Dave Doeren: "We've Got to Make It Undeniable"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media ahead of the Wolfpack's upcoming road game versus Wake Forest.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s interview.
On if it’s been an easy week this week…
Man, I've been through a lot. You've got to try a lot harder to get to me. It's been an interesting week, for sure. First of all, it’s been a two weeks by our football team and our staff, and I’m proud of them to come out of our bye week the way we did. It was maybe the most disappointed and embarrassed I've been after a game to go into our bye week, and to really spell out what we need to be, and for there to be ownership in that, you don't get better at anything without ownership, and so I was super proud of the team for beating great teams with great tradition. Between [Clemson and Miami], there's eight national championships, and for us to beat them in back-to-back weeks coming out of what we did says a lot about the character of this football team.
His statement on M.J. Morris…
As you guys know, M.J. has chosen to redshirt, and Brennan Armstrong is our starter. I didn't announce that on Monday. I was hoping we could maintain a competitive advantage in our preparation with Wake Forest having to prepare, as you've seen, with two quarterbacks on the field at the same time. That plan didn't work. Somebody found out and put it out there on Tuesday, and it is what it is. As I told you guys previously at one of my press conferences earlier in the season — I think it was after our VMI game — our plan was, at the beginning of the year, to try and redshirt M.J., and that was the plan: to give him a chance behind an experienced quarterback to develop and grow. As the season unfolded, and we struggled offensively, I felt it was time to reassess that plan, and that's part of my job. The team needed a spark, so Coach [Kurt] Roper and I met with M.J. and asked him if he wanted to play because I thought he could help our offense and our team. He agreed, and we pushed forward with that plan in place with him playing. As games progressed and time went on, M.J. came to me and let me know that he was still thinking about preserving his redshirt. I was surprised by that because he was our starter, and I really didn't expect that, for a starting player to want to sit back down. He said he wasn't sure which way to go, but he wanted me to know that that was something that he was thinking about and talking with his family about. After the fourth game, he was very decisive in telling me it was important to him and his family to preserve his redshirt, and so we're honoring that decision. With that, Brennan is our starter. Our team has embraced him in this role. We're rallied around him and super excited to see what he does in this opportunity with his finish. He's handled this, as Aydan [White] said yesterday, like a grown-ass man. It couldn’t have been said any better. A guy with his journey through college football, what he did at Virginia, what he suffered there, when it came in with the good and the bad, and just the way he handled everything, I’m excited for him, very excited. I just ask — there are a lot of opinions, a lot of storylines, a lot of hate — just be a good person. Cheer on these guys that are playing. Get behind them. Be excited. This team has a lot to play for. M.J. was on our scout team this week. He gave us a great look. Brennan has prepared, and the guys are playing hard for him, and he's earned a ton of respect in our program. It's his team now, so we're excited to see him finish the season. Like everything, it's an opportunity. I look at all of these moments for me as a leader. Adversity brings out the best. You can fight, or you can run. I love to fight, and so does Brennan. This team has proven that they are fighters. We've got a really incredible opportunity for two weeks in a row to go on the road and play on someone else's senior day. That's a memorable day for those football teams. To play at Wake Forest, as you know, it’s a place that not many have been successful from NC State. In my tenure, just one team with Jacoby [Brissett] [has beaten them], and the rest of them have been pretty tight ballgames. It’s come down to the wire in a lot of them from Ricky Person's onside recovery that was denied to [Emeka Emezie’s] play. We've spent a lot of crazy games with these guys. As I said my early press conference to start the week, I think Dave Clawson is a tremendous football. His team will play hard. For us, it's just building on the last two weeks: a defense that stops people creates takeaways, denies explosive plays for scores, plays with swagger, plays physical, and dominates the line of scrimmages and an offense that can be efficient, take care of the football, be opportunistic, score in the red zone, protect the quarterback, keep him clean, and limiting pre-snap stuff. Our special teams have been tremendous all year and is continuing with that and bringing the effort it's going to take. Regardless of the crowd noise or lack of, whatever we end up with in the game, it shouldn't dictate how we play. We’re going to go in there with great focus and have fun playing this game that we love.
