NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media where he discussed the Wake Forest win, updated the status of multiple players, previewed Duke, and much more!
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the press conference.
Opening Statement
Yeah, going back to the game. First, thanks to our fans and students that traveled to Winston to see us play and cheer us on. It was great seeing so much red at a road game. It means a lot to the team, means a lot to the coaches and it helps quite a bit when you can go on the road and have that many of your own fans there. So thank you guys for that. And proud of this team and the staff. It's great to be 3-0. And obviously all these games have been close games and to find a way to win.
To have another comeback victory says a lot about the resiliency of this group and the leadership that we have. Wake obviously started as fast as humanly possible. I was really disappointed in our kickoff team on play one of the game. We weren't ready to play and obviously that showed. Their returner is probably one of the best that we'll see, if not the best, and we gave him a chance and made it easy for him. It wasn't a great kick and the coverage was worse.
So, a disappointing start. It was great to see our guys manage their momentum and just keep playing and keep positive energy. We got it to a one possession game before the half. And then I thought in the locker room at halftime, similar to the last game, the coaches made really good adjustments and the players listened and came out and executed at a high level.
Offensively, two straight games without a turnover. 10 plus explosive plays, 200 yards rushing, averaged over five yards per first down, which helps quite a bit in your sequencing and play calling. We continued to be really strong up front in our short yardage offense and had some good conversions on third and long. Just needed to get a couple more and we had a couple more that we beat ourselves on. We had a third down conversion where we didn't have a receiver on the ball that should have been. Had another third down where we got open and it wasn't a perfect throw, but a catchable ball. So, a couple of third downs that were manageable. We made good plays, play calls and just need to execute better and a lot of areas to get better.
I'm very impressed with Cody Hardy as a blocker. I think he's been a huge asset to our offense. I love how he plays and is super unselfish and the tight end runs continue to be a glowing spot in our offense. Justin had two touchdowns for us and one big one I thought was a really good route that he ran on the third down touchdown. Well, really both of them, the fourth down touchdown to avoid no rusher. But a great route and a big time throw by CJ with a blitzer in his face. I thought Wake had a good defensive end, and both Teague and Peak faced him, number 11. I thought Teague played his best game and led our offense with pancakes with nine. Both running backs were very productive, physical, efficient and explosive. It's good to see Duke finish up a completion down the sideline where he dropped his shoulder and it was a really good play for him confidence wise. The receivers didn't have any real explosive things other than Keenan's touchdown. I thought Keenan played a really good game. But what they did is they made a lot of contested catches in the game. And several of them were on third and 11, third and 10, where they got deeper than the sticks, came back to the quarterback with a body on him and made a nice catch. So they definitely took advantage of their opportunities in the game.
And too many penalties, and ones that we control, you know, a false start and illegal formation. We had two holding penalties where our hands got outside the frame. So things that we can do better. But overall, offensively, I thought we did a good job managing a lot of things in the game and things that we can improve.
Defensively, it was really two halves of football, frustrating first half. I thought we were tentative, gave up a big play early. The number 10 didn't do a good job aligning with depth over a guy like that. Didn't win enough third downs in the first half. But in the second half, we played lights out.
And, two takeaways, Isaiah Shirley's obviously was a massive play in the game to get us back into the game when we were down two scores. And I thought Isaiah played his best game of his career. Ronnie Royal's interception was huge. Came after a fourth-down stop. Really nice play on defense. Bottled him up. Got the quarterback down. Unfortunately, to get a targeting penalty there and give them life and momentum potentially in the very next play. Ronnie answers with a resilient play. Mental toughness right there. And a big play for the team. And I thought Sean Brown probably played his best game since he's been at linebacker. He was active. He played fast. Really tackled well in space. As a defense, we tackled well. We only had three missed tackles the entire game.
And the adjustments that were made were really good adjustments. That's the thing that's been impressive about DJs. He understands what's going on within the scheme. He knows how to communicate. He knows how to fix things. And the guys did a good job. Now, obviously, we don't want to start like that. We need to be able to come out the gates like we did in the first game, playing really well on defense. But it's nice to be 3-0 and be able to spend so much time talking about things you want to do better. And we're a good football team that could be a lot better football team with some things that we can control and clean up.
