VIDEO + QUOTES: Dave Doeren's Weekly Quotebook

No. 24 NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media Friday afternoon ahead of the Wolfpack's season opener versus Western Carolina.

NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s press conference.

Opening Statement

We're excited to get season started here with the staff and group of players. To have retention of the staff, that, I'm super proud to be a part of. It’s not just who these guys are and what they stand for, but it’s the chemistry we have together, combined with the experience we have, not just together on this field, but 340-plus years of games between us, myself and the 10 assistants, and we add Coach [Ruffin] McNeill in there, and it goes up dramatically. It’s a group that cares a lot about each other, when we talk about our coaching staff. We like to have a good time together, work hard, play hard, and does things for the right reasons. I'm excited to start this journey with them.

While it's true that we are on team with a lot of new players — the most I've ever had with 42 right now — it's also one of the closest group of guys I've been around, and that's unique. It really goes back to what our January when I walked in that team room for the first time and saw how many new faces there were that [I realized] we had a lot of work to do off the field and on the field. It's really been one of the biggest and most fun challenges I've had, outside of a season: building a team, not just from a talent standpoint, but the chemistry standpoint. We talk about 17 guys coming in from the portal, and the high school guys that came in, and then additional guys that have walked on the football team. It's been a fun chemistry experiment. It's really what it is. It's a lot of different people, a lot of different backgrounds, experiences, failures, successes, and one goal: to come together as a team, be the best team we can be, and be a championship roster. That’s really been our goal since we started this journey: to put together the best group of guys that we can. I've enjoyed it, and you do that with sweat equity, how hard you work in the off season together going through those challenges. Coach [Dantonio Burnette] and his staff do so well through the summer, and then getting to know each other, being really intentional as a head coach about time in the meeting room, not just on football, but about life, and talking about life, talking about things that have happened, talking about hardships, talking about heroes, being very vulnerable with each other, opening up, and reflecting on things that have happened, things that we can learn from, learning from the past but being in the present, taking the guys camping in the woods, bringing in different speakers… All these different things have  accumulated into a really fun group to be around. It's been fun to see them respond, work hard together, and embrace what we're trying to do, and we look forward to the season, whatever the season is and the obstacles that come. As you guys know, you can never predict all the things you have to face and but doing it together.

I’m very excited to be in Carter-Finley [Stadium] for the opener, and I’m thankful to our fans that have bought in. To have a sold-out season, not just opener, says a lot. It says a lot. I'm really looking forward to that, getting these guys in there and feeling that environment, and I love you guys for that. It means so much. Student section, I can't wait to see our students. There's a lot of new students, one of the biggest freshman classes in school history. [I can’t wait to get] them to be a part of what game day is all about. To our fans, one of the beautiful things about NC State is our Wolfpack mascot, that we are a pack. We’re not a singular thing. It's a bunch of individuals, a bunch of people from all over the place that are family, and game day has turned into entertainment, in a lot of ways. All these sporting events you go to, man, they're incredible. Our light show, our fireworks, the flyovers, the jumbotron, and the sound system... it's all true, but it's still a bunch of 18-to-23-year-old guys down there who work really hard and a coaching staff that works really hard that are out there trying to do their best to win games.

The one thing I've learned over time is we can have a 12th man. We have one of the greatest game day atmospheres when we get that thing going the right direction. For our fan base, our students, everybody, we need you on your feet at the right times. We need you loud in the key moments, the third downs, when our defense is trying to stop somebody in the red zone, when our defense is trying to stop somebody, the celebrations after big plays that we make, and then understanding when our offense is on the field, letting them hear each other. Be loud at the right times. Yes, it is about entertaining the fans, but it's more entertaining when we win, and so that home field advantage needs to be that. We're not asking for your criticism on game day. We're asking for your support on game day. So many times you see, and I go to games, too — I go to NFL games and high school games — man, it's like everybody knows what the coach should be doing. Everybody knows what the player should have done, and you don't. I'm not criticizing you; you're trying to be a fan. But if you want to help us win, criticize the opponent, support the players, support the coaches, encourage them and allow them to have that backing. I think that's something we can be better at, and I'm so thankful to our fans for the support and what they do.

