VIDEO + QUOTES: Dave Doeren's Weekly Quotebook

NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media via Zoom for his weekly press conference in which he discussed the Wolfpack's win over Stanford and its upcoming matchup versus Duke.

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

Opening Statement

I'm very proud of our staff and team in the way that we played. It felt good to play complementary, 11-man football for four quarters against Stanford. Winning always feels good, but winning that way, where you get to see all three phases start fast, [is even better].

The opening kickoff return, D.K. Kaufman was exceptional in the game: three returns for 164 yards. The opening play of the game — we talked all week about starting fast — he set it. He set the table for the offense. The offense goes down and scores a touchdown. The defense comes out and stops them. Davin [Vann] has a sack and forced fumble on that opening defensive drive which allowed us to build a 14-point lead quickly.

They played complementary football, setting each other up in all three phases, and kept doing that throughout the game in different parts. Winning the turnover margin, a critical piece of winning, we were able to do that. We had no turnovers on offense with our starters. The line of scrimmage — Stanford had done a good job going into our game of stopping to run — that was something we were able to do very, very well. I thought our special teams really helped us in that game. Three kickoff returns, like I mentioned, one of them coming off of a score by them to open a third quarter... we get a 91-yard return to set up our offense. Things that you talk about, you stress over and over and over, it's great to see it come alive during the game. It's a great recipe for success, obviously.

I was really proud of our offensive line, tight ends, and receivers on how they blocked for the ball carriers and ball catchers throughout the game. Our two running backs were explosive. They ran hard and played good without the ball as well, Hollywood Smothers and Jordan Waters both. Explosive plays occur when your perimeter blocking is exceptional, and it was. Guys were straining. They're flying around. I’m proud of those guys. C.J. [Bailey] had a really good day, 18-of-20. He protected the football as a runner. He gave his guys chances to make plays. When your protection keeps your quarterback in the pocket where he can stand and throw the way that we did, it helps. Other than one play, we had a touchdown that we could have had. It's unfortunate because K.C. [Concepcion] ran a great route, he was wide open, and we got beat on one protection. Other than that, we really protected well in the game.

Defensively, we forced two turnovers. We had two good fourth-down stops. I was disappointed in the two explosive runs that they had. We've got to leverage the ball like we did most of the game on those plays, and those are knocked down. We didn't. Our secondary did not do a good job on those particular plays of getting it down. It looks bad when those kind of things happen. We need to get that fixed. I know Coach [Tony] Gibson is working hard on that with the guys. It really turned into a wildcat offense for Stanford; we didn't anticipate they'd be running their quarterback for four quarters the way they did. There's adjustments that we made in the second half. We played better. There were a lot of plus-one runs which is unique in a game.

To see us break the school record for points in an ACC game with a true freshman at quarterback was impressive. We had nine drives and scored all nine times. We were able to play a lot of players. On top of that, it was a special day in the stadium. Getting to see Payton Wilson and his family recognized for being put in the Ring of Honor, nobody else deserves it more, in my opinion, for all the things that he stood for in this program, the way that he locally led and backed his teammates, the adversity he went through, being an in-state player, and what he's doing now in the NFL. It was great to see his family, great to see his fiance, his brother, his brother's wife and child. It was a really special moment on the field. To see Chancellor [Randy] Woodson and his wife Susan honored also at the game, I've been very fortunate to have the same chancellor my entire tenure. Randy's a great leader. He's taken on an incredible responsibility in the time he's been here and done remarkable things at our university. He's been a true friend. I really appreciate the opportunity not only to work at NC State, but for one chancellor the entire time. That's unique. A lot of times in a coach's tenure, especially when you've been somewhere over a decade, you're going to have multiple leaders. That's one of the things that's been constant here, that linear leadership that we've been able to have. Knowing what type of human being and person and supporter that we have in him. He will be missed greatly by me. It was great to see them on the field.

Then, Coach [Elliott] Avett had his team down on the field. All the recognition of great people in this program and the university was awesome. It was great to have another sellout. The fans, the students, all the stuff going on, the pageantry of the game, it was awesome. It was a beautiful day weather wise. We’re supposed to have another one this weekend.

