VIDEO + QUOTES: Dave Doeren's Weekly Quotebook
NC State head coach Dave Doeren addressed the media for his weekly press conference to discuss the Wolfpack's win over Louisiana Tech and its upcoming matchup versus No. 21 Clemson.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s presser.
Opening Statement...
I'd like to start thanking our fans, parents, students, recruits that were at the game and great home game atmosphere. I really appreciate the folks that were there the whole game and for their commitment. It was a great comeback win, and guys rallied as a football team. That is what we needed in that moment. comebacks are all about responding and showcasing grit and resiliency, which has been a calling card of our program, one that we didn't show the week prior, and so something that was talked about a lot coming out of the last loss. I was proud of the way the guys came together as a staff, as a team, and there was some key leadership, which we'll talk about at some point, I'm sure. The way that we came back and played as a unit, offense, defense, special teams, sideline, energy, down two scores, and missing some key players said a lot about the fight in our football team.
La. Tech did a great job in the first half. Obviously, we hurt ourselves in some areas. I thought we started fast, you know, three straight completions. One's an explosive and then we have a penalty, which brings back a 20-yard gain and goes from 1st and 10 to 1st and 25 which is a drive killer and things that we have to fix. Playing good in the first quarter on offense was not a strength of ours. Going into that game, we started fast, and then we really self-implode when you have a penalty, particularly one that didn't need to happen, and so an area we need to improve.
I thought we played complementary football in the second half, and our will to win in that locker room and on that football field was palpable. Very proud of our team in the locker room. As captains first, Sean Brown did a great job talking to the group right away when they got in there. Davin Vann, offensively, guys speaking up, and you could just feel their willingness to be different than they were the week prior. We played complimentary football, and that's something we have to do for four quarters or longer or however long it takes. Your captains have to be captains in those moments. You see, the first drive of the second half, we go three and out. Davin Vann comes free on a pass rush hits the quarterback and for the second straight week he's had an interception created through his quarterback pressure. That second week in row was a pick six as well. Great play by Donovan Kaufman.
Then the next drive, the defense is right back out there, three and out. Offense goes on the 13 play drive, converts on third and short consecutive, two straight times in that drive, which is an area we wanted to be better in and were, and scores a touchdown. That takes the two score game and flips it the other way. We scored on every possession in the second half. Offensively, we possessed the ball, played way more physical with every position group on that side of the football and am really proud of a lot of things over there in the perimeter, especially defensively. We held him to three points in the second half and had a really good goal line stand. I thought that was a key something we needed to do on defense. Caden Fordham made a play down there and got him off the goal line.
C.J. Bailey came in, played fast, obviously, he had the one interception, but besides that, I thought he made really good decisions. He threw the ball well. He gave his guys opportunities. He used his legs when he needed to to get us some first downs, and to have a comeback victory with the freshman quarterback and both backup corners in the game. I thought that was impressive as a football team. It wasn't just the three guys that came in. Obviously, they had a lot to do with it. The next man up always does. Sometimes when injuries take place, the guys around them will start trying to do too much, and I felt like it was the opposite. They trusted them. They did their jobs. They played really hard, and their will to win was there.
I was really upset coming out of our last loss, obviously, when you lose like that, there's a lot of things to be mad about, but to me, it was more about how we played, the lack of physicality that we played with. It was the opposite, and it was demanded, and the guys understood it, and they did a great job being resilient and playing to the standard of competitive football, which is physical football at NC State. When you watch our film, that's the first thing you should see, if you're an opponent, is that we're going to play hard. We're going to play really hard. And that's something we've always done. I felt like we did that in that football game.
You can see it in the statistics. Talking about winning the line of scrimmage. They rushed the ball for less than two yards per carry. We rushed it for over four yards of carry. Those kinds of things showed up. I stood on that line of scrimmage a lot in that football game to see which way it was going, and the knock back and the strain continuing to move my man a direction he doesn't want to go. And at the end of the day, it's what football is. It's two people across from each other trying to impose their will. It's a physical sport, and it's got to be played that way.