On why it’s been difficult to win in Winston-Salem…
We've put ourselves in position to win there many times and just haven't gotten it done. In some cases, I would argue that we did get it done and just had a bad break. To cross the goal line with the ball and fumble, to recover an onside kick with momentum to go win the game, and because they didn't have enough camera angles, we didn't get the catch. It’s just been crazy down there, and you've just got to earn it. We've got to go earn this win. We've got to make it undeniable. We've got to hand the ball to the official when we score. We've got to make sure that we're in position, and we put the game away. The home team's been able to do that. We've had our success here. They've had their success there. It's going to be a great football game. We totally expect a one-possession, four-quarter-or-more game and know that we've got to make plays to earn the win.
On the team’s confidence heading into this game…
The guys are in a good place right now. They also have an edge to them. They're on a five-game-season mission to be the best team in the ACC for five games. This is the third step, and they just have to do it again.
On Armstrong’s backup quarterback…
Yeah, I was thinking maybe we’d put Dylan McMahon at quarterback or Payton Wilson, maybe. He’d be a good look.
On pressuring Mitch Griffis…
Each week's a different challenge. They're going to be on the line fast. There's a lot of run game that’s pass game at the same time, so you're fitting max protection or run basically and RPOs that go with that, and so you have to get off blocks. You have to knock their line of scrimmage back, and when we blitz, we have to blitz with the mentality that we're going to win. It's going to be very challenging to have an unblocked blitzer with how many guys they keep in their protection. You've got to beat blocks, and you've got to strain. Their quarterback's walking up into the line with the football to throw; we've got to bat some of those balls up. until Each week, and this one in particular, it's a unique challenge. Our defense is excited about the challenge, and you know they will be, too.
On the offense evolving after Morris took over as starting quarterback…
That conversation is exactly the one that we've had, and actually I didn't have to have it. [Armstrong] said it to me. He knows what we're doing. He understands. He's also got a very good mental space like that. That break for him was good. It was. It was time for him to reset, reevaluate what he was doing, watch what's happening, put his head down, and work. I couldn't be more proud of how he handled that break. You're right; we weren't huddling back then. We weren't all together in the huddle. We weren't talking the way we're talking now, connecting the way we're connecting now. The guys are playing better around the quarterback, and they have to do that in this game.
On Morris’ intentions…
Everything about this is Wake Forest right now. We'll get into everything else later. I made my statement. Anything about Wake Forest you guys want to talk about, I'm definitely open to that.
On huddling…
When you're together in the same system all the time, maybe the huddle’s not as important, but I felt we were disjointed. We were dropping passes. We had pre-snap penalties, and it just didn't look like a group of guys that was playing together. To me, the first thing you do is get on the same page. What’s the easiest way to do that? You're the quarterback; talk every play. Get them all right there. Get their eyes on his eyes. Let him speak to them, and then break the huddle together: connect, put your arms on each other, put your arms around each other, bump each other’s fists in the huddle, all of that, and then let's go play the game. To me, that was a solution to a problem that we had, and I don't know if it'll stay forever, but right now, I think it's been a good change.
On the running back room…
Those guys do a great job. Their role has changed because we are pitching the ball to some guys. They’re not getting as many carries, and they've been great teammates about it. They just want to win, and so whatever we asked those guys to do, they've been tremendous. I know it's not easy. As a guy that's a runner, you want to run the football more. What they've learned is, “Hey, whatever we need to win, we're going to do and when we get our touches,” — you saw Kendrick [Raphael] get a touch — "do something with it: make somebody miss, don't let the first guy tackle you, do your job in there.” I always tell the players: “If you want to play more, play better. Just put better things on tape in practice, and make plays.” Then, that thing starts to evolve in a different way.