We're riding a wave right now, man, I think one of the coolest things I was able to be a part of was at the men's basketball Elite Eight game in Dallas. I’m in the section there where the parents of the men's basketball team were around me, and I could just hear them cheering for each other's kids throughout the game. It was so cool to hear D.J. Burns' dad screaming at other players in a positive way throughout the game, encouraging them. That's what "One Pack, One Goal" is, in my mind. It’s a united mission to win a championship, and that's everybody: everybody that works here, everybody that cheers for us. All of us are a part of winning a championship, and you all got a feel what that's like this offseason with so many of our sports. I'm so proud of them. Let's go together into this march of four months of football which could turn into five months of football now. It's the longest football season in college football history coming up, going all the way into the second academic semester for the first time ever. It's going to be a lot, and so we ask for everybody to understand that, and it's not a sprint; it's a marathon. I'm excited to have a football team like we do, a staff like we do, and a fan base like we do. Let’s get the stadium rocking. Let's make it really hard for these other teams. Our students, you guys are the heartbeat. You're the pulse of game day. You really are. Remember that. Get out there, have fun, and get those people up.

With our football team, I love the way that our transfers have integrated into our team. I was worried about that, and we worked really hard to single out the right type of guy. We call them "our kind of guys," guys that fit not just our team, but the mantra that we have of working. I also love how our returners have embraced those guys, and it's really been fun to see what they do together and how they've come in, the older players, and just jumped right in the middle of it. In some ways, it’s enhanced. Some things, in some ways, changed for them. It's about earning trust, player-to-player, player-to-coach, coach-to-player. There have been open arms in that from all sides.

I love the way our captains were voted on. There were a lot of guys on our team that earned votes, but I spoke a lot to the team about what leadership looks like, and having guys that really walked the walk. We got to see a great vision of that last year with Payton [Wilson], not just as a football player, but how he stood up for teammates, how he played on the field, how he talked about his teammates, and all those things. It was incredible to be a part of, and I'm proud of Davin Vann, Grayson McCall, Zeke Correll, and Sean Brown for getting the most votes. There were a lot of guys that got some. There's a lot of good leadership, and we got to see that throughout the offseason with guys leading their position groups with Aydan White and Devin Boykin in the secondary, Caden Fordham and [Devon] Betty in the linebackers, Jordan Waters [in the running back room], and Tim McKay in the offensive line [with] Anthony Belton. There's so many guys that’ve really developed that way. That's part of this as a coach because leadership is easy when things are good. As you know, adversity's going to happen at some point, and that's when the leaders have got to be their best, from myself down.

Let’s talk about our first opponent. Western Carolina was seven-win team last year. They were the No. 1 offense in seven statistical categories in FCS last season. They did a tremendous job offensively and scored a ton of points. Their quarterback returns, and he's a coach's kid, Cole Gonzales. I know his father well; Billy's a really good receiver coach, and you can see that Cole's a coach's son. He's a leader. He understands the game. He manages the game. He gets the ball in playmakers' hands. They run a very fast, uptempo system which you guys see a lot. They get the ball in space, the playmakers. They’ve got a head coach that's a vet. [Kerwin Bell] has coached a lot of places. He's done a great job. He's done a really good job with this program, bringing Western Carolina up to where they are.

I'm excited to see us play. The game, obviously, is coming quick. Game days are a gift, and these kids work really hard for 12 guaranteed opportunities to play which means they're training for 340-plus days to play 12. The games bring out the truth. They're really opportunities to see where you're at. It's not an indication of where you're going to end up, by any means, but that first game tells you a lot. I've always felt that, in college football or pro football, a lot more games are lost than won through self-inflicted things, and that's something we've worked really hard on as a football program.

