NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media following the Wolfpack's 34-24 win over Wake Forest Thursday evening.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s press conference.
Opening statement…
Good to be 3-0. I’m proud of our guys. Defensively, it was two halves, and what a great second half. We held them to like 30 yards, and I think they stopped them every time they were on the field. It was a second-half shutout, two great interceptions, and I loved Isaiah Shirley's play. It was such a key play at a key moment in the game. It was a second straight game without a turnover on offense. We’re taking care of the ball, being physical. The run game was great. The guys caught the football, for the most part. We had some penalties that we need to clean up that kept us from scoring again which is disappointing. What a terrible start with a kickoff return for a touchdown. The thing we love is we're tested. We've been down a couple of times. These guys know how to fight back. They believe. They don't flinch. There's no division. Coaches made good adjustments two weeks in a row now. It’s pretty exciting to go on the road, get your first win, and to play the way we did in that second half.
On the biggest adjustment the defense made...
They just settled in and started beating blocks. There's a lot of good tackles. They didn't let anyone behind them. They got pressure on the quarterback. It’s execution.
On back-to-back, double-digit comebacks…
There's a lot that goes into that. It's the whole off season. It's how hard these guys work, how much chaos we put them in. We tested them. I told them when they got back [that] it was going to be the hardest thing they'd been through, and it's going to make them the closest team they can be if they fight through it all, and we did. The strength coaches did a great job. Our coaching staff spent a lot of time with these guys. Our training camp was built a certain way where they got to know each other, and that's hard. You have 41 new players, and I think that's one of these things with college football. You’ve got to see the guys play to figure out who you are a little bit, but we knew we needed to come together, and that was the thing last year's team didn't do. It was a major part of what I wanted in the offseason: to create that chemistry on the team. Winning helps, and getting guys out there making plays helps build belief. I think playing the schedule that we played has helped us. We've been tested; that team hadn’t. It definitely put us in a better position in week three by playing the two teams that we did.
On the satisfaction in winning in Winston-Salem...
Look, man, I love winning. To quote Bull Durham, it's way better than losing, right? It's a great feeling, man, That's what we do this for. We don't go in there to lose games. It's all about winning. We’re not spending the time you do away from your families as coaches tend to almost do things, right? Our goal is to be undefeated, and every week, it's one game at a time. It doesn't matter how it ends up. It's a W however you cut it. There's a lot of good stuff in that game, man. [Kanoah Vinesett] did a great job. [Caden Noonkester] was phenomenal in that game. Our punt coverage was great in that game. There were just things that really helped us win that football game. I was really disappointed in the targeting call. I'm going to tell you: I thought that that was not a good call. Last year, we lost Grayson McCall to a play that wasn't targeting, but that was today. I'd love an explanation on that. I thought that was about as clean as you could do, what he did, when the guy was running the football. Now, we lose Sabastian [Harsh] for the first half the next game. I’ve got to stick up for my guys; that doesn't make sense to me. But I'm so proud of this football team and these players, these coaches, and also our fans that came. It was just as much red as they had in their color over there, so thank you for traveling the way you did today.
On when he saw the team come together…
I could feel it in training camp, but [you don’t really know] until you're on the field in the game. The finish of the opening game, I think, really made me feel like [it], and I've been saying this: it's a fun team to coach. I've been saying this for a long time to you guys, and you can see why. There's a bunch of good kids that work hard. They take coaching. They’re talented, and they're bought in. For me, it's refreshing. It's really refreshing.
On the offensive skill and chemistry between C.J. Bailey, Hollywood Smothers, and Justin Joly…
There's a lot of weapons over there. Wesley [Grimes], Noah [Rogers], Terrell [Anderson], and Keenan [Jackson] are also weapons, and Teddy [Hoffmann] showed he could make plays in game one. When you have a good quarterback, it's nice to have different pieces that you can look at. You can't just spend coverage to Joly or cloud up a guy and take him out of the game. There are multiple guys that can hurt you, and then Duke Scott, out of the backfield, too, showed he can catch and run. He had a violent run on the sideline and knocked two of their guys down. There are a lot of good things going on, skill-wise, on that side of the football. What gets lost in this is the blocking of Cody Hardy, too. That kid doesn't get to catch the ball a lot, if at all, but boy, does he make a difference in their run game.
On Bailey’s growth…
I'm so proud to C.J. What you guys don't see is how he leads the team, how big his voice is now, how accountable he'll hold people, and [how he’ll] back it up with his own work. The thing that's really awesome — and it was this way last year with him — if he said he makes a mistake, he's the first one to say, “That's on me.” It’s easy to follow a guy like him, and he knows the offense. He understands it. He makes plays with his feet. He takes care of the football, and he gives guys a chance to make a play.
On Caden Fordham being a pillar…
It helps. Last year's college football Power Four and NFL football, 80 percent of the games were one-possession games, and last year, we did not do well in those games, and so it was a massive emphasis. We put them in so many game-ending situations in practice: end of the half, end-of-game four-minute, two-minute. It's comfortable for them now. They understand what they have to do. They excel. People call it pressure situations. To me, when those happen, you always revert back to your training, and so they believe. They’re comfortable. They know what to do. They know how to do it, and they believe they can get it done.
On having a back like Smothers…
It helps a lot when you got a dude like him. He is tough. He demands things on the sidelines. I congratulated him on his career-best day in rushing, and he’s like, "I don't care about that. We won." That's what he said, so to have a guy like that that's about the team, again, it’s refreshing. The guys follow people like that.
