Dave Doeren: "It's a Resilient Bunch of Guys"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media via Zoom following the Wolfpack's 24-23 road win over California Saturday afternoon.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s press conference.
Opening statement
I’m really proud of our players and staff. I’m thankful for their their grit, their perseverance, and the way that they finished. They didn't give up. A lot of things went wrong there, turnover-wise. It put us in a tough spot defensively. The offense got going once we got behind two scores. It was great to see that, back-to-back. We started playing complementary football with a scoring drive to make it one-possession. The defense gets a stop, and we get another scoring drive. We needed some luck. We haven't had any all year. Thankfully, they missed a kick, and it still was a game. We weren't able to close it out [on offense]. It's disappointing we didn't finish with a first down there and put our defense back on the field. It’s a resilient bunch of guys: gritty, tough, banged up. It’s time for a bye week. We’re excited we have one. It's a long trip out here. We’re looking forward to getting home and having a little break before we finish these last four games.
On C.J. Bailey's composure...
He doesn't flinch. He believes in himself. He believes in his teammates. He believes in his coaches. He stays positive. He's got that “it factor” when it comes to how he manages things and overcomes. Even when he makes a bad play, it doesn't rattle him. He's tough. He's going to be a hell of a player. He's tough. Even in the first half, he was 11-for-13. We didn't have a lot of points, but he was doing a good job and getting used to what they were doing on defense. That's a good defense; they were only giving up 17 points a game, and they’re one of the top defenses in the country with takeaways. C.J. really played well today.
On younger players embracing the team’s foundational culture...
I'm proud of them. The identity of our program is “Hard, Tough, Together.” That's way before I got here. You know the story of Philip Rivers giving that speech to our team when I was here; it's something that's resonated. We look for it in recruiting. Sometimes, we fail. Sometimes, you've got to teach it to them. You've got to ingrain it to them. You rely on the staff, the strength staff, the captains, the leadership council, and everybody. The Wolfpack's not for soft people. Sometimes, we don't play the way that we need to, and it's on me to get that right. You saw that after the Clemson game. Our identity came out in that NIU game. I really thought we were about to go on a run. We've had to endure some tough things, injury wise, over the last two weeks with Grayson [McCall] and Caden Fordham. I’m really proud of this team. They stepped up today and did some really special things. It's a great win.
On the skill players making plays...
“Are you a player or are you a playmaker?” In these kind of games, players have got to make plays to win. You saw some of those things happen. You saw Justin Joly making some plays. That play by Hollywood [Smothers], it was a great play call, first of all, by Robert [Anae]. They were bringing a lot of pressure in that down and distance. C.J. did a good job buying time and delivering a good football to Hollywood in the flat. It was a pick mesh concept, and he did the rest. That's what we're hopeful for with some of these guys that we've recruited is that they can be explosive players, so that was great to see.
On how the seasonal goals have adjusted...
We just turned it into a five-game season. How good can we be for five weeks with two byes? I showed them where we were at statistically, and some of them weren't very pretty. “Let's take another picture of this in five weeks and see what we really are.” If we do things the right way — if we win the turnover margin, if we continue to improve, if we make plays like you saw us make in key moments in that game — it felt pretty good last year winning five in a row, but you've got to win the first one to get there and to have a chance. We got the first one, now a little break. Now, we'll go for another one. We’ll keep it one week at a time, trying to get better and finish games, and see if we can get on a run again. It's easier said than done. We're a beat-up football team. We need to get healthy right now before we think about the next opponent. That's the number one thing is get these guys some mental and physical rest.
If the mistakes against the Golden Bears were mental miscues...
"No. I don't think dropping a punt has anything to do with mental. Jalen Coit is a really dependable punt returner. He's never muffed a punt in his career. It was a tough play; the ball hung up there in the wind. Sometimes, those things can happen. It's a bad break, and field-position wise, that put us in a bad spot.
On the toll of traveling out west...
It's a long flight, man: 5-1/2 hours and a 45-minute bus ride. It's a lot of travel. I'm glad we have a bye week on the backside of it. I feel more sorry for Cal and Stanford, to be honest, because they've got to do this a lot more than we've got to do it going to all their games. It's tough. It's a lot of travel. The time change really didn't hurt us. Being able to come out on Thursday was great. I’m thankful for that. I didn't feel like that was a factor as much as the amount of time you're sitting on an airplane, sitting in a bus, and things like that. The guys, obviously, did a good job. Our staff did a good job. The nutrition, strength staff, and everybody pitched in. Players sucked it up. You've got to get them a lot of credit.