On Armstrong as a captain…
He's been through a lot, and the one thing I respect about him more than anything is just how he works day in and day out. Your consistency as a person is what builds trust. If I know I'm going to get the same five every day — I know how to coach that guy. The first run, he tried to win every rep. The third run, he tried to win every rep. Everything was the same with him, and he's had to get better at some things in this game, but you know what you're getting; you're getting a tough dude that's going to compete hard. He's going to put it on the line. He tried to run over that big safety for Miami, and he got up smiling. Like, damn! He came over and said, “That's a big dude." I'm like, “Yeah, that is a big dude…" The players love that. They love to see that, and I’m not just saying in him. They love to see consistent strain like Davin Vann. The guys love Davin because what are you going to get from Davin? Well, you're going to have to pick him up and carry in the locker room at the end of the game sometimes. He’s pulling this brace on and this brace on, you know what I mean? Players dig that, man. They love playing with dudes like that are going to put it in there. Payton Wilson, it was a similar thing [as with Devan] Boykin, what he had to do for a couple of weeks, taping himself together. There’s something to that, and I think, as a competitor, man, that's respect. Our guys love that part of this game, and the DNA of our program, “Hard, Tough, Together,” that's part of it: showing up every day with that tough attitude.
On the validation of having those kinds of players on his team…
It is [validating], and it was also why I was disgusted after the Duke game because I didn't see that on field. I was really disappointed. That is not what I worked 11 years to do. Win or lose, I want to see people hitting people. I want tough. That’s me. That's the program that I wanted to be a part of when I came here and that we've built, and the guys understood where I was coming from. “Coach, we're with you. That's not who we want to be either. Let's go play better.” They have, so now [they have] to do it again against a really good team, against Wake Forest. When you go down there and play, especially on senior day, you're going to get a really good football team.
On what he’s asking Armstrong to do…
I want Brennan to be Brennan. I want him to go play ball, to go play ball the way that No. 5 plays ball: cut it loose, and play hard.
On how Armstrong’s role as a runner has helped him…
A lot. Just to build him back up confidence-wise and let him be a part of what's going on, he deserved that. He's a competitive guy that works hard, and there's a lot more to him than a runner, a lot more. I'm glad that he's going to get an opportunity to show that, too.
On how Armstrong has changed from his last start to now…
Perspective, just understanding that these might be his last however many games. He said it to me other day: “Coach, I just want to go have fun and just want to enjoy playing this game.” You can just see it on his eyes. He was really excited to play. That's cool. He came in with some pressure on him. There's no pressure on him now. Just go play football.
When he told Armstrong he was the starter…
I don't remember. These days are running together. It was Sunday or Monday, something like that. I haven't slept for a week, so it's one of those two days he found out.
On humbleness helping get through tough times…
Being humble and being hungry are a part of our program. For those of us that are spiritual, it’s a part of our walk with God, that humility. I think that's important. It's really important, and sometimes, you get humbled. Injury humbles you. Failure humbles you, and usually that's what you have to go through as a person to understand and respect when things are good. A lot of us take good for granted. I was humbled many times in my coaching career, and I think back to those times all the time. I don't want to go through that again. Like, I'm not doing that. With the guys, it's anytime I get a chance to prevent drop-off, to hold guys to a standard, to not just say underachievement's okay, to say that underachievement's not allowed, to deny excuses, and try to get kids to understand that playing the blame game doesn't allow you to fix anything, [and it’s the same] as a coach. You have to own your blemishes. I think that's a really good lesson for the guys and for the coaches. There's a lot of coaches out there that are big on themselves. The humility aspect of this sport and really in life is just critical for personal growth if you want to reach any type of goals.
On retaining discipline on defense with Wake’s offense…
When you play these guys, you might be in your gap way longer than you're used to because the ball doesn't declare. It's just walking up slowly to the line. That got us a couple of years ago. Our guys were on the edge, "Where is the ball?” Then the ball comes out. You have to knock the edge back to the depth of the football and then pursue. Sometimes, it takes you a little bit of time to get used to that in-game. We're practicing it, obviously, but that is a concern. The timing of when the ball hits the gaps is different than any other offense you’re going to play. I would say that an advantage to us is we have reps playing against this team. We’ve played them every year, and so a lot of our defensive kids have played them and understand how not to play against them. Maybe the guys that haven't played against them that have to suffer a little bit in that, but I know Coach [Tony] Gibson has been working hard on that.