Dave Doeren: "When You Walk Onto the Field, There's Solace There"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media in the breakout session of the 2024 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s interview. A select transcript is provided below.
“A few years ago, we had a guy came from Fairmont, a small school, not even FCS. There was a level of gratitude that he had just for everything because they got nothing at the program he was at. I think it's more about the fit than it is the level from where they came for us, and finding somebody that really fills the needs that we have, that fits the culture of the locker room, that has the right attitude, the right gratitude as well. Certainly, having a guy like Zeke Correll that was a 30-game starter Notre Dame is a big deal for us to get a guy like that at center because we lost a really good center. When you add one -- that's played against so many good nose guards and three techniques – in the middle of your offensive line, and Jordan Waters, a running back that’s a proven player who’s played against really good talent and understands the ACC, there's obviously great intangibles when you add players like that.”
“I'm so proud of the athletic department. [Boo Corrigan’s] leadership and his staff's leadership. What the basketball teams, men's and women's, did this winter was unbelievable. What Coach [Elliott] Avent just did with his baseball team, our wrestling program, our cross country program... so many of them are doing so well: cheerleading, gymnastics, you name it. You just keep going. One of the things that makes NC State special is the way our fans support all the teams, not just one. It is really a strong athletic department. That wave, that momentum, starts with the fall sports, and then the winter sports pick it up, then spring sports. It's our turn, and we're excited about riding that red wave. Everybody's created it. It's not one sport.
“I think we're very well positioned. When the ACC went to one division versus the two, it opened the door to all the teams in the league so that the best two could compete for a championship at the end. Obviously, we have a seat at the table with the way that it's put together. Now, whoever wins the Power Four championships are automatically in. Beyond that, being in the top 11 gets you in. There's definite markers now that you know are real for you to be in the playoff. Those aren't things we ignore. We definitely talk about the end. We started talking about the end in January at the beginning of this journey, and then you get into the steps that it's going to take to make that a reality.”
“They came in really open-minded; no ego. They want to work. They want to be good teammates. The talent’s obvious; we wouldn't have brought them in [without it], but just the way they want to work together, that's the thing. Football is 120-some guys in the locker room. It's one of the greatest laboratories in life, in my opinion. You have so many different walks of life, so many different backgrounds, so many different struggles, and then you try to figure out how to get them all to do something together and put their teammates first. These older guys have done that. They've come in and really wanted to just be a part of it and help advance what we're doing. It's been really fun to watch, and when you have as many... not just transfers, but mid-year guys —we had 42 new players in mid-year — it was a big challenge for me, one that I recognized early. We did a lot of things together to build this team up and get to know each other. That's really been part of the fun this offseason: getting this team to be one. Now, we get to go out on the grass again and start playing the game that they love, and we're excited about that.”
“K.C. [Concepcion] had a tremendous year last year. He did so many things for our team, and that will continue. Now he's got more weapons around him, Daylan [Smothers] being one of them. I’m excited for him and proud of the way he's grown up as a person, how hard he's worked in the offseason. The things that he knew he could get better at, he went to work on those things. Gavin Locklear, Coach [Robert] Anae, Joker Phillips, those guys did a great job with him. Adding Daylan, a guy we really wanted in high school, he felt the need to leave, and obviously we're super happy he came back and excited to help him develop. Obviously, we'll see when he gets on the grass, what he does to help the offense. It helps that they were teammates in high school, and there's that relationship that those two guys have. That running back room is really strong. We're excited about the pieces that we've added in Jordan Waters and Daylan. There's a lot of really good players in there. Duke Scott, one of our freshmen, came in and had a really good spring, too. It's a good room of guys. Kendrick Raphael played as a freshman, comes back, and has gained weight. There's competition in that room, and those guys have got to compete for carries.”
“[Grayson McCall’s] a winner. He's won multiple championships. He was Player of the Year three times. He’s a 10,000-yard passer. He's also a local guy that didn't get recruited by the ACC coming out of high school. This is a year for him to show the kind of player he is. To have a guy who's proven as Grayson is with the chip on his shoulder at the same time, it's hard to find. It really is. I'm excited for him and grateful that he came to our program because he had other options. I’m excited that his family gets to be so close and part of the last year of his journey in college.”
“All coaches will tell you that the minute you put your phone in your locker and walk out to the practice field, there's solace there. That's your safe place. However long that practice is, you get that period of time to do what you were hired to do: coach football, mentor young people, and lead. I love fall camp. I think a lot of people don't understand how great that window of time is for coaches. It's truly pure. It's you and your guys for two to three weeks, just focusing on the game of football and building the chemistry and roster. I'm very excited for next Wednesday, when we crank this up.”
“We've had a run of players returning for their last year when they could have gone pro. Bradley Chubb, Ryan Finley, and obviously Payton Wilson chose to do that, and now Davin [Vann]. Aydan White also chose to do that. You get a player that has different things going on. Their skill sets are their skill sets, but they're working on what’s more like PhD for football. It's upper level. It's emotional. It’s trying to be able to handle the pressure. It's trying to be able to handle their leadership better. It's their walk of life and things off the field. So it's fun to be with a guy this long. When you're a coach that's been at a school going on 12 years, recruited a lot of players, and graduated a lot of players, you've been through the home visit all the way to the exit meeting many times. It's an honor to be with Davin Vann for his last year. I have great respect for Davin. I love him to death. I'm excited for him, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in his last year.”
“I chose NC State when I was at NIU because I felt like I fit. Just like a recruit, you want to go where you fit. You guys know me well enough. I'm pretty direct, pretty transparent, but I do like wearing cowboy boots and jeans, fishing, listening to country music, and eating good food. I can do that at NC State. I can be with people that are like me and just be a regular guy. My family loved Raleigh. To be able to have three sons that are all in college now, to be able to have them go to middle school and high school in the same city and not move, it was a blessing for our family. Sarah and I have great friends. To leave a place, it’s hard when you love where you're at, and I do. I love where I'm at. Growing up, my family and I moved from different place to different place until we settled in Kansas City. I've lived in Raleigh longer than I've lived anywhere in my life, so this truly is home now. We have great roots. I will be in this state when I'm retired. It's a great place to live. You guys know that. Where else can you be where you drive from one place to the ocean, one place to the mountains, or from the ocean to the mountains in the same day? If you're lucky, you're fishing in both places in the same day. A lot of people have to get on airplanes to do that; I’ve got to get in the car and do that. I’m very fortunate.”