I thought on offense, our perimeter blocking was exceptional, and it's not something that gets talked about a lot, but it was. I thought the Dacari Collins and Keenan Jackson put on a display perimeter blocking in that game. Noah [Rogers], K.C. [Concepcion], Wesley [Grimes] and Terrell [Anderson] all did a great job in going in there and doing some things that you're not recruited to do as a receiver, and that's part of running the football. We improved, and we've got to improve more, but we did get better. We caught the football well, we made some good contact catches in the game. We got some good yards after the catch. Justin Joly had a really nice catch on a second and long to get us into a third and short. Then he had a nice catch that turned into some yards after the play with some good running. I thought all three backs came in and ran hard, protected the football, blocked well, and passed protected.
I loved the final drive of the game. We get the ball back with over four minutes, and don't give them the ball. Good complimentary football. Negatives on offense, the four penalties. One of them is on our staff. We didn't substitute at the right time and got a penalty there. We had the one personal foul, and then the two holding penalties. Those kinds of penalties kill drives. You've got to overcome a lot, and those are things we've got to be better at. We only had four penalties in the game, so from that standpoint, it was a pretty clean football game. The ones we had were drive killers with Grayson [McCall]. He got dinged up, and I'm not going to get into the injury. It's good news on him. It's a day-to-day thing. We're going to take our time, and when he's ready, he'll be ready. C.J. is ready to play, and he's our quarterback until that happens, and we're behind them.
The thing I would ask, it's not about the quarterback, it's about cheering for the guy that's in the game, and when the guy's out of the game, or if a guy's injured on our football team, pray for that guy to get healthy. I think you know, as fans, sometimes fans don't understand, that that's a player that loves our football team, and he loves playing the sport. When you're a sixth-year player, man, it's hard when you can't be out there. The way he came back and cheered on C.J. shows a lot about his character. He's a great teammate. He's one of us and as a football program, anytime somebody goes down, especially a guy that's in his last year, it's not a season ending thing, but it's a day-to-day thing. We're going to take our time with it. C.J. is going to run the show until Grayson's healthy, and I'm excited to see what C.J. can do.
Whoever that quarterback is wearing the red and white, the fans need to have his back. They need to be supportive. They need to pray for those kind of things when they happen. That's what family does. I was really proud of the way that the team rallied around C.J. At halftime, when he knew it was his time to play. He had a big smile on his face. He was ready for the moment. Now he gets to go do it on the road against a really good football team in a tough environment.
Defensively, two takeaways, a fourth down stop. Really good fourth down stop on a play action pass out of an exotic formation showed really good discipline. The goal line stand I talked about, we stopped the run. I thought we tackled better for the most part. There was one play that was, I would call disgusting on our part, where we missed four tackles. I thought the pick six by DK was a great football play. Davin straining, balls up and then does a good job himself, finding a lane and then taking care of the football. The guys played with a lot of strain on defense. They made plays on some one-on-one balls. We lost one down the sideline where Corey [Coley] fell down, but for the most part, we were in the right place. We played with poise. We didn't have pass interference calls. I thought our gap integrity was better and our eye discipline was way better.
The negatives, the one explosive pass I talked about, should have been tackled. Third down defense got better, but, can continue to get better. It's an area that's not talked about a lot, but it did improve. You know, Aydan [White] will be back this week. [Brandon] Cisse, it looks like he'll be fine, and so we should be back to full strength on that side of the football.
Special teams. I'm proud of Kanoah [Vinesett] again. He's just very steady. And two 30-plus yarders and a 52-yarder, points matter. Collin Smith's done a great job again with our kickoffs, not just with his depth and touchbacks, but location has done a nice job. I thought our coverage units were better. We played with much more speed and urgency getting down the field. The return games really been a non-factor. Unfortunately, just a lot of touchback kicks against us but Jalen Coit did a really nice job as a punt returner, making some smart decisions when he was in there.
