Doeren: "This Is What It's All About"

NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media about the Wolfpack's upcoming road game at Clemson.

Opening Statement...
Excited to get into a game week here and had a good week with our guys.  We had a good chance to focus on our fundamentals. As a staff we really studied us and our different tendencies and things that we need to improve on and if our players did a very good job of taking the practice opportunities and the time we gave them to improve and work hard [and] diligently on those things that as individuals.  We had some time for guys that needed to heal up. 

We had a really good practice yesterday... really good energy and a lot of excitement from the guys in their prep. 

Excited to play at Clemson, two undefeated teams, their homecoming. We expect a great atmosphere and excited to have that kind of opportunity in October against a really good team. 

I have a lot of respect for Dabo and his staff and their program and what they've done for our conference. For us it is an opportunity to go play them when they're playing really good football. 

Personnel wise, as always, they're explosive on offense with a lot of big plays.  The receiving core always has playmakers in it and guys that can run after the catch... big, long guys that can run by you on the outside.  

I think Lawrence has been very impressive in what he's done. He's got a great arm, he's got a quick release. He can make every throw. He's made good decisions, hasn't turned the ball over much there. 

Tailback position is really dynamic, and I think Etienne is a fun guy to watch. He's fast, he gets top speed in a hurry.  He sees things well and he's definitely somebody that you got to be really concerned about tackling him, getting him on the ground.  

Then the guys who come in after him average and over five yards [per] carry, which is impressive for their running game. 

Obviously at receiver you've got always know where Renfro is; he's a great player, great route runner. He's a clutch player, makes a lot of plays for them on third down.

They returned four starters on their offensive line. And obviously they do a good job there. 

Defensively, very veteran group and experienced and big defensive front, big linebackers. They live in people's backfields, and we've got to do a good job of handling that, their pressures and their size and their length. 58 tackles for loss and 20 sacks is top in our league. 

We have to do a great job of just taking advantage of our opportunities and creating some field position for our offense and defense and executing with the technique that we're coaching. Being on the road in a crowd-noise environment, a lot of it comes down to just not beating yourself and getting behind the chains with penalties that can be created because of noise. Obviously we're practicing with the loudest system we can produce on the field. Guys are learning how to handle that. This will be really the first crowd-noise game we've had. It was loud at times at Marshall, but not throughout the game like it will be in this one. 

How much have you gone back and looked at what worked for you in 16 and 17?
We've studied and they've had the same staff for the most part, for the duration. So there's a lot of film where you can look at, how their defensive coordinator and defensive coaches schemed us and how we schemed them and what's worked and what hasn't. Same thing, what their offensive system, and it hasn't changed a lot other than the quarterbacks.

We have to do that. I think it's good not only to do that, but to look at the other defenses that are similar to us over the years and how they've played against them and what they do against teams like us that are in 4-2-5 schemes on the field. 

How much do you think Ryan Finley wants this game?
Oh, there's no doubt I think all these seniors have been in some dogfights with Clemson and just finishing the job is something that's important to them. I think all seniors across the country would say that they want to leave a legacy behind that they can be proud of. Doing something that you haven't done yet is always a part of that. When you talk about raising the bar, something that these guys want to be able to say they did. 

Focusing on what you guys have done well to this point, but with the two weeks to prepare for the Tigers, how did you navigate the scheduling and implementing the game plan ahead of time?
So always when we play on Saturday, we will come in Sunday and put the game to bed... get our guys treatment and get in the weight room, get as much of the lactic acid out of our guys' systems. 

In a seven day window there, there were five days where they were able to recover and two days where they could get a little bit of a headstart on Clemson. 

How healthy are you going into this game? 
We're at a pretty good place.  You're never going to be 100 percent halfway through the year, but we're in a pretty good place. For the linemen in particular, there were some guys like you always do... the bumps and bruises and everybody were out there running around yesterday. Feel good about it.

Did you think about not being able to get ESPN Gameday given there are five unbeaten teams in Power Five conferences?
We knew that there was a possibility that we would have that opportunity and we didn't get it. Obviously you would think with two undefeated teams out of eight left that would make sense, but there's other things at play that obviously I'm not in the conversation so I don't know why it was picked that way.

We're excited to play them regardless of where they put it. They can put it on the AM radio for all I care. I can't wait to play the game and our players feel the same way. 

More on his defense and facing Clemson...
They're hungry. Each week's a new opportunity. It's a new challenge.  Two weeks ago, Virginia's offense was really unique and that's almost single wing... then all of a sudden you're playing uptempo BC and big play-action schemes, and the guys again rose to that challenge.

Now they have a new one... uptempo, spread offense where they are balanced with tremendous athletes.  

It's not going to be easy and they're gonna make plays in the game. He got really good players. It's just about making more than they do. I think the guys just like the last two games are really, really into the game plan. I think they understand the process that they need to have to play well and they've bought into that process. 

Thoughts on playing in big-time games...
I think it's about finishing the big game for us now.  I think we played really well in some of those match ups... obviously we were able to win at Florida State last year, which was a huge game at the time.  

We've had other games that maybe nationally weren't looked at as big games, but it's about finishing.  We put ourselves in places to win some of those close games, particularly against Clemson, and they've made the plays at the end that we needed to make.

That's really what it's about, it's finding a way to finish somebody off, whether it's on defense or offense or special teams with that key play. 

Thoughts on Kelvin Harmon...
He is such a confident guy, but he is very, very strong in his hand strength, and his frame allows him to have the body position to make some of those plays, too.

But I think he has two things, he has great timing with Ryan. Ryan knows where to put the ball for him, and he has the skill of tracking the football really well.  If it is a back shoulder throw, some guys can't turn and get their hands where their eyes are like he can at the right time.

He just has a really good skill set, and then the timing with the quarterback is really accurate to give them that opportunity more times than not. 

Who is the best No. 3?
I don't know if there is one. I think they're both very critical pieces to what we do and deserving of any of the credit and accolades that they're getting there. They're preparing the right way. They're playing hard and I'm sure they would love to answer that question for you. That'd be a fun argument for you, but they both do a lot of great things. 

More on Germaine Pratt...
Germaine has size, speed, and an incredible football IQ. We've had some really tough, high football IQ guys playing linebacker here with Jerod and Airius, and those guys were smart. They were tough, physical guys, but they didn't possess the speed that Germaine has.

His skillset has improved and it's fundamentally better so now you're seeing that consistency that he lacked last year at times. 

He's [a] really good athlete and he's a good coverage player, but now his run-game fundamentals have helped our defense a lot because he's making a ton of plays that aren't his to make, to be honest with you.

How much do you look forward to being challenged by playing a team like Clemson? 
I'm excited about it. This is why you work your butt off as a staff, just like our players do, and you want to be in this position where you're playing for a lot, against another team that's playing for a lot. 

This is what it's all about... it's about elevating our program and it's about doing something that we haven't been able to do as a coach, as a player yet. All of those things matter to us, to them. That's why you work so hard.