NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media Thursday afternoon ahead of the Wolfpack's upcoming matchup versus Campbell.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s interview.
On the bounce-back in practice from Saturday’s loss...
They want to win. You have two tough weeks, result-wise, and the resolve of this team hasn't changed. They want to get better. When you leave things on the field from week to week, whether you win or lose, it's always the same with the coaches. You want to get that stuff off of film. Ultimately, as a coach, your film is your résumé, and we don't like how it looks right now. We've got to get it better, coach better, play better. As I said in my press conference, it's a huge focus on fundamentals: the way we block, the way we defeat blocks, the way we tackle, the way we break tackles, throwing, catching, just back to the basics.
On getting Kelvon McBride back into the fold...
It's nice to add a player for once. I'm excited for Kelvon. He's done a great job in his recovery. He's been locked in at every meeting, every practice, every walkthrough, and every jump on the field. Obviously, we've got to get him in game shape. Conditioning is one thing, but football is another. His recall and mastery of the system is like he's been out there, so it's nice to have him back on defense and on special teams because he was one of our core contributors on special teams for the last two years.
On Ke’Von Carter and LaCorian Hoge getting more reps…
Well, they've been getting reps. They've been in the two-deep all camps, so we've seen those guys a lot. It's really about game reps now, and so they're helping us more on special teams. There's times where they get in the game on defense, and their confidence should continue to go up as they play more.
On what’s stood out in Carter and Hoge’s game…
Both played high school football in Texas; it's a year-round sport. They have football blocks down there where, all year round, you're coached. Their ability to come in and learn scheme [has stood out], and they play against great competition, so there isn't any fear factor of who they're playing against. They learn ball fast. They're well coached guys. Their high school programs did a great job with them. Just from a football IQ standpoint, they're ahead of the curve for a lot of the freshmen we get, and that's why we've been able to play them.
On how impressive their growth has been considering their late arrival in Raleigh…
It's really hard today with all the football we're allowed to do in the offseason now, but yeah, they caught up. You know, Zoom and being able to have that kind of technology has helped us as coaches because you can now do that remote[ly]. When they were back there in the spring, you can get on a Zoom call with a guy, talk him through things, and install things. It does help you that you have the technology to reach guys different than you used to.
On D.J. Eliot’s aptitude for talent evaluation…
He did a great job. He got here, and I asked him to assess what we have first and tell me what we need, and then [I said,] “Let's go to the recruiting staff and echo what's the need, and let those guys go get a pool of guys, and then let's go recruit them.” Switching to this scheme, there was a lot of edge players that we had to go find, and we were able to do that in recruiting, with the portal and with some late high school takes.
On Charlton Warren filling in as defensive coordinator during Eliot’s bereavement period…
He's experienced. He’s done this multiple times. It wasn't like, "Okay, how do I do this?: He knows exactly how to plan a practice. He knows how to talk to the assistant coaches from that chair with the players. He knows what to demand, and he's been like that since he got here for D.J. They've been able to divide and conquer in some ways, and where he's with the front and he's with the back end, and so it's been very seamless. We're lucky to have a guy with that kind of experience on our staff for when something like this happens.
On the injured players continuing to contribute to the program…
They’re helping guys, sitting in meetings with them, talking to them on the field when they're out there, encouraging them, coaching them. All of those guys pour back into the program the right way. I think Jackson Vick's done a really good job of that with Asaad [Brown, Jr.] and with [Jivan Baly], so that's something our program, whether you're injured or not, we ask older players to help younger players all the time. There's that servant-hood as part of our leadership program that our guys do naturally.
On how faith has been an important factor in the team culture…
Al Byrd, being a former player here, has a lot of love for our program. It's near and dear to his heart, and he's always around for these guys. It's obviously something, as a head coach, you can't mandate, but what I try to do is give them opportunity in every way, and growing in their faith walk is one of the ways I can do that. If that's something that's important to them, Al's there, and the players are very involved when they have those things. It’s very interactive, and I agree. For those of us that believe in God and have that Christian faith, to be able to lean into somebody and use them as a guide in tough times, it's always a place that my players who have been injured that have come back, you hear them talk a lot about how that part of the recovery was integral: being able to lean into their faith and trust God. It's great that we have that ability to do that with Al's presence and that the players really buy into doing it.
