Dave Doeren: "I Want to Send Them Out Right"
No. 16 NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media ahead of the Wolfpack's upcoming matchup versus Boston College.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s interview.
“It’s a meaningful day the last time you play in your home stadium as a player. For me, as a coach, I want to send them out right. I want them to walk out that tunnel and feel the emotions of it, but then when they go back up it at the end, I want them to have that through a victory in the last time they’ll play in their stadium. It’s very personal as a player. It’s very personal as a coach for your players. That’s what this week is all about. It’s really about that and the opportunity to have a legacy item as a team with our 17th [straight] win at home. That’s what we’ve been talking about.”
“I think it’d be hard to shake this group. They’ve been down many games. Between all of the things you said plus the stuff we all went through during Covid and after Covid with the societal things that happened, this team’s been through all of that together. The staff’s been through it and walked side by side through it. It’s a united group. It’s a group that probably, for all college football or all athletic teams, may not have other periods of time where you have back-to-back-to-back things that you have to go through with having a bad season, then having Covid, and then having social stuff happen. It’s a lot. It’s completely bonded this team.”
“That family’s done a ton. I’ve known them a long time now, going back to recruiting Thayer [Thomas] and Drake [Thomas]. What they’ve meant to their respective sides of the ball and special teams, they’re the ultimate teammates. They’re hard-working guys and great family guys. They do a great job in the classroom, on campus, and in the community. It’s been an honor to coach those guys, and I look forward to coaching them one more time. I’ll miss them.”
“Isaiah [Moore] means a lot more than football to this program with his leadership, three-year captain, wearing No. 1 three years in a row, starting #PackUnited, not just with the team but the athletic department and the campus, and just the type of human being he is. He’s a high school coach in the area. He’s done a lot. A lot of college kids don’t have any idea how much he’s done. We respect him. I’ve told him before; I look up to him. He’s a guy that’s a true role model.”
“Yeah, 2-1/2 years at home without a loss is a big deal. I think the honor that presents to the next group to try and sustain it is incredible. There are six of us in this list that have the best win streaks in college football at home, and we’re one of those teams. To be on that list says a lot about our program."