Dave Doeren: "We're Excited About What We've Recruited"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media following the Wolfpack's Spring Game, presented by 1Pack NIL Collective Saturday afternoon.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s interview.
On the team’s weapons…
It was nice to have the weather to actually showcase that to. We're excited about what we've recruited, and some of the guys have developed, too, that were here. There’s a lot of work to do still. It was a good day throwing and catching the football. It's a lot different when you're not just trying to figure out ways to get K.C. [Concepcion] the ball. There's a lot more things with football now on offense. That was fun to see. We were very vanilla today, so there wasn't a lot of things going on that way, but I felt the guys went out there and executed pretty well.
On Grayson McCall fitting in effortlessly…
I agree with you. He's a blue collar tough guy. He's got a chip on his shoulder. He's a proven leader and winner, and his presence is felt. He’s got a poise about him, a confidence about him, that you love. He's got a lot of grit. He's a really tough kid. I couldn’t be happier with what he's doing and with what C.J. [Bailey] and Lex [Thomas] are doing. We feel like everyone's really improved.
On Bailey…
That's one of the benefits of getting a kid from a program like Chaminade. That's a program that's won two straight state championships. C.J .has led that for them. He's ahead of the curve, playing against the talent he got to play against in high school. He's got a really coachable attitude. You feel his charisma in the huddle when he's on the field. The guys like playing for him.
On players that have emerged with increased reps…
There's a big opportunity with Zeke [Correll] being out for Rylan [Vann] to step in, and he improved. It’s been a really good spring for him, from a rep standpoint. He took all the reps with the ones, competed really hard, had some tough days and some really good days. That’s what spring ball and bowl practices are about; it's about getting a lot of guys work, letting them see where they're at, showing them how they can improve, seeing the growth, setting up your three-month summer which we have here —“here's the things you do well, here’s the things you've got to work on” —and letting them get with Coach [Dantonio Burnette] to go down there and get better.
On Kanoah Vinesett...
For two years, he's been learning behind Chris Dunn and Brayden Narveson, so he's had two great mentors at the position. He had a great day today. This is a big day for him: kicking in the stadium, on film, cameras, fans. I’m really happy for the way he responded to his opportunity today.
On Noah Rogers…
You can't hide his athleticism. He makes plays. He’s a really natural ball catcher with a big catch radius. He's a good athlete with the ball in his hands after the catch as well. He can adjust to the football, track the football. He’s just got to learn now the other parts of the game and really improve in the summer in the weight room and get ready to be a blocker as well. When you look at him and Dacari [Collins], Dacari really does a good job without the ball, and that's where Noah’s going to spend some time this summer. We're excited about him. I thought Terrell Anderson, in the last two scrimmages, really came on for us, too. Those two guys made plays. Wesley Grimes made some good plays today. It’s exciting to see the outside room produce the way they did.
On the players feeding off the energy from winning…
It's an expectation here. You come to this program; you expect to win, and then you've got to learn what it takes. The process of winning, it's not just getting on the grass and playing the game. It's the behind the scenes stuff that goes on day in and day out that they have to embrace and love in order to earn the opportunity to win football games. It's something that we take a lot of pride in. It's teaching them how to do that, and the older players do a good job of holding them to that standard. That's what we've built: being a winning football team, being able to beat anyone that we play, and that's what these guys understand. Now, they've got to get to work. We've got three months to get ready for a really tough schedule.