Now, we get ready for Clemson at their place, a great place to play football. We have great respect for their coaching staff and their players. It's a trophy game. It's the only trophy game we have, and it means a lot to the universities playing in it, the Textile Bowl. It's going to be a great matchup and a very talented team that we're playing, and for us, we just got to focus on getting better and playing four quarters or overtime, if it takes overtime, and just being as clean as we can, playing as hard as we can, straining as hard as we can, and just being a little better version of ourselves each week. This is a team that will get better. NC State football teams over the years, we pride ourselves on improving as the year goes on. That takes an internal focus. It takes guys that are willing to admit the things that they got to do better, coaches fixing things schematically. It's evolving over the course of the season, and we got to play a full game. We've had spurts in games where we looked really good and spurts we looked really bad.So that's the evolution of this football team is, learning the new parts, the new parts learning how to play together better, and how we play NC State football, hard, tough together.
It's going to be a loud environment. They're coming off a game where they looked unstoppable, and they scored 50 plus points in the first half against a good Appalachian State football team, and they were explosive in that game. Offensively, they played some young receivers that really took the top off of coverages. I thought [Cade] Klubnik threw the ball extremely well in that football game. He's very accurate. Showed touch, he showed range. We all know he can run and can throw. Their tight end, [Jake] Briningstool, he’s a good player. He made plays on us a year ago. The tailback, [Phil] Mafah, he's a load. He's tough, a big kid. You’ve got to wrap him up with a lot of blocking schemes. I think Matt Luke is a really good offensive line coach, and in addition to their staff, and they've got a good system. I think obviously, like every team, you're seeing them grow, and it's unique to be in our fourth game, and to say that we're playing our second straight opponent with the bye weeks. Kind of weird to have teams with buys this early in the season back-to-back. So there'll be some adjusting, I'm sure, for us, with them having an extra week to play us.
This game is going to be about, matching up, making plays, being physical, and not letting the noise of the environment dictate things. You can go down there and get a bunch of penalties. You've got to really stay locked in and focused on what you're doing. I'm excited about the opportunity to go get better with this team. This team really cares about improving. We put a lot on them. Last week, there was a lot to improve, and no different, we've shown what we can do and we showed what we can't. I think that's the thing. As players, you have to have ownership and where your improvement is needed, and we have a lot to work on. That's what I like about this team. This team likes to work. They really do. They're a fun group to coach. Now we get a chance to go do that again and put it to the test. Arguably one of the harder places to play in the ACC against a really good football coach in Dabo [Swinney], and I have a lot of respect for him and his staff and what they stand for. So looking forward to the opportunity and the challenge.
On who will start at quarterback versus the Tigers...
C.J. will start the game, and it's his team. And like I said, we'll take it one day at a time with Grayson, and when he's ready to play, he'll be back, and you know, it's all hands-on deck.
On preparing Bailey for Death Valley...
They’ve got a great defensive line, and they do a lot of blitzes. They're bringing stuff from all over the place, so we got to give them all the looks. We got to show them all the things that not just him, the whole line, and the protections with that. Obviously, crowd noise is going to be a part of what we're doing every day, making sure our cadence functions in the noise that we're going to be dealing with. Then just schematically, doing the things that he's best at, giving him the best pictures that he can have, and then letting him play ball. That's the one thing about him. He's a football player, and that kid understands the game. He's a winner, and he's excited. I mean, that's kid that's excited to play the game, and I'm excited for him. As a team, you just go out there and you do everything you can, staff wise, to set them up for success, and you know what the challenges are, and you try to give them every look possible so that he can be successful and play fast on Saturday.
On reviewing Bailey’s tape...
Yeah, it's what he's done in practice. It's great to know that the stuff that he's doing practice carries in the games, because obviously you're not getting hit in practice as a quarterback. He's a tough kid. He's competitive. Obviously, his height gives him an advantage to see some things too, but he's been like that since he got here, and it's just reps and reps and reps and reps and how much you want to put on him. He's a fast learner. He loves the game, and he took what he's done in practices and scrimmages to the live environment. I mentioned this after the game. I do think it was great that he got to play in the Tennessee game. You know that he got to go up against that kind of talent speed and see it firsthand. I mean, that's the best preparation you can give a guy is the reps in a game.
