NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media where he discussed the Virginia win, updated the status of multiple players, previewed Wake Forest, and much more!
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the press conference.
Opening statement
All right, just recapping the win over UVA, like I said after the game, thank you to our fans and the students that came and supported the team. I know it was hot, 91 degrees and noon kick and meant a lot to the program, to the staff, the players, and helps us in recruiting so much. And just continue to show up, be loud, be supportive, it matters, and we thank you guys for it.
It's great to be 2-0, and comeback wins are special, for sure.
Thought UVA was a really good team, they did a great job in the game, and they've improved their roster tremendously. Tony's done a great job leading that program. And early in the game, we were on our heels defensively, they did a lot of good things on offense, and a lot of pre-snap eye candy, and our guys were tentative at times. It took a half to settle them down. I was really disappointed with our third down defense in the first half, and that was really the story of the half.
They were 10-13, and we have to win our share of critical downs, especially when down the distance, third and eight, third and nine, third and ten. Our offense did a great job matching scores with them early, and then special teams for them tilted that first half with a big punt return. I love how poised the guys were.
We went in at halftime, and the players were great. Coaches made really good corrections and adjustments, and the players understood what we needed to do to get that game back on our side, playing our style of football, and scoring on the first possession obviously got it to a one-possession game and a defensive stop, and then another offensive score got us the lead. Holding them to seven points in the second half was a big thing there on defense, and they were able to get yards but not points.
Huge flip in that third quarter, winning that quarter 21-7. Offensively, to play a game, zero turnovers, zero penalties, zero sacks. Offensively, we really played good football. Winning starts with not beating yourself, and the week prior, that was a big area for us. We had drive-killing penalties multiple times in our first game, so an area that we wanted to improve and did. We averaged over seven yards on first down, which makes play calling a lot different for a coordinator and allowed Kurt to be in a rhythm.
That was huge to have the first down success that we did. That was an area, again, that we needed to improve from week one to week two in the season, and we were successful with that.
Our run game was a huge part of that. Averaging 6.2 yards of carry was huge, and there was multiple people involved in that. Obviously, the blocking from the O-line, tight end group, the receivers, but the backs ran really hard, protected the football. CJ ran hard, protected the football.
We had 11 explosive plays and 19 plays over 10 yards in the game. I thought the pass protection was outstanding. There was a lot of clean pockets for CJ to throw the football, and when he had to, he used his legs.
He had a great scramble for a touchdown later in the game. Our tight ends continue to be a big factor. Justin's really playing at a high level with and without the football.
I thought Cody and Dante both came in the game and did some really good things on our 12 personnel. Jacarrius Peak had a great football game. It was a good defensive front for UVA, and Teague played really hard.
I thought Jalen Grant played better than he did in week one. He was our player of the game, one of our players of the game, and led our offensive line in pancakes with six. It was great to see Yusef get the start and play physical football for us, the right guard, and came in and he rotated.
Spike got some valuable reps at left guard and center, so it was good to get some guys, some reps on the O-line and see those guys continue to grow because there's some inexperience in youth with those guys I mentioned. Hollywood's really a playmaker for us and gets in there.
Obviously, the untouched runs, there's great blocking, but then the stuff he's doing to get extra yards, making guys miss, running through contact, catching the football. I had a great catch on a low throw that he turned into an explosive play. And Duke, same thing. He gets in the game and just creates yards for us.
There was one protection that we could clean up in that room. I thought the receivers caught the football well, did a really good job getting yards after the catch, averaged over five yards after the catch. And on the perimeter, they were really good. We had a lot of plays that got out on the edges, and those guys did a great job blocking and keeping their hands inside, playing hard. I love that we were 100 percent on our fourth down attempts, and obviously, you can see there's a lot of trust in Will Wilson.
Things we got to get better at, third and long, obviously an area that's hard offensively, and we've got to be able to make that conversion or get it to a fourth and manageable where we can go for it.
The biggest disappointment really in the game offensively was at the end, we had a chance to end the game with the ball and didn't get that last first down and had to punt the ball back to them. You get in that situation and you go for it with the thought that you're going to get it and not give them the ball back. We did make them use their timeouts, but one more first down and we're kneeling on it and the game's over.