Special teams, it was great to see what we call them, our missiles. But, the outside guys on the punt team got down the field, got in the returner's face. We had really poor punt coverage the week prior. And Wesley Grimes got in there and made a really nice play. Jackson Vick did a great job. Sean Brown got down there and did a great job. I thought Teddy. We were playing a rugby punter, and we'll play another one this week. Sometimes the ball can get sprayed around, and it's hard to field those punts.
He did a great job, made good decisions, took care of the ball, had a 12-yard return. And our kicker was, back to form, 5-5 on his PATs, made both field goals. The second one was a big one, extending a lead.
Now on to Duke, our third in-state game. Duke's a really good football team. They've got a very formative front. Their defensive end, Vincent Anthony, number seven, leads our conference in TFLs and sacks. He's a really good player. I've known him since high school, I think a lot of them. I think their D line is really well coached and plays hard, they have good rotation, depth. They get off the football, they get off blocks, they play square, their guys can move. Their middle linebacker, Morris, is a good player. We played against him last year. Corner, Chandler Rivers, has been their four-year starter, a really good corner. And it's an aggressive defense. Manny does a great job coaching and is defensive coordinator. They do a lot of different things, give you a lot of coverages out of their blitz packages, a lot of different looks. So, they challenge you.
And you've got to do a great job fundamentally against a team like that.
Offensively, we've played against some of these guys, receivers seven and two. Brown and Haggans are good football players that can run and make plays, get behind you. You have a transfer, number 18 from Harvard at 18 yards plus per catch. The quarterback is a really good passer. When he sees the field, he's got a strong arm, throws catchable balls. He's very accurate when he's running. So we've got to do a great job not only keeping him in the pocket, but if he gets out of our pocket, staying in coverage, staying on top of routes, makes some really nice throws, scrambling around last week. He's a good football player.
All the running backs, they've got a three-man rotation. They play hard. They're all different from each other. They all catch the ball well. They've got a fourth of their receptions are out of their backfield. In their own line's experience, there's five guys that have all been at least two-year starters at their respective schools, and we've played against three of these guys. And, we haven't played well against Duke on the road. Our guys know that. It's an opportunity to go play against a good football team in their stadium and play our best. And, we just have to keep focusing on getting better. And for us, getting better looks like playing four quarters of football in all three phases. And it's an area that we've got to work really hard at in this game. There's been too many ups and downs throughout the performance. And at the same time, there's been a great response from our team when we've had adversity. So excited about our group and looking forward to this next one.
Could you take me back to the recruiting process of Hollywood Smothers? And then, obviously, he entered the portal after one year. How geeked were you when you found out he was available again and how much of a hard or easy sell it was to get him to come to NC State?
We recruited him really hard in high school. And, he was here a lot, came on a lot of visits, unofficial visits, and built a great relationship with him and his family. Ultimately, he felt like leaving was the best thing, and he did that, and it just wasn't what he wanted. Whether he was homesick or too far or didn't fit in, whatever it may be, he just felt like a change was necessary.
And, obviously, when he put his name in the portal, we were interested. He and I had a lot of conversations after that and just wanted to make sure, we were getting what we want and he was going to get what he wants and what the expectations would be. And he's done a tremendous job living up to the expectations we've asked for. He plays hard. He's a great teammate. He's fun to be around. He's got a great personality. He's competitive. He wants to get better. He takes coaching. He demands a lot of himself and his teammates.
And, obviously, he's a talented young man. You see that when he's playing. But there's so many other things about him that I love. And, sometimes the same thing with Noah. Sometimes kids think leaving is the best thing, and when they get away, they realize how much their family is a part of this and how much they miss being around them and that they can be an impact player at home and have their family with them doing it. And so, those are two cases where you can see, the benefit of that. Both these guys are thriving in our systems.
You mentioned a lot about playing a complete game four quarters. Is there something, a trend you've noticed in the last two games, the defense kind of getting off to a slow start?