On Fordham...
I think you saw how much we missed him in game one, right when he was out, and he had his best game. He played physical, he tackled well, he was all over the field, pursuit-wise. He got his hands on some balls, past breakups, and the mike position in that defense is going to be around the ball a lot, and he's a disruptive guy, and he's really smart football player. But I thought Davin Vann and Caden played really, really good when you look at how they strained in the box, and when you're disruptive in the box, it helps things immensely. But I was proud of him, and we need that from him. I mean, he's got to play that way, and he's one of the more experienced linebackers we have.
On Devon Marshall...
He was the player of the game for us this week. I thought he was right where he was supposed to be. Played poised, played hard. Lot of times a guy will get in the game, and at the moment of truth, he'll grab a guy and he's nervous about giving up a play. He played with technique. He did a really nice job. I mean, he was the one on that fourth and one play action, they motioned the guy in. He ended up on a tight end that was in a tackle position, covering them on a play action pass and play that a lot of players would have their eyes in bad spots. He did a really good job showing discipline, and Jackson Vick came in and played in our dime package and did some really good things. They both had big plays in the game on third and fourth downs.
On McCall’s injury...
Every injury is different, and I'm not the one that goes down there and says, this is what we're doing. We have complete faith and trust in Justin Smith and our docs, we got incredible doctors here, and whatever they say is what we're going to do. My focus is on just being supportive for all these kids. You know, when they're out, Aydan White was out last week, and Devan Boykin’s out, and Grayson, you got to be there for these guys, and they're each different. Even though you've had a player with a similar injury in the past, it's a different player. So you just be there for them, you're supportive, you get them the care they need, and when they're ready to play, they're ready to play, you know? I think that's the thing, is trying to get these guys back. I've been injured as a player, it's terrible. It sucks. You feel removed from everything, and you know, as a head coach, I'm very, very understanding of that. You try to be there for them, but each injury is different to your point, and you just have to let the doctors tell you what the timeline looks like. In his case, we've gotten good news, it's just, how long does it take?
On pass protection versus the Bulldogs...
There were a couple plays in that game where they got free on us and got some hits that you know ended up whether it's a sack or a hit. You don't wnat your quarterback on the ground, right? So you look at all that, I do think we've had good pockets throughout the season. We've gotten beat like everybody has, but overall, our pass protection has been good. We've had time to get rid of the football. Our quarterbacks have done a good job throwing it away for the most part when they couldn't extend plays with their feet, but that really hasn't been the issue as much as an efficient run game. That got better in this game. You know, we were rushing the ball below our standards going into that football game, and I thought it got better and better as that game went on and again, you rush for over four yards of carry. That's what you're looking for.
On the offensive line’s push compared to the Tennessee game...
We got better. I think it's a multitude of things, and it's not just the O line. Let's make that clear. When you run the football, sometimes there's a tight end in there, there's a second back in there, sometimes there's a receiver you're asking to block a perimeter player. If it was as easy as one player on the O line to fix, it'd be fixed. It's a collective thing. Running the football and we did get better. Our tracks were better. I thought we missed one read at running back. We could have had a pretty big run if we would have stayed on our track, but the timing of running the football and all the things that are happening with blitzes and stunts and picking those up with the speed they come at you, wasn't good in the first two games. It got better in the third game. And to your point, that's were we just have to keep getting better, keep getting better and stay efficient, stay on the positive side of efficiency when it comes to calling plays. It helps as a play caller, when it's second six plus or minus, versus the other way around, we're at Second and eight, second to nine, Second and 10. That was a big point emphasis with coach Anae, is we need to be efficient. If he can get efficient down in distances, we'll score more points. That's what you saw happen in the second half. And the guys know that, and we just got to keep pushing on them, and they got to keep doing their part, just to block, you know, it's strain, and get your hard hat in the right place. I'm not satisfied by any means with the run game. I'm happy it got better. You know, I saw the improvement. If you watch every position, it got better. I mean every position; the guys were straining. They were fighting to stay on their blocks and push guys down the field. And that's what it takes. If you do that over time, and you get into the fourth quarter, then it really takes over a game when you need it to by wearing people down. So progress and that's good.