Defensively, like I mentioned, the first half was not good football. It's really two halves when you look at how we played. Gave up two explosive runs on short yardage where we both times had an unblocked defender at the point of attack that didn't make the tackle. We've got to tackle better. We've got to be in our gaps. We've got to leverage the football and we've got to be disruptive, which we were really, really good in the first game.
UVA deserves some of that credit. Obviously, we have to get better. I thought in the second half, we did a lot better job. Guys were where they were supposed to be. They got off the blocks. They knocked back the line of at times.
We tackled the ball carrier better. We stopped them on third down. We gave our offense the ball back and we're able to bend but not break and then stop people in the red zone. The red zone defense has been outstanding. They got down there four times. They scored a touchdown, made a field goal, missed a field goal, and then we got the interception.
We stopped them on fourth down down there. They are bowing up and showing mental toughness and stamina. Obviously, like to knock it down there as much, get some more stops on third down out in the field.
That's an area that we've got to work hard on this week. The special teams, outside of our punt team, I thought it was a really good day. Newcastle a couple of times outkicked this coverage.
Our coverage has to be able to get down there and make plays. We knew their returner was a dynamic guy. We were worried about him.
At one time, we had a low punt, which helped them. Those yards helped the offense for the other team. When we're out there on a punt team play, we've got to set up our defense with hang time, distance, and coverage. It's an area we've got to get better at. It was great to see Kanoah bounce back. He didn't have any field goals, but all four of his extra points, he was in rhythm, and kicked the ball well. I was excited to see that.
Now a quick turnaround, going from a Saturday kick to a Thursday kick with Wake Forest, our first road game, first conference game since UVA was non-conference, our first conference game, and they're 2-0 as well, coming off a blowout victory over Western Carolina, where they looked really explosive on offense. They've got some guys back that we've played.
Their tailback, obviously, is a really talented young man, Claiborne, number one. He had four explosive plays in their last game. Their quarterback, two-time transfer, South Carolina and Auburn, is very athletic.
He has a really strong arm. He runs hard, 220-pound guy, and he runs really, really physical. They do a lot of things offensively to get the ball, obviously, to Claiborne, but with the quarterback in the read game, power reads, counter reads, zone reads, all the things that they can do to make you defend him, they've brought in a slot receiver, number 10, that's 5'7", that's a dynamic football player. He's also their kickoff returner, and so they have some explosive pieces on offense.
Defensively, they play really hard. When you watch Wake Forest on defense, they're sound, they're physical, they run to the football, they rotate guys on the D-line. There's several guys we're used to, I guess you'd say, familiar. Andersen's been there forever and is a good football player, in the right place, plays hard. Their strong safety Tongue makes a lot of tackles for them.
Rangy, outside linebacker, 24, same thing, makes a lot of tackles for them. Their D-tackle or nose guard, 94, we played against last year, and then they've got a few new guys. Their edge player, number 11, Hardy's been really good for them.
He's long. UConn transfer does a lot of good things for them, and pass rush is their buck. Then defensive tackle, 52, has been really disruptive in the first two games. New staff for them, some carryover players, but a lot of new guys. Getting into the third game, still with several unknowns. You don't have a lot of sample size, especially when you look at their second game, they blew them out. You don't get a four-quarter view of who they are.
As far as the game itself, it's a rivalry game. It's the second longest consecutive game in our conference since 1910. It's our second in-state opponent and opportunity to take our show on the road. That brings new challenges. For this football team, our first road test and the short week. We've had a Thursday game coming out of training camp, a long prep getting ready for game two, now a short prep for game three. We have no routine, and that's our routine right now. It's different every week.
It's unique. You have less time to prepare as a coach, you have less time to recover as a player, you have less time to practice, less time for everything. Everything's being squeezed into a short window, and you've got to balance it all for the guys. They were awesome today. They came in with a lot of energy. They're excited to play, and they're excited to get better.
I think that's the thing that makes this football team so fun for me. It's just the team leadership and how they push each other, hold each other accountable. They don't let wins, even though we've had two really good wins, they don't let those things take away from their hunger to get the next one.
That's what we have to do. We have to get better every week. This conference has always been that way. Every ACC opponent is a team that can beat you. It starts with us getting better and trying to fix the things that we need to fix, getting ready for this game.
