Doeren: "It Is Fun To Now See Them Step Up Into Those Roles"

NC State head coach Dave Doeren fielded questions from the media after the Wolfpack's first day of spring practice.

Does it look different without the seniors from last season?
Yeah, it does. Every year you lose key players. Obviously, we lost some really good players off of last year’s team but that is what these guys have been waiting for. Some of them have been in the lineup now for a long time -- Darian Roseboro, Eurndraus Bryant, Germaine Pratt has played a lot of football for us. 

So it is fun to now see them step up into those roles and I know they have been waiting their time. That is what spring ball is. It is opportunities for new guys. We have transfers in here and some guys have changed positions and you just want to see the growth right now. It is the process of helping these guys get better. 

What were the conversations with Ryan Finley like during the offseason?
Ryan, as you guys know, is very intelligent. Him and his family looked at every single piece of evidence he could get on the pros and cons of both [turning pro and staying in school] and ultimately he felt like coming back would allow him to be the best quarterback in college football.

That’s his goal, to be as highly ranked as he can be, as highly drafted as he can be and he wanted to lead this football team again. 

As far as going through the steps, he went through all of them. 

How weird is it for Roseboro to look around and not see the four guys that graduated last season? 
For him, four guys that he was playing with over a long period of time are no longer there so a huge responsibility, from a leadership standpoint, falls on not just on Darian but James Smith-Williams and Eurndraus Bryant because they have been here the longest. 

How was Finley among teammates today?
What you see him doing is interacting more with other groups. It used to be that he was just worried about winning the job and worried about chemistry with his receivers. He was worried about getting to know his offensive line. 

Now you see him interacting with defensive players and other guys on the football team, and encouraging people that normally he probably wouldn’t have been paying attention to. 

He is so comfortable in what his role is now and who he is with. It is his team. 

Thoughts on the offensive skill players at receiver that are returning?
They are really good players. You are talking about Steph and Kelvin Harmon, Jakobi Meyers. They are experienced players. They are physical. They take it very serious. Coach McDonald is one of the best teachers in the game so the production that they can have with a veteran quarterback, and just filling in this pieces [from the spots where players graduated after last season], is now on the O-Line and in the backfield for protection parts of it. 

It is the strength of our offense, and it needs to be. 

Can Finley be among the NC State all-time greats at quarterback?
I don’t know. That is a lot, putting that on a guy. 

His goal is to break as many records as he can and to win as many games as he can. Ryan is not a guy that chases that kind of stuff..,.I think he just wants to win and improve himself where people on the outside look at him as the best player he can be at his position. 

Are people on the outside viewing NC State as a program on the rise?
I think we definitely have earned respect for ourselves nationally. To me it is about sustaining what we have been able to do in going to four straight bowl games and being a top-25 team. Now we want to sustain that. We are just trying to do everything we can, whether you lose players or don’t lose players, every year is a new year -- a new challenge -- so this group now is trying to match or better what we did last year. Whether we can or can’t we will see. 

Is it a long process?
I told everyone the team the other day a lot of people worry about A and Z and they forget all the other letters in the alphabet. We are going to focus -- like I said after practice -- on today, evaluating today, finding the weaknesses of today and then focus on making it better when our next practice opportunity. 

What has Ted Roof brought to the program?
He has great experience in the game. He has coached multiple positions. He has been a head coach, a coordinator and a position coach. He knows the state of Georgia and Gwinnett County as well as anyone. He coached out there and recruiting and [he] is just kind of a sounding board for people in the building because of his experience, all of the places he has been and the things he has been through. 

What is Roof’s role?
Dave [Huxtable] is our coordinator and Ted’s role is to really be his right hand and help him. When Dave has questions or when Ted see things that he thinks he can add in , they’ll have those conversations that you want to have constructively.

Dave will call the plays. I know he will lean on Ted at times for input. That is why you have the 10th coach now. You are able to add that 10th person with expertise. 

With our defense being a 4-2-5, we felt like having that guy on the defensive side of the ball would really help us. 

Who replaces Nyheim Hines on special teams?
I don’t know who our returner is yet so it is hard for me to say. We could have one guy step up for a bunch of different things, but right now it is wide open. We will have to see where that ends up and it may not get decided until the freshmen get here. There are a few guys in that class that can do it too. 

Have you noticed a difference in Reggie Gallaspy II heading into this season?
No. Reggie is a serious guy. He has a baby. His life is a lot different than other people. Everything that is about him is serious. Obviously, going into his last year where he is the most experienced back. He has had a good offseason. It is an important spring for him. 

What was Steph Louis’ reaction to receiving the No. 1 jersey and what led to him being picked for the honor?
He was asking me about potentially changing into a different number and I said, ‘Well, I have got a number I think you belong in.’ 

We talked to him about it and told him why. I think he is the player on our team that represents us on and off the field, his work ethic, his consistency, the way he treats people -- not just in our building but everywhere he goes. He is a first-class person. He is a college graduate already. He is a playmaker on the field and a work ethic guy. 

I told him all of those things and Steph is such an appreciative person . It was a thank you and thank you for looking at me that way, where I am looking at him and saying. “No, thank you for playing that way.’

I have great respect for him. When I told the leadership council he was the guy I wanted to put in [the number] one they all had a huge applause for him. It was a pretty unanimous thing.