I don't know if I've ever spent more time on situational football. As you know, the two-minute warning is new to college football, and so all these different things, from helmet communication to the sideline tablets to the two-minute warning, are really helping our guys be in as many game-like situations where we can go through those steps, be ready for them, and to be the best team that we can be. We have to put a premium on eliminating self-inflicted things. That's execution and unforced errors. It's really what we're talking about. The things that matter, as you know — and it's really been a big thing here — turnover margin and explosive plays, then the pre- and post-snap penalty pieces of the game, and playing really good on special teams. Those are things that we put a lot of time into.

You talk about our roster in general, it's an interesting group of guys. You look at the O-line in particular, I think it's the oldest offensive line room I've had. We have seven guys that are grads in there. Four of them are starters. They have a lot of college time, a lot of experience under their belt. I like that. It's really a thinking position. It's going to be fun to have that experience there. Coach [Garett] Tujague and coach [Robert] Anae work really well together with that front.

Anthony Belton had the best training camp he's had. Anthony Carter really improved himself this offseason. Zeke Correll comes in, gets voted captain. He started 30 games at his previous school and has a chip on his shoulder to finish his career the right way. Tim McKay really worked hard this off season on things he wants to improve. He moved from tackle to guard midseason and now has a body of work that he knows how to work with. Jacarrius Peak became a starter in the middle of our season last year. He did a really good job for us. Those five guys will start.

At quarterback, Grayson comes in with a wealth of accolades. He’s not only our starter but a captain. He's fun to coach. He's a football guy. He's got great experience. He's a winner. He's got grit running through his veins. He's tough. another guy with a chip on his shoulder. Wasn't recruited at this level out of high school in Charlotte. Now comes in with an opportunity to play against a lot of coaches that didn't recruit him. It's fun to be a part of that with a guy that's a three-time Player of the Year in his league. He’s a very humble guy.

The backfield and the receiver room, tight end room, all those rooms have been made over through the portal and through development. Jordan Waters, excited he's here. He did damage to us a year ago, so it's nice to have him on our sideline. He's a complete player. He does a lot of good things with and without the football. Kendrick Raphael gained 10 to 12 pounds in the offseason and did a nice job improving throughout training camp. Hollywood Smothers is really athletic. He brings some things to the table back there as a change of pace and a kickoff returner. He does some good things as a receiver out of the backfield. You've heard me talk about Duke Scott. Duke's going to be a really good back for us. Physically, he's ahead of the curve. Once he gets in these games and starts playing you'll see why we're excited. Demarcus Jones is a utility knife, Jordan Poole, those guys do a lot of things for us.

Justin Joly, who we actually played against a year ago in the opener, another guy I'm glad he's on our sideline. He also had a really good fall camp. Presents a bigger body that can run and catch. Juice Vereen has improved a ton. I’m really proud of Juice and his growth in the offseason. Those two guys can take advantage of reps and keep each other fresh. You can see on the depth chart that our big tight end position, Matt McCabe has really done a good job for us on the edges. He's playing guard, he's playing tackle, and he's playing tight end. He can do a lot of things. Isaiah Shirley plays both ways for us. You'll still see that with Isaiah. He's not listed that way but he will be able to do that still. Dante Daniels and Reid Mitchell. Those five guys allow us to do some things in heavier sets in the run game and in protection.

Then, the overhaul in the receiver room. I'm proud of Dacari [Collins] and his development, his growth. He came on towards the end of the season last year and became a bigger target. He's always been a good blocker for us. You add competition that we added there with Noah Rogers, Wesley Grimes, Keenan Jackson and Terrell Anderson on the outside. They're doing a really good job competing. We'll be able to have a nice rotation. In the slot, K.C. [Concepcion] and Jalen Coit, Jonathan Paylor. Another room that has competition in it.