On approaching the Clemson game, given recent history against the Tigers...
I don't think the last 10 years matter. I mean, every team's got so many new parts, and it what matters is the guys on your team that have played against these teams. You have a lot of players that have played well against Clemson, obviously, we need to get the job done down there, and that's something we haven't done, and we've been close, close doesn't get it done. So it's more about, how do we win this football game and focus on those things? How can we play better for four quarters instead of two quarters here, two quarters there? You know how you win a game against a good football team is you don't turn the football over, you play physical, you don't give up explosive plays for scores. You're really efficient with your special teams departments, with your field position, and that's the focus of winning. It's not 10 years ago. What's happened these guys were eight years old. You know, that's not going to help us win the football game.
On previous years’ success againt Clemson...
Beating them in the past helps. There was a time where I don't know how many in a row was that we'd lost to them, where it seemed like a mountain we couldn't climb, you know? That's not the case anymore. We know that we can beat them. We also know that they're really good team, and playing them at home, they're even a better team. So, you got to play a certain way. I think that's where playing Tennessee earlier helps us, because we have seen a really good team on the field already, and so their level of speed and size and the combination of both isn't going to be shocking going out there. But we know what Clemson's program has been, and how good their talent is, and what kind of game we have to play. Playing against the team like them, and a lot of respect for their football team, and what Dabo has done there.
On playing multiple quarterbacks in a season...
That's an unfortunate thing to be used to. I had a run there for a while with Jacoby Brissett and Ryan Finley where we didn't have that problem, and now we have. I don't know if that helps or not helps. I do think there's a history with the next man in playing really good ball for us. That's what we expect. I think all of our kids completely believe in C.J. and know that he'll go in and play his butt off. Lex Thomas is our next quarterback, and so Lex has been, getting reps all year, all through spring, all through fall camp, he's ready to go, and so that's what we'll look like until Grayson's healthy.
On the years with consistency at quarterback...
Well, you got to have depth for one because you're always one play away from the next guy being in competition in depth. You got to recruit well at that spot, and you got to coach them all like they could play. Here's our starter, and you may not get in unless we're winning. You got to coach them all like you're going to play in this game. And we've been able to do that. We've had success over the years, not just with our backup, even our three in one year, our fourth came in and played a really good game. So, you know, Kurt Roper is a really good quarterback coach. He'll have the guys ready to play. They'll be excited for their opportunity, and we'll put a package together that they can execute at high level.
On the receivers stepping up...
Yeah, it was great to see the outside receivers. When I said this to K.C. yesterday, you’ve earned a lot of respect because of how good a player you've been, and there's more people. When you're playing a drop eight team like La. Tech it's easier to remove and have a linebacker under him, a safety over him, reroute a player, a guy over the top of them, or to bracket them. We've got to be really creative, which is [Robert Anae’s] favorite thing to do, is be creative. We got to find ways to move him around and make it hard for teams to key on them. And at the same time, there's going to be players that are benefactors of that. If people do that, there's a lot of one on ones and other position groups, whether it's the tight end with Joly, the outside receivers the running backs. We got to win our one on ones when we get them, those guys, and we'll find ways to continue to get K.C. the ball and it can't just be on screens, you know we got to get them the football down the field. That's our job.
On facing Clemson early in the season...
We're going to play them somewhere in that list. I have opened the ACC with them several times, and so it's not the first time doing this. I don't know it's wherever the scheduling rubric decides to throw them on there. We got to play them. I don't know if it matters, to be honest with you, having them early, having them late, playing a noon game down there, it's going to be hot. So that adds a little bit of an element to it, versus playing them later in the year down there, where it may not be a weather type thing that can test you a little bit. So that part of it's probably the only negative to it. It's just the weather that you get at noon in South Carolina versus playing them maybe in October of November. But it's early in the season. It's the first opportunity to play an ACC game. I think we open with them in a few years to start the season, if I'm not mistaken, like in 2028 and so wherever they put them, we got to line up and play.