You could see the bye week helped us. We were fresh. We were healthier. Fortunately, we came out of the game healthy as well which is always a blessing.

Now, we move on to our final home game of the year, a big one for multiple reasons. We have a really good opponent in Duke. I'll talk about them here shortly. It’s a 3:30 home kick, the best of both worlds time wise. Fans get plenty of time to tailgate, get out early enough to be home at a good time. With the time change, it'll be dark in the second half; the things that can happen there from a lighting standpoint in the stadium, it's going to be a great environment.

It is two parts of this game that really make it special at NC State. Our Military Appreciation Day is one of the coolest things that we do. With all the branches in the military that are present in North Carolina and the representation that's here on game day for them, it's a true honor to support them and recognize them for how they fight for our country, for what they do to keep us where we are and have them present the way that we do in our state.

My background being from a family that has a father who was Navy and Sara's father who was Army. Both of our grandparents served. We have so many friends now that served in this state. It's cool seeing that flag roll out across the field at halftime. I love that picture. It's one of my favorites. Every year when it comes out, you get off the busses on the Walk of Champions, and get to walk through all the military and ROTC, it's a really special day.

Then, it's Senior Day. We have 20 players on our team that are out of eligibility. After this game, they'll never walk through that tunnel with their uniform on again to play a game. They’re some remarkable young men. It's an honor to be there with them in the tunnel one more time at home. Some of these guys are new to the program in their last year, and some of these guys have been here a long time. I’m not going to go through every one of them; you'll get to see them all announced on game day. It's been incredible journey with each one of them. Each story is different. Their legacies, for some of them, will be told for a long time [such as] what Davin Vann has meant to this program in his tenure: he leads the nation in forced fumbles right now [and] what he did during Hurricane Helene. Each one of them, to see them grow from recruiting them up to the men that they are now, it's exciting to be a part of that journey. It means a lot, coming out of that tunnel. We've got to fight for them to go back up that tunnel winners in this game against a great football team.

Duke is really doing a good job. I have a lot of respect for Manny [Diaz]. Manny worked here. I've known him a while. He's a really good ball coach. He’s taken over a good program. Mike Elko did a tremendous job building Duke's roster. A lot of those players that are still there, we played against them last year. It was a disappointing outcome last year in a poor performance and poor coaching job by me in a game that really set us back on track. We look forward to playing them.

I know this is a sell-out. We need our fans behind us in this game being loud. This is an offense that plays fast for Duke. There's a lot of communication on film on the line of scrimmage for Duke. We need to make it where it's hard for them to hear each other. Get up, cheer for our defense, and help them as a 12th man. That's a big part of winning at home. This is a game where we do need your help in the stands. Get behind them, and make the stadium shake. Let's set some decibel records in this crowd.

They're playing good football. Their defense jumps off the film. You watch it. They lead the country in fumble recoveries. They're second in the country in tackles for loss. They're 15th in the country in sacks. They're second in the ACC in turnover margin which is the most critical step for winning. They have four returning starters in the secondary, and I think both of their corners are elite players. When you look at their PFF grades, they're as good as anybody's in the country at corner. They have two defensive ends that disrupt and create havoc in the backfield. I’m really impressed with their defense. Manny does a great job coaching it.

Offensively, they brought in Maalik Murphy from Texas. He’s a really talented thrower. His receivers, they're all starters a year ago. We played against them all. Jordan Moore is really catching the ball. He had a spectacular catch in the Miami game that was all over the media. It's going to be a great matchup and a huge challenge defensively. It's going to be about protecting the football and doing the right things not to beat yourself.

Special teams will be a huge part of it for both teams. That phase of the game, both teams, when you watch the film, are really well coached and do a good job. We need to continue to do the things we've done the last two weeks: find a way to win, continue to improve fundamentally, win the turnover margin, finish plays, and play fast.