Yeah, Dave. How do you assess what C.J. Bailey has provided at QB through two games? How calming is it to have a captain in command like that leading your offense as you, like you said, prepare for your ACC opener and first road game of the season?
Yeah, he's playing at a high level. He sees things. He understands the system. He's in command of the guys around him. He challenges people. He challenges himself. He has a knack for just knowing what to do. Sometimes it's not perfect. I mean, they're coming with an unblocked guy on a blitz, and he sees it, he feels it, he gets out of contain, he runs for a touchdown.
And they had him dead to rights with that pressure, and he did a great job just making a play. He knows who his guys are. He knows where to throw the football to him. And what he does on the sideline as a leader, compared to last year, it was night and day. He's always had positive energy and enthusiasm, but he has command now, and there's a commanding presence about him where he's talking to the defense, he's talking to the kickers. He's amazing on the sideline.
And so it's great. It's an extension of the head coach when you have a quarterback like that. It's awesome to see C.J. doing what he's doing right now. I'm proud of him.
Yeah, sticking with the quarterback theme, you know, what was it like for you to see Will get out there for a couple of plays? And how much has getting there on fourth and one really helped just get him acclimated to the pressure of college football in case you need to use him in bigger situations?
Like I said, it shows that we trust him to put him in the game in those scenarios. And Will's a tough kid. He's competitive. He's super strong. He's very, very, very into the game plan. And because of how he practiced the last two weeks, I had no hesitation. I actually thought we'd get him in in the first game, and we didn't. And so, when those down and distances presented themselves in situations, gives us a chance to get a guy in the game that obviously can run, but he can do a lot more than that. And so excited, that we got him in, that he had success. And he made two big plays, to move the chains. And that's a confidence builder, not just for him, but for all the guys on the field with him.
Dave, you spoke about him earlier, but Demond Claiborne, that matchup, obviously coming up this week. You look at what this team did from a run stopping standpoint this past weekend, what needs to improve to limit what he does from an effectiveness standpoint in the short week?
He's a great player, and he's got speed. He's got vision. He can break tackles. He can make you miss. He's patient. And so, when you're defending a great running back, it takes everybody, it's gap accountability, it's beating blocks, it's leveraging the football, and then it's gang tackling. And so, everything needs to improve, and we had guys in position to make plays on some of the plays that Virginia made and they made them and we didn't. And so, different than what you saw in the ECU game, we were knocking people down. I mean, it was bang, bang tackles. And so the guys got to get back to squeezing and wrapping and getting guys on the ground. That's how you stop the run.
And, every offensive run play is going to have most people blocked. Guys got to beat blocks, block destruction is a big part of running defense and, setting good edges, being disciplined on the edge so that the ball is cupped and making sure those guys inside are fighting to get off blocks and make tackles.
Yeah, Dave, seems like so many years talking about Wake Forest, we would ask mesh point questions and things like that. Now, this is a new regime here. How much of what they do offensively resembles before? How much of it is drastically different?
Yeah, it's nothing like it was. So, I mean, it's, more traditional college football offense. You don't have the slow mesh anymore with the RPOs. And what's the biggest difference besides that is the fact that they've got a really, really fast athletic quarterback. Not that they haven't had guys that can run, but not like this guy. If you misfit a run or he takes off on a scramble, he can score. And so you've got to be really disciplined in everything that we do to make sure we've got him hemmed up in the pocket.
Yeah, Dave, the decision to go for fourth and one from the 28-yard line there in the fourth quarter, what went into that decision for you?
There's multiple things. I thought we'd get it. I trusted the way that we were blocking and running the football and moving their D-line around. Second thing was, I knew if we did get it, we were one first down away from the game being over.
There was enough time on the clock where if we didn't get it and they scored, because I had all my timeouts, that we'd be in a position to get the ball back and score again. And also their punt returner had been hurting us throughout the game. And so I really didn't want to kick the ball to that kid. So there was a lot of variables, but it starts with, can you get it done? And I felt like we would the way we were blocking them and the way we were running the football.
I was just wondering the biggest difference in the run blocking and the running against Virginia that you saw from week one to week two.