Yeah, it was bad football. That was the trend. I mean, we weren't playing aggressive. And it's not about blitzing. It's about, getting your feet in the ground, getting off, playing with technique, trusting what you see. You see a lot of, especially the teams we've played, with the portal, with new coaches, new coordinators, there's a lot of adjusting going on. And there's a lot of plays that are being run in the first half that aren't on film necessarily. And so you're relying on the rules to take over. And I think as the season goes, that gets less and less with teams. They are who you see on film. Not that you can't get a new play every week. You can, but, when you're playing against a staff you've never coached against in the Wake Forest game, there was a lot of things in there that they didn't show on film to their credit, and we just didn't do a great job reacting to those things. So, obviously it's something we don't want to do again, but I do love the way they responded.
Yeah, just to follow up on that, the third quarter has been your best quarter defensively, these first three games. What does that just say about the entire defensive staff and being able to study what the other teams are doing and be able to make the adjustments at halftime and come out a lot better?
Well, I think our first quarter against ECU had four straight three and outs, so that was pretty good, too. To your point, I think adjustments made at halftime, one, coaches have to do a good job of seeing it, of being able to teach it in a short period of time, and the kids have to be open to hearing it. Sometimes at halftime they're tired, they're hot, or maybe they're mad about how they were playing. The guys have been great. They've been super receptive to feedback. They ask questions. The coaches explain it well. It helps having these iPads now where you can show things to guys, not just tell them and draw it on a board. These guys are so visual. So, everybody has one, but that has been a great asset for us.
Was there an appeal to the ACC on the Sabastian Harsh play, and what did you hear back on that?
Yeah, you don't appeal to the league. You appeal to the head of officials, Steve Shaw, and so that's the process that you go through, and it was upheld.
Okay, and I mean, I know you had voiced your thoughts on that beforehand, but how much does that kind of reshape the way that you think about this defense heading into the first half against a road opponent?
Well, I mean, it's a next man up thing. It's no different than when Brandon Cleveland couldn't play the first half for us in the ECU game. Gave Chazz Wallace and Josiah Victor a chance to play, and you'll get to see that with our guys. We're not going to talk about who we're playing, but there will definitely be opportunities for guys to get more reps in that first half with him out. He's a good player for us. So, it hurts when you lose a guy like that for a half of football, but at the same time, that's part of the deal. You got to step up, next man up. You got to be able to, take advantage of your opportunity for one, and I know that the guys we have will be prepared to do that.
I wonder how much confidence it gives your team when you are able to come back in the second half in two weeks in a row, what that means when you get down in the fourth quarter or trailing late in the game to not just say, hey, we can do it, but to say, hey, we have done it.
Yeah, it definitely builds confidence. It's unique. When you're in football that way, there's highs and lows throughout the game, and it's hard to practice those things. You try to simulate as much as you can, but there's nothing like the feeling of being up or being down in a game and how your guys respond in those situations. I mean, you can be up in a game and let your guard down. You can be up in a game and finish somebody off. You can be down in a game and panic.
You can be down in a game and have poise, and our guys have been really good about just staying poised and sticking together and getting back to basics and making plays.
A lot of times when coaches talk about scrambling quarterbacks, it puts pressure on the defense, but because he rolls out so often, some designs, some not, how can you use maybe half the field to your advantage?
Well, if you knew which way he was rolling out, you could do that. And in some cases, you might be able to do that, with different coverage concepts or blitzes. But sometimes it's ad lib. It's a drop-back pass, and the guy just starts scrambling. And so we call it plaster rules. But guys that are in coverage have to lock on to people, when quarterbacks become mobile. And you got guys that aren't covering that have to come up and get the quarterback, and guys that have to stay on because those routes, it turns into, backyard football sometimes. A guy running it out turns it up down the sideline. A guy down the field comes back to the quarterback. And so you got to be disciplined in your rush lanes to prevent it as much as you can, but then also in coverage to make sure that you're staying on guys so that he can't find them and create explosive plays.
Yeah, the last two weeks, you guys have rushed for over 200 yards. What's it been like seeing the offensive line, it's a new unit come together these three weeks and really look a lot different than they did kind of from that first game?
