Dave Doeren: "Football is About Making Memories"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media Thursday afternoon ahead of the Wolfpack's home opener versus No. 10 Notre Dame.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s interview.
On the energy in practice…
It’s been great. The guys are excited. We’ve worked hard. We really dug in on the things we pinpointed from last week that we want to be better at and, at the same time, focused in on what we’ve got to do to win this game. It’s a really good opponent, obviously, coming in here. It’s an opportunity to get into our second game, their third. I like the steps and the process that I’ve seen from these guys, and that’s what I’ve challenged them to do. This is a week where we have to compete in every single aspect of our game prep: our practice habits, our nutrition, obviously with the temperatures here, our hydration and sleep. It’s been a great week to see the result.
On games like this being a reason to come to NC State…
I think so. I think most of these guys grew up, even in their backyard as kids, thinking about playing in big games against opponents that are ranked and on national television. If they didn’t, I probably recruited the wrong guys. Even in the front yard or in the front driveway playing basketball, “three seconds, game-winning shot.” Those are guys you want to recruit: guys who are always thinking about playing in huge games and huge moments. There’s an element of that. I think this is the first top-10 matchup we’ve had at noon in the stadium since I’ve been here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it is; most of them have been at night. Getting into the stadium, as you know, with our fan base, you’re going to have to get here early. There’s going to be a long line to get in. We want everyone in there for the entrance and, obviously, for the first quarter. Keep that in mind coming in here. It’s going to be jam-packed getting into this game.
On Robert Anae’s goal for explosive plays…
For him, it’s nine a game. It depends on the number of plays, too. If you have 100 plays versus 70 plays, expectations should be a little bit different in those two scenarios, but on average, it’s a nine count that we’re looking for in that category. He calls them his “pillars for victory.” There are five things he’s really trying to get week in and week out, and one of those is the explosive play number.
On the new game clock rules…
I don’t think you adjust; I just think you have to really know that those possessions are precious. Your opportunity to get the ball back — you’re in a tight game at the end — you’re not going to see as many teams be able to come back in the fourth quarter down by three scores. You have to know in each half, once you get to that last eight minutes of the second quarter and fourth quarter, you may be in two-minute mode faster in a game that you’re down. That hasn’t happened to us yet, but those are things we’ve discussed. Obviously, it does dictate some things when you’re talking about last touches on offense.
On what improvements he sees from game one to game two…
It’s different every year. In this game, obviously we gave up a couple of big runs, and so why did that happen? Guys got cut out of their gaps, so [we worked on] gap integrity and what we call “block destruction” on defense: taking on a block and getting off a block. Those two things need to be better, so those are two areas that we would say we were successful in if we do that after this week. There’s a ton of things on both sides of the football. Offensively, we missed a couple of opportunities to stay on the field whether it was ball location for Brennan [Armstrong] or a catch for a perimeter player. All of the little things you didn’t like, you want to see those, and then you’ll come out of game two with new little things. Each week, it’s something you want to focus in on with the guys.
On the Hurricane Matthew game…
That conversation comes up every now and then. It’s like the story you got when you were a kid: you know, Grandpa walked uphill in the wintertime for work. People were like, “Oh, we’ve got to play in the rain.” “Rain?! We played in a hurricane, man! Water was up to our calves!” It was, but people don’t believe that. It was like a waterfall coming down the stairways in the stadium. It’s one of those stories. That’s what football’s about. It’s making memories. Sometimes, they’re good ones. Sometimes, they’re not. That’s obviously going to be a great memory. It’s one of the things we showed the punt-block team this week. We showed them that punt blocked for a touchdown we’ve had against this team. Those are memories that last with the program.
On the importance of the specialists, considering the new clock rules…
Field position’s a big deal, and special teams is really what that is: it’s about a short field for your offense and a long field for your defense to defend. Your ability to punt the ball well, cover kicks well, tackle well, and to make field goals when you have to kick them are all critical. They were critical before, but each offensive team in the stadium going to get seven or eight fewer touches in the game. We all know the importance of one play in everything. Going back through the years watching football, what if they didn’t have enough time to run that one play? You have to think about those things in a game.
On Caden Noonkester…
Caden’s done a great job, no different than Trent [Gill], no different than A.J. [Cole, III]. He came in and had to develop. He had to get in the weight room and work. He deserves credit for how much better he’s gotten, and I do think it helps raise the standard of what we expect in that room. You can point to it: “Hey, if you come here, and we see you’re going to be the guy, you’re going to be on scholarship. If you come here and do what you’re supposed to do, you could be like our previous two punters who are starters in the NFL.” There’s a roadmap for those guys in that room, and I’m proud of him for continuing it. I look forward to seeing Caden. He’s got a lot of football here in front of him.
On Savion Jackson and Lyndon Cooper…
They both practiced. They looked really good. They’re both excited. It’s going to be great to have them in the lineup.
On what’s translated from Sam Hartman’s game going from Wake Forest’s mesh-style offense to Notre Dame’s pro-style offense…
Third downs when he drops back, that translates [as well as] two-minute drills. He did a great job in the last game marching them down the field in a no-huddle offense. You see his comfort level in those scenarios which, in that offense he was in before, he was spread out a lot and was throwing the football a lot. That’s where you see that’s the guy we defended all the time. When he’s under center and handing off counters and things like that, it’s different. You can see the game-management stuff that he has and how poised he is, and when he scrambles, you can see his ability to move the chains that way.