We're going to be able to rotate. We're going to need to be able to rotate in these games. Now it's about consistency. You got a lot of guys. Who's going to be the most consistent performer? That's what games are about, finding that out. You have what you think is going to happen coming out of practice and then what actually happens coming out of games. Sometimes they're the same. Sometimes they're not.

Coach Anae and his staff have done a really good job evolving and tweaking our system, looking at our talent, how that's changed and how our offense needs to change based on the talent. What are our strengths? Where can we get better? He and Kurt Roper did a great job with the past game. He and Tujague with the run game. Coach Anae's oversight and experience and his creativity along with those guys, it's fun to be a part of that.

On defense, fifth straight year with the same staff led by Tony Gibson. I’m excited for that continuity. I know those guys have another chip on their shoulder about the lack of respect they get with losing one player that was so good. “How are they going to make up for that player's loss?” There's a lot of guys that want to show that to everybody. On the D-line, it's a pretty similar group with a few additions.

"Davin Vann and Travali [Price] are our starting defensive ends, Brandon Cleveland our starting nose. You've seen Noah Potter, you've seen Red Hibbler. Both guys played ball for us last year. Isaiah Shirley towards the end of the year. I’m really happy for D.J. Jackson at nose guard. He's been hurt for his entire career at NC State. He's healthy now and had a really good training camp. I’m excited for him. He brings a change of pace in there, really quick. Chazz Wallace, who we brought in from the portal, is getting better and better. We've got some depth there. At linebacker, Sean Brown makes the transition from safety very seamless. He brings speed to that position group and toughness.

Caden Fordham had a great camp at mike, returning starter and Betty who's played inside and outside. We’ve got three guys with playing experience there. The backups are the guys that we really need to get ready with Jayland Parker, Kelvon McBride, and Kamal Bonner. All three of those guys have had good camps. They’ve gotten a lot of reps in camp but not game reps.

The safety room really has a lot of change in it. We added in that second portal window to help us with the depth there. With Bishop Fitzgerald returning, he's a starter. Devin Boykin returning but not being healthy yet. Donovan Kaufman, we call him D.K., coming in from Auburn as our free safety. Ja'Had Carter coming in as a nickel from Ohio State. TaMarcus Cooley, a nickel coming in from Maryland. K.J. Martin can play free and strong. Terrente Hinton moving from corner to safety, that room's completely different. Looking forward to watching those guys play. There's depth at those positions.

At corner, I feel really good. Ayden's in the best place he's been. He's played well. He's in a really good place right now. Brandon Cisse can play a lot of positions for us in the back end. He's really a good football player. Corey Coley, another transfer from Maryland, and Devon Marshall. Those two guys were both experienced players at their previous institutions. We've got four guys at corner that can play. Jackson Vick has really improved. He’s a guy that was hurt on and off last year, has really stepped up and improved that can help us on special teams.

All defenses now are rotations. You're playing against sometimes 80 to 90 snaps in a game. You're going to be rolling guys in and out of the game. We look at some of these twos as starters in our heads because they're going to play 20 to 40 snaps based on rotation. Even though you have a two deep for a starter and a back up, a lot of times you'll see guys playing equal snaps.

Lastly, the special teams: Kanoah Vinesett has really impressed with his consistency and his mental makeup. He's a guy that really does a good job with his routine. He's the same guy every day. He's got a smooth swing. Coach [Todd] Goebbel calls him the Freddy Couples of kickers. He's got a really nice leg swing that's consistent, that he can repeat and repeat. He's got good strength. He made a 53 yarder in a scrimmage. Caden Noonkester returns. Aidan Arias returns. He snapped in our bowl game. We brought in Jake Mann, who was a snapper at App State last year. He and Aiden have had a great competition. You'll see both of them in the game. Collin Smith returns. Collin has been here for a long time as our kickoff guy. As returners, Jalen Coit and K.C. will be out there in punt situations. Hollywood will be our kickoff returner. That takes you through the entire lineup.

On what he hopes to learn facing the Catamounts...