It's a great month. I love November. So much is happening this month in college football. The goal is to play at your peak in the end and be a finisher. For the last two games, we've shown improvement. This week, it’s a new test, a new opportunity, and a lot to play for on Senior Day with Military Appreciation Day against an in-state team. I’m looking forward to the challenge and the matchup.

On the team’s biggest improvement out of the bye week...

Fifty-nine points: isn't that a big sign that things changed? We’re finishing drives. We’re not beating ourselves. We didn't turn the ball over. Obviously, the two explosive runs inflate your rushing stats, but we ran the football really well in that game. We’re balanced. We've been throwing the ball pretty well for the last three games, so it's really not that. It's more about being efficient in other areas on offense. I've challenged a lot of people in this building. One of the big things is up front: our five guys playing as one unit. There wasn't one single guy, when you watch the film, that was a problem. It was different plays, different guys breaking down. Offensive lines that play well play really well together. Our guys did a great job of that in this last game, picking up a lot of movement and stunts. They played multiple fronts. As I mentioned last week, I thought Stanford's defensive ends were a problem, and our guys handled them. They did not beat our offensive line one time in pass protection. They beat our tight end one time, but those edges were clean. Our tackles did a great job against some defensive ends. That was not the case throughout the season. We've improved in that area. Now, it's a new test. These two ends for Duke are real, so we've got to show up.

On what stood out from Bailey...

He threw the ball really well against Cal. That just continued from that game to this game. The thing that he's doing better is protecting the ball as a runner. You saw him have to scramble. He's got the ball where it should be: clamped. We call it the three C's: claw, clamp, and chin. He's putting that on film, doubling trouble, and protecting the ball as a runner. He’s got to continue to do that. He can use his legs when he needs to. You can't be careless with the football when you do. The passing game piece of it, if we can just give him time, he's going to make stuff happen. He's got vision, eyes, and timing, and he's got guys to throw it to. When you're not, when you break contain and try to extend the play with your legs, whether you're running or trying to find somebody to throw the football to, that's when you can get careless with the football at quarterback. That definitely took a step forward in this last game.

On Brandon Cisse returning from injury...

He had two deep-ball opportunities and broke up both of them. He has poise, patience, timing, and strain to get the ball out. Brandon's a really good player. We're thankful he's back. We’re glad we had an opportunity to get him healthier. He's feeling good. Having that rotation back at corner, especially when you're playing a team this week that you know will go fast — they're a team that, on film, you can see is trying to snap the ball as quickly as possible at times, not always, but at times — having a little bit of depth the corner does help with Aydan [White]. We've been able to get some other corners going. Corey Coley’s been out. That rotation has been helpful throughout the year. In college football, I was talking to Payton before the game. I was like, “How's your body?” He said, “Coach, I only play 40 plays a game. This is easy. In college, we played 70 to 80.” It was kind of crazy to hear that. As a corner, you have to play that many snaps, and it's tough. A lot of those plays are running plays where you're sprinting down the field. Having a little bit of rotation there is very helpful.

On evaluating the younger players who played in the late stages versus the Cardinal...

It was good to see them get in the game. It's fun to see. I showed some of those clips to the team in the team room on Sunday. You're seeing how excited they are to make plays. Some of them are older guys, too. Demarcus Jones gets in and has a spin move, and all the guys are going crazy for him. Some of the young defensive players got in there. Cannon Lewis had a TFL, got up, and went crazy, and the guys were all cheering. It's fun for them. There's a lot of hard work. When they do get that reward and that taste of what it's like to be on the field — we were able to play a lot of guys — that's always a great thing. We didn't empty the bench, but we got a lot of guys on the field. That's for sure.

On Vann’s impact this season...