Yeah, well, the guys did a better job of not allowing penetration. There was more movement and displacement up front. There was a lot of clean holes for Hollywood, several of them. We had some explosive runs at quarterback, which obviously adds to the tally. But ECU was able to get on our edges more and create disruption in our backfield. And there was 10 plays that were negative plays in that game. We only had five negative plays and no sacks. And all those negative yardage obviously hurt your stats. So they just did a much better job owning the line of scrimmage and creating vertical movement.
And if I could ask one more, being able to start 2-0 and win close games the way that you have, what does that do for confidence and for momentum, especially because you've got new coordinators, guys are getting used to maybe a little bit different things. But to know, yeah, we can win close games, we saw massive improvement week one to week two. What does that do for the guys?
Yeah, it builds confidence for sure. And you talk about playing till the end. And we've had two good football games where we had to finish to win, and we did that in both cases. And so it definitely ratchets up guys' belief that they can win any game, and it doesn't matter the situation that we're in. And that's a big thing, because we've been tested twice, and some of the teams we've played or are going to play haven't been. And then blowout wins and things like that.
And the competitive nature of both of our football games, I think, has really prepared us for what's coming on our schedule. And so as coaches, we've been able to see guys in high-pressure situations have to make plays and make them.
Hey, Dave, thanks for the time. Just curious, I know, obviously this past weekend's game against Virginia didn't count as an ACC game, but – and you talked about the rigors of the ACC in your opening statement. Does it make it easier, in a way, preparing for an opponent, knowing you've kind of already – you know, you've already played, a quote-unquote conference opponent, even though it didn't count in the standings?
Yeah, I don't know if it's because it was a conference opponent. It helps you to play competitive games when you're getting ready to play conference games. And so to have a powerful win under our belt going into conference play helps, for sure, because that team has a lot of good players on it. And so we played against some really good players. And, you compare us to other teams that maybe haven't had that test yet. I think we know a lot about our team right now, a lot more than we would have if we would have played, some lower-level competition. And so I like the fact that we've been tested and we've seen what our guys can do.
You were able to compete against Dave Clawson off and on since, what, 2011 or something. Have you gotten to know anything, a little bit, about the new Wake Forest coach? Have you noticed that you guys have some similar backgrounds and probably both know what a spotted cow is?
Yeah. No, I definitely have been around him a little bit, on the things that we do together as head coaches, different events, and know his background. And, he's worked with some really good football coaches and has great respect for what he's done and who he's been with. And so, you know, he knows how to win. And he's got good energy. He's done a good job recruiting. And you turn on the film, and I know he has a defensive background. And you can see that those guys are playing hard on defense. I mean, you can see it.
You mentioned, winning these close games the last couple of weeks. You were in a bunch of close games last year, but you were on the other side. How much does that experience, do you think, help the returners in finishing them this year?
Well, there's a lot of fuel for this offseason. When you win six games, you lose five one-possession games. I mean, you're pretty close to having a hell of a season, and close doesn't get it done. And so, there's a lot of detail and toughness and film study and football IQ for us as coaches, looking at what we did well, what we didn't do well, how we can be better. There's a lot of time spent on end-of-half football, end-of-game football, whether it's two-minute or four-minute. And so, you really work hard on your weaknesses, and that was a weakness for us last year. I've been in a lot of one-possession games in my career as a head coach, and won a lot of them. And you got to have players make plays in key moments, whether it's a big sack or Cian's interception, last-second field goal, a great play by an offensive player to score. You got to make a play, and you got to prevent them from making a play. And so, it's play calling, it's players, and it's toughness. And so, yeah, I think for the guys that are returners on our team, those losses were fuel in the offseason, and for our coaches, it was fuel. And so far, you can see the time spent has paid off, and we got a lot of football ahead of us. So, when you look at teams across the board from college football to NFL football right now, 80% of the games last year were one-possession games. And so, you got to be able to win those games if you want to make it to where you want to make it in the end.
Earlier, you'd mentioned, having the luxury of being able to rotate guys at right guard, especially. What have you kind of learned about those three, with Kamen, Yusef, and Spike, as you've been able to get all of them experienced so far?