I hope to learn a lot. There's going to be really good things that come out of the game that we didn't expect and there's going to be things that we've got to fix. How are we going to manage their tempo offense? How are we going to manage things that happen in a game from a negative standpoint? As players you're not having fans and TV and all the things that go on with game day there. How are they going to handle game day in general? Then adversity is different than in practice. In practice, you have a penalty or a drop, and it's next play, just move on. In the game, there's bigger repercussions mentally sometimes. Can they get to the next play? How do they sustain success if they're having it? Do they relax? Do they keep their foot on the gas? If they're not having it, can they snap back and regain it? What's the leadership like on the sideline in the game? What's the leadership like in the huddles and the locker room? The impact of the helmet, the impact of the tablets, all that. We haven't been through a full game with all this stuff. There's going to be a lot of learning, some on the field, some off the field, that comes out of game one. We've got a lot of big tests in front of us. No matter who we play after the first week we want to be better and better and better and better as the season goes on.

On the linebackers embracing the “chip on the shoulder” mentality...

It goes back to Isaiah Moore, Drake Thomas, Levi [Jones], and Payton. There's been a lot of them that have played well [such as] Germaine Pratt, Airius Moore. There's guys that have played really good in our defenses here at that position. You always want to leave things better than you found them. That's it. These guys want to play as well as they can because the standard of that room and all of our rooms is you want that. You want to leave things better than you found them. As players and as coaches, the 'not on my watch' type of thing that something's going to drop off, there's some internal pride about that that guys have. When you hear that you can't do something, that's a good motivator. Those guys are hearing it or reading it. I'm excited to see what they can do. It's their opportunity now. The film is your resume. When you go out there, it's what you get to do. It's what you get to show. It's an indicative thing of what you talk about and all the things that the linebackers and coach are trying to represent. I know they're excited to prove themselves and take the next step.

On importance of experience in modern college football...

One thing you can't do as a coach is make the guy experienced. You can't do that. You play a freshman, he's a freshman. No matter how good he is, that's what he is. There's going to be some mistakes that come with that youth. That is an advantage of bringing in older players. To staying old, there's two ways to do that. There's the developmental piece of bringing younger players up and growing them like we do. That's why you see we still had 18 high school signees in that class. You want to have a blend of guys that have come in, that are in their last year or two and guys that you're going to get to that point as well because they understand. The longevity of being in a program, when you look at some of these guys like the Davin Vann’s, Sean Brown’s, Anthony Belton’s, and Tim McKay’s, guys that have been here a long time, their blood's in the bricks here. They've been a part of building this thing. There's a lot to that, you do not want it to not go your way because of how much you've invested. You need a blend of that. It's okay to have some young guys playing, too. There's some freshness. K.C. brought a lot of juice to our offense last year as a young guy. You can have that. You don't want to be a bunch of that. We had that one year when we had a lot of injuries. That was tough. There wasn't enough experience out there to guide them.

On experienced players bringing transfers into the Wolfpack culture...

It helps a ton. Ultimately, it's their team. I get the opportunity and the blessing of leading the team but when they hit that grass there's nothing I can do for them between the whistles. It's their team between the whistles. When they get in that locker room, it's their team. There's things that they've got to be able to manage. They want this program not just to have standards. They want standards to get elevated. They've got to be the caretakers of that. The guys that have been here the longest, it's their responsibility. It's part of their legacy to give back to the youth of the football team or the newness that comes in through the portal.