His stamina is one of the factors. Some of these sacks have taken place at the end of games and in the fourth quarter. When some D-linemen may be too tired, he's not tired at all. His stamina is impressive. His film study and preparation have helped him. There's no doubt in his ability not to be a one-trick pony in the pass rush. He's added a few elements to his pass-rush game. It's helped him. It’s experience. Going through what you do as a player, and you get into that last year, you've had a lot of game reps. I don't have it in front of me, but he's played a lot of football here. That experience pays off over time. The thing that I said in front of the team yesterday: the thing that's most impressive, not just about his sacks, is he doesn't waste one opportunity when he gets there to strip the football. The number of times over my career you've seen a guy hit the quarterback and not even attempt to rake the ball out, it's frustrating. This is the one guy that, a lot of times, is not in a good position to secure the ball because he's trying to throw it. You have an opportunity there to steal one. Davin's done a great job at doing that. That's why the stats are the way they are. He's not wasting opportunities.

On Collin Smith kicking versus Stanford...

That's how it worked out last week. Collin did a good job stepping up when we needed him. We'll see if we do the same thing again this week. I’m not going to really get into that to help our opponents at all. Kanoah [Vinesett] has been solid all year. Collin is a guy that, no matter what you need, he tries to do it for you. He's been a kickoff weapon. In the game, we had a few crazy kicks that came off his foot. I'm glad he finished the way he did because we needed him to have a deep kick after the one penalty that we shouldn't have had. It was a bonehead play by one of our guys. Collin spent a weapon on kickoff. I was happy for him to get in the game, be 100 percent, and help the team win.

On Vann generating turnovers...

It's a player taking coaching and applying it to the field. Every single time you come to practice at NC State, if you're there for the first period, you're going to see ball security on offense, and you're going to see takeaway circuit on defense. One of those circuit drills is takeaways. It's rushing a bag with a ball, knocking the ball out of the bag, and stripping it. It's a muscle memory thing that we do every Tuesday at NC State. Some players take drill work to team work, then team work to the games. Some players don't. That's why some players end up being all-conference and some players don't. Davin is a guy that takes coaching. He wants to be great at what he does. The details of the game apply to those type of guys. He saw that with Bradley Chubb in his senior year. He forced a ton of fumbles. The best players are about the details. They are. There's accountability to them. It's fun to see. There's nothing better, as a former defensive coach, than the sack-forced-fumble play. I love that. That, to me, is a great play in football for a defensive lineman or a linebacker coming off the edge. Growing up, Derrick Thomas, I idolized that dude when he played for the Chiefs. He was a master of that, that Tomahawk strip coming over the top. I love seeing our guys do that.

On the growing rivalry between NC State and Duke...

Now that we get to play each other every year, you could see that. In the past, before they changed all the stuff, I'd play them once every seven years. It was kind of hard to see them that way, as a rival, when you never play. Now we get to play every year, so that will add to that. Being as close as we are to Durham and as close as Durham is to Raleigh, it's natural to have that kind of feel. I'm glad we do. I’m definitely glad we do. One of the weirder parts of being the head coach here was how little we played some of the teams that were drivable to our university. I’m very thankful that the ACC did change that format so we get to play each other every year.

On the 2024 NCAA Elite Eight game versus Duke...

"My son Luke and I went and had a blast. I said this before: it was a great environment. Our fans were awesome. One of the cooler parts of that was sitting in the section I was in with the parents of our players right behind me, right beside me, and hearing them cheer each other's sons on. I really found that refreshing. A lot of times, parents are obviously going to cheer for their kids, but they were so excited for each other's sons that were playing, cheering each other's sons on, high-fiving each other when their sons would make a play. I thought that was really cool. I actually told that story to our parent group. It was an awesome environment. It was a lot of fun. It was great to see a matchup like that and, obviously, the outcome as it went our way. I enjoyed that a lot.

On the late successes following early setbacks for the last two seasons...