Yeah, I think they all have really good things that they do, and they're all different. And, Kamen, very athletic, can move his feet. He was a good basketball player in high school. You can see that. And he's obviously young still when it comes to college game experience, and so learning how to play with the pad level he wants to have day in and day out. Yusef, really strong. He's one of our stronger guys. He can move people. Extremely, extremely good at disrupting, on double teams and trapping guys and different things like that. He did a really good job in the game in pass protection. That was one area we wanted to see live and how that would work, and I thought he did a great job. Spike is a very talented young guy. I mean, he can play left guard, right guard, and center, and he's done that now. In two games, he's played in three spots, and so he's getting valuable experience for us. And, we know he's our center of the future in our program and is going to keep getting reps and playing and playing.
As it's a long season, and there's times on your own line where guys can't play. And so to have him ready and get those other two guys better as we go, and Val Erickson's another guy that, now that he's back and he's healthy, that we hope that we can get in the mix as well because, the hardest thing up front is you want chemistry, and a lot of times you'll see old lines never sub, and for us that's been how it's been most of the time. And then when a guy gets injured and a new piece comes in, that chemistry's broken in some ways because there's not reps in games.
And so we're just trying to put ourselves in a position where if we do have to replace somebody due to injury, there's been chemistry, there's been game experience, and those guys are ready for that moment.
And just a quick follow-up, what goes into figuring out dividing up who gets what snaps in a game when you're rotating like that?
We have a plan based on practice and how they've performed all week. We talk about it as a staff the day before the game, just where we're at and what they expect. Hey, this guy's going to go every two, rotate every two, or we're going to rotate him after the third series or the fourth series. But then sometimes in a game, a guy gets hot, he's just playing really good. That's the advantage of the iPads because you get on the sideline, you're seeing every rep as a coach.
And if a guy's playing really, really well, you're not going to take him out. And so you have the advantage of really seeing what's going on, not just watching the game like you do on the sideline, but getting to study it on the iPad. So there's always a pre-plan, and then there's an in-game potential to change that rotation. If a guy's struggling, the other guy gets to play more. If the guy's playing really well, the other guy may get to play less.
Dave, I just, the schedule, obviously with Virginia, you've mentioned it already a little bit. Do you like this way of playing a P4 earlier and then getting right into the conference slate in the third game of the season? Or do you prefer the conventional way back in the day where you'd play four non-conference, then the conference game would be the fifth? And also, how are your kids handling the Thursday, Saturday, Thursday? You haven't had a regimented schedule really going into this season so far?
I don't really get a pick how the schedule plays out. Like, we do get a schedule of a non-conference part of it with the exception of Notre Dame. And so I try not to put too much into that. It's, you know, when they tell me when we're playing, who we're playing, then we sit down and put it together. Things that I don't control, I don't really spend a lot of time thinking about them. I do like having power four games early in the schedule, though. I do. I think that helps you as a coach know where your guys are at, especially if you had a weak non-conference schedule. I mean, I would be worried going into conference play if that was the case. As far as the Thursday, Saturday, Thursday, you guys have been handling it well. I love opening the season on Thursday. I talked about that already. Gives you a little more time for your second game and gives you a little recovery opportunity. I'm not a big fan of the short week game. I like playing on Thursday nights, coming out of a bye week. I love it because you get a lot of exposure on TV for your program. I think that's awesome. There's not a lot of games on. But the Saturday to Thursday turnaround, I don't think you'll find a coach in the country that thinks that's great. It's not. It's really hard on your team. It's hard on your coaches. And, you're traveling on a Wednesday to play on a Thursday. You just finished playing a few days before that, and it's hard. So, you're not going to find a lot of people that think that's good. But the exposure you get on Thursday night is really good.
Yeah, Dave, it looks like you added a Texas Tech transfer, Joseph Adedire, to the depth chart. What could he potentially add for you guys this year?
Joseph was a really good player at Tech, and then he had an injury. And so we've just been trying to get him back. He got injured last year at Tech in training camp and so missed the season. But he's a very athletic kid. He's tough. He can run. Today was the first day I've seen him practice, so it's kind of hard for me to give you a whole lot on him. All I'm going off is the film I watched on him when we recruited him. But I'm excited. He's healthy, and he's back in the mix. And, time will tell. But we hope to get him in game shape, and we'll see if he plays this week or not, based on how he practices these next few days.