On building team chemistry with camping trip

I knew, because of how recruiting was going for us in December with the guys that were calling us as soon as the portal started, that we were going to have something new on our hands. It marinated with me for a while. When the season ended I got away a few days and put some thought into what I need to do differently coming back because it was going to be a different type of team having that many older players come in. I told the staff our calendar that -- because I have a 12-month calendar -- this calendar is going to look different, and here's why. We've got to get these guys closer quickly. I can't just say it. We have to create space for that on the calendar. Not just when we're having meetings where we do real world Wednesday and guys will get up and talk about their lives but getting them out of their comfort zone, getting them out of the building. I had some good help. Jamie Slife, who's a good friend that works with the program. Former Special Forces. I talked a lot about what have you done with other teams? Is there a place I can go with these guys? These guys have no idea what it's like to be in the woods at night. How can I get them somewhere and do something really cool with them? It was his idea. He had been to Camp Rockfish which is down near Fayetteville. It's a huge family camp. They do all kinds of different things down there. They've got 20 plus outdoor leadership courses from climbing walls to flipping tires to whatever he had come up with it. Jamie had done that. Not with the football team. He'd done it with smaller teams, baseball, softball, things like that. He thought it would be really cool if we could do that. We were able to get Jamie and his team and then our team and then go down there for a night. Teach them all kinds of stuff away from football. Get them out of their comfort zone. Let them sleep in bunkhouses with their coaches, by the way. It wasn't just players out of their comfort zone. You’ve got Coach Anae sleeping in a bunk house with a bunch of players and all this stuff going on. The coaches are looking at me like I'm crazy. But I felt like it was something we needed to do. To give them a unique life experience. It was phenomenal. We came out of there as one. We did some interesting things wellness-wise. We've got a really good wellness coach that we've been working with as well that taught the guys breath work. Got them in the cold water. We're all on a lake together, a 55-degree lake. There's guys that were freaking out. You're in a lake in Fayetteville, who knows what's in that water with you? Muddy, smelly, cold, but everybody doing the same thing together. It was really good. We did it right towards the end of spring ball. It's a good way to bring them together before spring ball ended. Then we get ready for the summer program. Coming out of December I felt like nothing was off limits when it came to how we need to get these guys closer. That's one of the things I like to do. I like to do things differently. Just because it worked doesn't mean it's best. Your ingredients on a football team are completely different every year.

On what he's most proud of since coming to NC State...

The consistency. The environment that we have for these guys. It's what I hoped it would be. We want to have a championship trophy in that house with us, too. It's a place where guys can be themselves. It's a place where you teach respect. It's a family environment. I don't say that because coaches say it, it is. People genuinely love each other in that building. We have incredible people working in there. You go from one department to the next department. I don't care if you're talking about nutrition or talking about mental health, talking about the training staff, talking about the strength coaches, whoever it is. Our operations department, our recruiting department, our graphics department, you name it. We have incredibly talented, good people around. I'm proud of that. Those are all the people that I've been able to hire and retain. I’m thankful that I've had the ability to do that with Boo [Corrigan's] help. It's hasn't always been that way. Sometimes you're in there like 'man, I wish we could be better than this.' We got some great people. I get to come to work today and be surrounded by guys I look forward to being around. Not just guys. It's a team of everybodys in there. Very blessed to have the staff that I do.

On acclimating the offensive transfers into the playbook and schemes...

It's been a process. Every time you go to practice sometimes things get uncovered about what a guy can do. Sometimes it takes a player a while to show you what he's really good at. They might be thinking too much or they're not in good enough shape yet to really expose what they can and can't do. It's a process. That's one of the strengths that Coach Anae has. He's very, very pliable when it comes to moving things around and adjusting from routes to blocking schemes to formations, the motions. He's done a lot in his career. He can adjust pretty quickly. It's been a fun process, too. The offense ran through our slot last year for obvious reasons why. He was really, really talented. He could do things with the football. Now it's keeping that in the offense and what else is going to happen with Jordan Waters, with Noah, with Dacari, all these things Justin Joly? It's been fun to watch. It's going to continue to evolve. Game one, we're going to come out of that game with some insight. Then we've got to tweak and change things a little bit for the next one and then continue and continue. You saw a really good visual of that last season. We were completely different in the first half than we were in the second half offensively in not just production but systematically.

On Matt McCabe...

