills to focus on our keys and things we need to hit during the game. “We then go to team practices and afterwards go back to more individuals to work on things we may have messed up on or not done well in teams. Practice finishes with another team period,” Teal added.
Practice is not the end to Teal’s day though.
“Once practice is over I go shower, eat and get some treatment, go to class and then come back to watch some film later on at night,” Teal said.
For Teal his commitment to football is worth it. Football is something that has always been close to Teal’s heart and something that is common ground among his family.
“I’ve been playing for as long as I can remember, probably since I was five or six,” Teal said. “My family is a football family; everyone loves it and I guess it carried over to me.”
Playing at a high level of football is also common ground in his generation of family members.
“Two of my cousins play professional football- Cam Thomas, a defensive tackle, and Quinton Teal, a cornerback in the NFL.”
Thomas played for North Carolina before getting drafted to the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL draft. Thomas recently signed a contract to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in March of 2014.
Quinton Teal played collegiate ball at Coastal Carolina University before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2007 and more recently, the Chargers. He still holds the Big South Conference record with 17 career interceptions.
With the end of the 2014 regular season nearing and the team seeking another ACC win, Teal is energized to cap off his career in fashion with a bowl game.
“This last season is everything; I’m a senior so I want to go out on top,” Teal said. “I would like to win the rest of the games we have left, get myself and my teammates to the best bowl game we can go to and finish strong.”
As Teal’s collegiate career comes to an end, one game that will always stick out to him from his time at NC State is one particular game from his sophomore year.
“My most memorable game here has to be the Florida State game two years ago when we beat them. The atmosphere of the stadium that night was amazing and it was a great moment for our team,” Teal said.
Teal will graduate this December with a major in criminology and hopes of going into the NFL draft or pursuing a line of work related to his major.
“I’m going to try the NFL but if that doesn’t work out I want to be a police officer,” Teal said.
The Bennettsville, S.C. native is also hoping to stay local to pursue his dreams of being a police officer.
“I think I like Raleigh, so I’m going to try and stay up here,” Teal added.