I know that the two seasons are alike in the turnaround piece of it, but they're two different teams with two different problems. Last year, the offensive problems were pretty documented with what happened at quarterback, so I don't need to rehash that. This year, a lot of different things happened. It's unique how things went. We've been searching for four quarters of football. We played well in doses and not well in doses. It's really hard to put a finger on why we weren't better earlier in the year. The chemistry of so many new parts is part of it. When you bring in as many players as we did — not because we had an exodus of sorts, but that's how it worked out — forty-some new players, it's college football now. Some things didn't go our way. Some weird things happened. We're right there in the game at Tennessee, and you have a weird play go the other way, and we don't respond well. The leadership of the team didn't take form. Now, it kind of has. Each team evolves differently. Sometimes, you can just “gangbusters,” and here you go. Sometimes, it takes time. Last year was different than this year in some ways. It feels similar to you guys because it's coming off of a bye. I felt like we were getting better going into that Wake Forest game this year. I thought we were about to put our foot on the gas. Then, what happened to Grayson [McCall] happened. That really was bigger than people understand in the moment and a tough ordeal. I felt like we were going to blow those guys out. I really did. The way that we prepared, practiced, the game plan that we had, the way the first drive was going, all of it... It came apart. We didn't finish the game. We didn't find enough ways to win in the next game. Then, you have that chance to reset. “Allright man, here we go. We're really close.” Sometimes, you've got to get a win for them to believe it. Then, here we go again: get another one, now momentum. Momentum is a big thing in sports. It's a big thing. It builds confidence. A lot of these athletes, that mental part of the game, the confidence piece of the game, it's massive. Our quarterback is playing with confidence. That spreads. It's a wide net. We have that right now. We have some definite enthusiasm. We have some guys that are feeling better healthy. Now we need to go play against a really good team. Watching these guys on defense — and I thought Cal was really good on defense, and they are, statistically — but these guys are really good. It's going to be a really tough game.

On the COVID-related eligibility phasing out to make roster management easier...

"I wish it was [easier]. If people could really understand how screwed up college football is right now, that would be the one area that somebody should do a huge story on. You have your seniors. In the old days, it’d be like, “All right, you’ve got 20 spots. These guys are leaving. There may be two or three guys that go pro early, maybe a couple of guys that transfer their graduates. All right, now we’ve got 25. Let's go sign them.” You go find those guys. Then, you have a signing period, whenever that might fall. It was in February, then it moved to mid-December. Now, it's the first week of December. This was all pre-portal, obviously. You'd sign your high school players. Then, you'd develop the guys. Your December was about home visits to the kids that were committed and bowl prep, if you're in a bowl game. Sometimes, [it involved] hiring new coaches when guys got jobs somewhere else or if you made changes. But now, you finish the year with your seniors. You go sign who you think you need from the high schools. You sign them in the first week of December. You're not allowed to do home visits in December anymore. They took that from us. Then all of a sudden, the portal opens after you sign your high school players. Let's say we signed 20 high school guys in the first week of December. You thought that's what you needed. You may have five to 25 guys decide to go pro or go in the portal. The high school guys are pretty much gone. Whether you wanted to sign more portal guys or not, that's where you're at. On top of that, our roster now goes from 85 to 105, but it doesn't go to 105 until May. You can only have 85 in December, but you're supposed to have 105 in May, but the signing date's in December. Tell me how that makes sense. That's where college football is right now. It's been crazy. It's really not like roster management. Roster mismanagement is what's happening. It's not coaches' fault. The rules that have been levied do not make sense. I say it all the time. You wish that common sense was more common. You wish that we could get the power four commissioners in a room with the top 15 coaches that people think can make decisions to help college football. Let's fix this. Let's put together a calendar that actually makes sense for recruits, for current players on rosters, and for teams so that they can build a team and a program that doesn't have four ways to leave the program and only one way to add players and doing it in a time where it doesn't even make sense on the calendar.

It's frustrating. It's really frustrating for somebody that's poured 12 years into a program. You sit there and you're like, “All right, how are we going to have this thing ready for next year?' It's fluid. It’s daily. When you hit that December 1 and you sign your guys on the seventh, and then that window opens on the ninth. We start school the first week of January. You've got to have that thing turned around really quick. All spring, you continue to recruit so that you can try to fill it all the way up to wherever you're going to fall in that 85-to-105 bucket, based on your athletic director. It's different times right now. It's going to be fun to watch, I guess, for the media, for all the recruiting pundits, and everybody else. But as a coach it's different. It's really different.