I’m proud of Matt. He's put on 70 pounds of really good weight. Works really hard, earned a scholarship and now he's starting for us at tight end. He's also one of the primary backups inside. If something were to happen he could go play guard. Really proud of him. It's a great story. A year from now if we don't have walk-ons, if that ends up being real, that'll be a story you point to as what we're losing in college football are those kind of stories. I couldn't say enough good things about him. I'm really excited for him. Told him that yesterday. I'm like, “You worked really hard and I can't wait to see what you do.” He's really excited.

On the players playing a tight end/O-line hybrid...

It gives somebody a role that's a sixth man for you on the O-line. Sometimes it also opens up some run game. When you have a blocking tight end like that that can also run -- Isaiah was a tight end in high school. He can catch the football. He's not just a guy that can block. It opens up the run game, play actions. It gives you a really physical three- or four-man surface. Sometimes it can get softer. That's the opposite of what we want it to be. We want to be able to be really physical at the point of attack when we have those guys in the game. They can play on the ball, they can play off the ball. It adds things in the run game which are really important when it comes to sustaining drives and short-yardage or four-minute situations. I'm excited that we have the ability to expand and contract. We can get five really fast dudes out there in the heartbeat. We can get really physical and big in a heartbeat. I like that.

On the freshmen receivers...

All of them are gifted. The thing I like is how coachable they are, how hard they work. Keenan [started fast in the spring and then was out for a while with a soft tissue deal. He, of the three, was the best in fall camp. He was consistent all the way through. Really did a good job this summer getting himself healthy. Terrell had the best spring of the guys. Started camp a little dinged up and then is coming on here the last week or so. Paylor wasn't here in the spring. His first week was like 'oh my gosh. This is what college football is about.' He was so out of shape football-wise. Fast but the stamina that you need. He's learning. Each day he's out there. He's a really coachable guy. He's a really hard worker. He's getting better. All of them, upside, really good.

On Correll earning captainship despite coming into the program injured...

That's impressive. The first thing he did in the spring was learn how to lead from the back. When you're not on the field, it's hard. He was an encourager. He was a guy that was in the meeting room talking to guys. He's played a lot of football. He immediately gets -- this guy has played in 30 games, he's going to have respect because of that. The way he went about trying to help people and then encourage people and then when he was able to go, how hard he goes, how consistent he is, type of person he is, how he carries himself, he's earned it all. It wasn't like we brought him in and said 'here's your center, vote for him.' He's earned it all. I don't know that I've ever seen a transfer miss a portion of the year, especially right when you get there, and get that kind of recognition. It's pretty cool.

On Belton's improvement...

He's in really good shape. His practice habits have become escalated as far as the urgency and the focus. Anthony likes to have fun. He's got a great personality. Sometimes that gets too close to the game for him. Being able to compartmentalize those things. This is work, this is fun and knowing when it's time to do both. He's really growing up. He's had a really good fall camp. I'm excited for him, really excited. He's playing good football right now.

On importance of in-state players

When I came up in the sport at other schools I've worked at and won championships at some of them and helped them build programs, when I looked at those programs they were all heavily tilted to in-state. I don't know exactly why but I think, in my opinion, is because they live where they work. They have to go home to their own towns and they have to talk about their school. There's a lot more people in those towns that want to follow them. When they get back and say 'you guys beat every team in your state' or 'you guys had a great season,' I'm not saying it's pressure, it's reality. When you're from here and you play here, it's different. When you go away they don't forget who you are as a person but they may not follow you. It's not near and dear to them how your team's doing. They wish you well. You're playing for a lot of people when you play at NC State. It's the largest alumni base in the state. It's a lot of people and they care. There's that factor. It was that way at Montana, it was that way. Kansas, it was that way at Wisconsin. Those people and the communities cared. When you get players from there and to why they don't transfer as much, because their families are closer. There's a value to that quality of life you get when you can see whoever that is in your family, that's your person. You see them more often. That helps you in this challenging window of time as a student-athlete because it is. It is challenging. It's a huge, huge window of pressure. Having those people that love them the most close by and then they got to move away, that's why you saw so many kids come back home that left our state and transferred here because they missed that connection at home when they weren't playing in their own state.

