Dave Doeren: "Really Proud Of Our Guys"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media after the Wolfpack's 59-28 home win over Stanford.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
Opening Statement...
Really proud of our guys. We talked a lot during the bye week about starting fast. Working on the little things that have really not been efficient but should be through fundamentals, and getting guys to play complementary football. Focus on the things that make us a better football team.
I'm proud of the guys for doing it. I loved the way we started, opening drive for a touchdown. The way we ran the football, our backs ran really determined. The offensive line gave them good holes and they did stuff with it. Made guys miss. Outran people
I loved how our kickoff return team played today. DK Kaufman set up our offense three times with good returns. One of them was a big momentum play since they scored on the opening drive out of the third quarter. We responded with a 91-yard kickoff return. We played complementary football. We won the turnover margin.
A lot of guys got better today. As a team, we got better. It was good to see a lot of guys make plays, some freshmen making plays on the field. Keenan Jackson one drive had a nice catch on third down and then was the benefactor of that later in the drive with a touchdown catch. Proud of the team. Look forward to building on this. We talked about a five-game season. We've got the first two wins out of those five. Continue to try to stack those things here as we go.
On quarterback CJ Bailey...
Total confidence. When you have the bye week, you're able to drill in on the things he's doing well and build the offense around those things for him.
He's seeing it. Talking to him, the offensive staff, coach [Kurt] Roper, coach [Robert] Anae, spending time with him looking at the film. Here are the things that he sees well. Here are the routes we're running well. Here are different ways we can get guys open. There's nothing we can't call.
When you have opportunities to study yourself, it comes down to ownership. That is what makes us special. These guys are willing to accept the things that they haven't done, put a plan together to improve then they get on the field and they work. I love that about our team.
CJ's a worker. You see this smiling young kid running around making plays but behind the scenes, he's a grinder. He's in there watching film. He practices really hard.
On The Run Game...
We needed that. We've got talented backs. It's been different guys at different times. Sometimes we'll have an explosive run that's called back for a holding penalty, or one guy will get beat on a play. To run the football, it takes everybody doing their job. It's five as one as I like to say. It's five offensive linemen playing with one heartbeat. Those guys did a great job today.
That's a good defensive front. Statistically one of the better rushing defenses in the ACC. You wouldn't know that watching that game. Our guys controlled the line of scrimmage.
We had big holes for guys to run through. You love seeing the backs finish runs like that whether it's running through somebody, making a guy miss or running away from people. That was good to see.
On The Youth...
That's what this program has done in my tenure here, develop players. It takes reps to get better. Keenan (Jackson) pushed through the wall, the freshman wall. You get fatigued and you get tired. You could see it coming out of the bye week that he was that way. I said something to him at practice about it on Tuesday. I'm proud of him. He pushed through that today. He's been a really good blocker for us on the perimeter all year. He's earned respect through the things he does without the ball. Now he's making plays with the ball.
Terrell Anderson, same thing. That guy shows up, doesn't say anything, works hard, catches the football, and makes plays. It bodes well for the future of the program when your younger guys are not only able to get in but to get better and better.
You're seeing that with Hollywood (Smothers) now getting better and better. That's reps. Game reps help you as a player. You get to see the things on film that you've got to work on.
On Potential for growth in final three games...
We've been really close, really close. It's been one thing. Whether it's turning the ball over in the red zone which we did a couple of times in a game that cost us or a penalty at an inopportune time, a lot of our mistakes have been really integral in our failure. Sometimes you get away with things. Sometimes you do. Sometimes there's a holding penalty on a play where you gained one yard. Our holding penalties have been on 25-yard runs. We've had to suffer through some tough things on offense.
Today things clicked. That's what efficiency looks like. That's what it looks like to stack plays and not beat yourself. When you have good players who can stay on the field and stay ahead of the chains, good things happen. I always say this to them, more first downs equals more touchdowns and explosive plays lead to big scores. We were able to have some explosive plays today.
On DK Kaufman...
He deserves it. The kid works his butt off in practice every day. He spends a lot of time on his body. He gets in here early, gets a lot of treatment, prehab, rehab. He works really hard in practice. You love seeing guys who work hard get rewarded. He's helping us in a big way. Not just on defense but that returning position has been a game-changer.
It's been a weird year on special teams. We haven't had a lot of return opportunities. For him to get the ball today and do something with it was awesome.
Payton Wilson...
I do want to say how awesome it was to have Payton Wilson, and his family here today honored and see his name go up on the Ring of Honor, have his parents there and his fiancé, his brother, and his wife. Nobody deserves that more than him.
He's a great story. He is everything that NC State is all about. Blue collar, hardworking and he loves this university. Thankful to be a part of that with Payton and his family. Look forward to seeing his name up on the Ring of Honor.
It's pretty cool to see him and coach (Bill) Cowher and Russ (Russell Wilson) three in a row, all Steelers up there next to each other on the wall. That was pretty special to have that today.