Dave Doeren: "I'm Looking Forward to What's Next"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media following the Wolfpack's 20-6 win over Miami Saturday evening.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s press conference.
Opening statement
I’m super proud of this staff and team, and I’m thankful to the fans for how they showed up. They helped us tonight. They were in the game. They were on their feet. They were loud, and we appreciate that. It means a lot. It was a great win. It was a great team win. Defensively, we had four takeaways and a goal-line stand. They battled, battled, battled, and just made plays when we needed them to. Offensively, we were opportunistic. We beat ourselves a little bit with some penalties, but when we needed to step up, we did: a 99-yard drive after a goal-line stand for a touchdown. There's a lot of people that had a part in that. I’m very proud and thankful. I’m proud of the team, thankful to the team, to the staff, and to the fans. It's great to own that record. I’m very proud of all of the coaches that have been here with me throughout this and the players that have been here with me throughout this. It's an 11-year thing. It's not me; it's everybody, and I’m very thankful. I’m looking forward to what's next. We put ourselves in a good position with this win with three games to play.
On seeing complementary football late in the game…
Well, we were able to protect, and we ran the football efficiently. We didn't have penalties that hurt us. We had a really big third-down conversion from M.J. [Morris] to K.C. [Concepcion]. That was a big play to get us off the goal line. From there, we were just steadily efficient moving the ball down the field. I thought Brennan [Armstrong] came in and gave us some really good yards, tough yards. He sparked us with some stuff that he did. It's just cool to see these guys continue to fight and battle. I'm very proud of them.
On winning the turnover battle…
I don't have it memorized — it's in the 90 percentile when we're plus-two or more. We finished plus-three in turnover margin tonight. I don't know if I've ever lost a game plus-three. No matter what, that is the most important statistic in football, in my opinion. It just gives you such a huge advantage from a field-position and a momentum standpoint, and you're stealing possessions from the other team. It's everything. Lou Holtz told me this a couple of weeks ago when he was here for our Marshall game: we were talking about the team, what we do well, and what we got to do better. We talked about takeaways and protecting the football. He said, “You know, the football is pretty important. They named the entire sport after it.” I thought that was a great line from Coach Holtz. I will put that in quotation marks and give him the credit for it, but I think that says it all.
On what he wants the team to focus on and bring to the next two road games…
Great question, and I'll let you ask me that on Monday. Tonight, we're going to celebrate the win.
On bringing out the best in his team and how the locker room helped celebrate the record-breaking win…
I always feel like everything starts with my attitude and my energy. If there's one thing that I am proud of about myself, I don't quit. I'm very, very persistent. No matter how tough it is, I'm going to keep fighting. Because I do that, I think that wears off on people in the program. That's the DNA of this place, which is one of the things I love about NC State. Going back to Jimmy V — I've said that a million times — his never, never quit speech is so perfect for this team and for this school. As far as the locker room goes, Boo [Corrigan] was kind enough to come up, say some kind words, and hand me a No. 78 jersey with my name on it. I’m very grateful and thankful for him for recognizing that tonight.
On the strong defense giving the offense leverage…
It's complementary football. We have a really good punter [Caden Noonkester]. We have a very good placekicker [Brayden Narveson]. We have a really, really talented and high-performing defense right now. Our offense continues to grow. It is complementary football. Just because you're not scoring 45 points or whatever it is, the fact that we're moving the ball, we're protecting the football, and we're being balanced, all those things play into it. When we need to score, we score. We can't say enough about it. To your point, yeah, it helps. You're not out there every possession where you know you got to sling it around and take chances. Coach [Robert] Anae has been in this game a long time. He understands the strength of our team right now, and he's trying to continue to build this offense to be the strength as well. I'm proud of the growth. You've seen his genius over these last couple of weeks. You've seen what he's doing with formations and explosive plays off of things, getting K.C. the ball, using two quarterbacks, unbalance, shifts, trade motions… I can't say enough about what he's doing to help this thing grow. Recruiting is going to be a big part of that as well as retention as we move forward. I'm proud of the growth of the team and what we've learned along the way. These guys know there's a lot to play for with a three-week season remaining. From where we sit, we're in a good spot. We just need to take care of business.
On Armstrong's contributions against Miami…
I’m super proud and happy for Brennan. He's taken a lot of unnecessary criticism. It was great to hear the crowd cheer for him tonight. Our team has been cheering for him. That meant a lot to me and to him. He's tough. He's got grit. He's got fight. He's a really good football player. Having the ability to run him and use him in the offense, it brings some things to the table. I'm really proud of M.J. and him, how they work together. They respect each other. They work hard for each other in that room. It's pretty awesome. Coach [Kurt] Roper deserves a lot of credit for the culture that he has in that room.
On what he would tell his younger self…
Man, what a great question. I would have told myself to find God a lot earlier in my life, to really pay attention to the things that matter most, to surround myself with people that make me better, to really lean into family, the spirit ,and the humility that comes with it. When you're a young coach — I came here very successful from Northern Illinois — I didn't know enough at that time. I've learned a lot along the way. Getting some people with me that have helped me through this, I've learned through failure, and I've learned through success. As a head coach, who's in that circle of trust with you really matters. I can't say enough about having Ruffin McNeill here with me. Having Ruff along my side has been a pivotal point for me, just to be able to sit in that chair in his office and sometimes laugh but oftentimes talk about the day. It's great to have a sounding board like that. For any young coach out there, I will tell you to find somebody like that that can work with you and give you that mentorship.
If he ever thought he'd become the all-time winningest coach in program history…
I don't remember years anymore — it's kind of hard — but there was a time where there were some other schools trying to get me to leave here, and we decided to stay. When I came back and met with the team and met with the staff, one of the things I said was, "I'm here, and I want to win the record. I want to be the winningest coach in NC State football history." That matters to me. It's something that I'm going to dig in on. All those coaches — I think that was when Eli Drinkwitz was here and that staff — have helped me through all the way to the guys that are here now. As far as how I'm going to celebrate it, I'm going to be with my wife and kids, and my best friends from college are here, eight of them. Two of our really close friends from Madison, Wisconsin are here. I’m going to surround myself with the people that have been behind me for a long time that I love like family along with my family. We're going to enjoy this night. Thank you, guys. Go Pack.