If he believes the ACC has a “monster” in its midst...

I didn't even think about it like that. The thing that we've done over time here is be able to beat everyone we played on the schedule at some point in time. There used to be a time where you'd look up and they haven't beaten this team in 10 years. That doesn't happen here anymore. We can beat anybody on our schedule. Our kids believe that. There's a belief. I don't know because I really don't study everybody that we don't play -- and there's some good teams we're not playing too this year -- but I don't look at it that way as much as I look at what are we going to be? I hope that we're a monster for people. I really do. Time will tell. I hope we're a good monster in that way. We're not hurting ourselves along the way. That's why we play the games.

On if not playing against an ACC monster increases the chances of its loftier goals...

It could, but again these are preseason rankings. This is when everybody's teams are pretty much healthy. Who's good today may not be who's good later in the year. We're basing that on what people think of us, not what really is going to be on the field against us. You guys know me well enough to know that I'm not going to base the strength of our schedule on where we're ranked in the preseason or where they're ranked. We'll see when we get to these teams at the end of the year and when we get to the end of the year. That's where you're going to find out how good they are. I wish they'd get rid of preseason rankings, personally. Start ranking teams midway through the year when they've earned who they are. That wouldn't be good for you guys because you'd have nothing to talk about. But it's a lot of false stuff.

On the two-minute warning coming to college football...

You got an extra timeout. Plays that could happen going into the two minutes could be different because there's going to be a stoppage there. You might have a team that throws the ball and passed and now they're going to run the football because there's 2:10 on the clock and it's going to stop. You don't have to get a play that goes out of bounds. You're going to see things like that. You might use a timeout earlier in the half that you wouldn't have because you wanted it later, knowing that you're getting an extra stoppage towards the end. It's going to be interesting. I did a lot with that from February until the end of this training camp. We did a lot of what ifs around the two minutes. How that impacts the team trying to get the ball back. It's down and you're trying to get the ball back for your offense. How much time there would be. it used to be if there's 2:40 on the clock with no time outs you can kneel it out, game over. Now it's got to have a first down with two minutes on the clock. Your game-ending play calling is now different for both sides understanding that. There's going to be some really good management of that and there's going to be some mismanagement of that based on the work people have put in.

On how the players respond to the two-minute warning...

We've practiced it a lot. What I told them is I'm going to get you in these clutch situations a lot and unusual situations a lot so when we end up in them it's not unusual. So that you're comfortable. We've done a lot. We started practicing two-minute on the second day of training camp with the offense and defense. We've had three weeks of work putting them in all kinds of what we call 'situation of the day work' where they can get out there at the end of a half or the end of a game and go through a scenario and be ready for it in real time.

On the excitement for College Football Playoff and his viral comments from the season before...

I'm excited for the college football playoffs. When I was a coach at Montana we played in the FCS playoffs two years in a row. It's fun. It's really cool being in a bigger playoff like that. I'm really excited for sports in general to have a college football playoff. Excited to get on the field with our team. Last year has nothing to do with this year. Every year you got to go out there and prove who you are. Last year I had some opportunities to stand up for our team and I did. I'll continue to do that. That's my job. That's what I feel like my job is to stand up for our football team. I have no problem doing that. Maybe those comments were good, maybe they weren't. But they were comments that I felt were the right things to do at the time. It's funny. I get more popularity out of this stupid stuff I say out there  more than some of the good things that I do. But it's all good. I love this football team like I loved the last one. Each kid on that team is important to me. They work hard for our staff, for our school. We're going to get on that grass together and do the best we can. Whatever that looks like, it looks like. It's going to be a fun season. These kids are into it. It's a good vibe in that locker room right now.