Yeah, I'm proud of them, you know. It's everybody. It's the tight ends. It's the receivers. In some cases, the running backs are blocking because our quarterback's running some. I always say running the football, it's an 11-man responsibility. Even if the quarterback hands it off, like his ability to hold the defensive end from pursuit with him carrying out his fakes after a handoff, all those things matter. Our backs are getting a lot of yards after contact, and so there's a lot that goes into it. And it's important to have that kind of demeanor. It makes your quarterback better, when he can just not have to think so much on a play and give the ball to a good player and let him go. It helps him. It gets more guys in the box at times, which creates throwing opportunities for CJ and his skill guys. It's been a big part of our success, and the O-line's still evolving. I'm proud of those guys. They're working hard. Coach 2J, takes a lot of ownership and things that they can do better, and there's, as there's a rotation of guys that are getting better as they play, and that's going to continue.
Now that you've seen the tight ends play in several games, can you just speak to the impact Gavin Locklear is having on their development and just the growth of them at that position?
Yeah, he takes a lot of pride in their daily development on and off the field. He's hard on them, but he does it in a way where the guys really respect him. They know he really cares about them, but he pushes them now. He's definitely an energetic coach that motivates, and has great detail. He understands what Kurt wants him to do. He works well with Coach 2J because the tight ends and O-linemen are in sync in a lot of different blocking schemes. There's a lot of timing that goes into that with the Tight ends and tackles and tight ends and guards that they're pulling together. But, Gavin's definitely done a good job in his new role, and the tight ends that we have are working hard and they're getting better. I mean, Dante's gotten so much better from where he was 12 months ago, and so we've got some young tight ends that you don't get to see yet that are getting better. It's fun to see Preston Douglas and Gus Ritchey, those guys are getting better on the practice field every day. And so, having that guy in there with them that cares so much about this school, too, I think there's a lot of pride in it.
Yeah, Dave, talking about the running game again, there have been times in your career at NC State where you've had the bell cow guy that gets the ball 20 times, and then there have been times where you sort of split those carries. What goes into you, your mindset, when you're looking for a guy, okay, this is a guy that can handle that 20 carry per game, being a number one, his mindset, durability, things like that. What goes into making that decision that this is a guy that can handle that workload?
Yeah, sometimes they make it for me with just how good they are and how they practice and take care of themselves and their stamina. Some guys just wear down faster than others, or sometimes you've got two really good guys and they both need about half the touches. So there's a variety of things, and I always tell players this, it's ultimately your job to make the coach have to play you more with how you prepare, how you practice, how many plays you make, because you really do earn your playing time through all these practices that we have, and obviously when you watch Hollywood play, you can see why we want to get him to football. He's an explosive playmaker, and behind him we have a young one that's getting better right now, and so it's a good room. These guys work well together and they cheer for each other, and it's fun to watch them play.
You always talk at the first practice of how much you enjoy to put the distractions away in the offseason, kind of silliness, and just practice. Two of your peers were let go over the weekend mid-September, and players are thinking about entering the transfer portal. How much is that sustainable, I guess, in the big picture of things that this can happen?
You said two of my what?
Your peers, coaching peers. Oh. UCLA, Virginia Tech.
Right. Yeah, I heard the news. I'll be honest, I haven't paid a lot of attention just because we're in game plan mode right now and focused on my team. The trend of dismissing coaches earlier, am I a fan of that? Probably not. Like, I believe in finishing what you started, but I'm not at those schools. I don't know the situations, and I haven't really been paying attention to UCLA, but, I feel for anybody that loses their job, and obviously those are good coaches or they wouldn't have got those opportunities. As far as guys entering the portal this early, I mean, there's a lot of football left, and I would just hope that those locker rooms and players in those situations want to play hard for each other and for their schools.
When you don't have a Saturday game, what does your Saturday look like? Are you watching college football all day, or are you going out and doing something else and getting your mind away from it?
Well, I'm watching my son's team play for sure, and when I can get to his games, I do that. But, yeah, it's nice to be able to. It was really like research, watching other teams and putting myself in not really fan mode this weekend. I did that when I went to Connor's game, but more just studying what people are doing, watching some of the teams we're going to be playing live and getting to see that. There were some good games on TV, so it was really good to watch. Georgia Tech-Clemson was a heck of a football game. The Notre Dame game was a heck of a football game. And so I got to see some of those games and pay attention to them, and then I was, clued into my son's game and tried to catch up on a little sleep, get a little rest. That last week was a tough one. That Saturday to Thursday turnaround was a grind, so it was definitely nice to have a day to collect your thoughts and kind of hit reset.
