NC State head coach Dave Doeren spoke with reporters via Zoom as the Wolfpack prepared for its 2025 Gasparilla Bowl matchup against Memphis.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
Opening statement…
Okay, yeah, it's been a great week. The beautiful city of Tampa and Gasparilla Bowl, and all the representatives do a phenomenal job hosting. Nice to be somewhere in the 60 to 80 degree range. I know it's been cold back in Raleigh.
And the guys have done a good job. It's been fun, not just preparing for the game with this group of guys, but also the events that we've been able to go to.
The “Feed the Tampa” event was a really good opportunity. We packed over 17,000 pounds of food for their communities around here. And then today we were at the Air Force Base, had an opportunity to mingle with a bunch of people here down at the Air Force Base, see their equipment, see their weapons, talk to guys about how they build all these ships, and see our big players try to get into these cockpits on some of the helicopters.
It was pretty comical. But the bowl season is a lot of fun. It's an opportunity for a life experience for these guys. And obviously, you come down with the intent to enjoy that experience and prepare to win a football game. And so I'm glad we're getting towards the end of the week. It's been, you can tell that we're ready to transition into game day.
Yeah, Dave, what's it like for you to see a guy like Brandon Cleveland get to end his college career in his hometown?
Yeah, it's pretty cool. His high school coach was at practice today. So, Brandon means a lot to a lot of people, and to have his mentor there today at practice. And I know he's given everybody restaurant tips on where to go eat here in town. And I'm happy for him. He's meant a lot to our program. And I know he wants to finish in a strong suit here, playing in an NFL Stadium, in his hometown.
Dave, when you played at Drake, I don't know what your bowl experience was. I'm sorry, I don't have that handy. But do you use your life experience as a young man to sort of mold these experiences as a coach?
Maybe one of the greatest underdog wins of all time that no one knows about was when I was at Drake. We played in the big sombrero against South Florida when they were transitioning to FCS. So they had 63 players on scholarship.
We had none. Jim Leavitt was their head coach. And we came to Tampa and played at South Florida, as a non-scholarship football team.
So, I'm pretty proud of that as a life experience. I was a young defensive coordinator. I was like 25 years old. And the first play of the game, I still remember it. One of the receivers ran by my corner like he was in cement boots. And I was like, oh, man, this is going to be a long day.
And I told the staff, we're going to blitz the rest of the game. It's our only chance. But we won. And so there's just an example. But yeah, I use all my experiences. I use my staff, too.
Like, we've got a lot of years between us. Anytime you can get a nugget from a bowl game or a postseason game or a big game or a place, a game that you played in that area, you try to use everything you can to help these guys and to drum up some stories that have some relevance.
Yeah, Coach, you're about to play a dual-threat quarterback that can do it in the air and on the ground. You obviously signed one last couple of weeks ago. We didn't get to ask you about him. What was it like adding Kaneal late to this class? And why did you guys take two quarterbacks? I think it's the first time you've taken two quarterbacks from high school.
First of all, yeah, Memphis has a really good dual-threat quarterback. He's their leading rusher. Nine touchdowns rushing. And he uses his legs quite a bit. Some teams we play, it's more of a red zone, short yardage thing. They use this guy all over the field as a runner.
And so, a great challenge there for our defense. And we faced quite a few of those types of players this year. As far as why we took two, the numbers that you have in the quarterback room, more than ever, can change.
We felt like Kaneal was a guy that has a lot of dual-threat ability. We wanted to have an opportunity to develop a couple of guys. Between him and Jacob, it felt like that opportunity existed. Jacob's a dual sport athlete as well. And so, there's always an opportunity, if he's playing baseball, for us maybe to be one short. And the timing of it just made sense with where we're at in the program.
And, when you have 85 scholarships, it's a little different than when you can go to 105, potentially with guys on aid, to make your rooms a little bit bigger when necessary.
Coach, I know that you guys are focused on winning this game, but I wanted to know, like, are there any ways you can take something from bowl games to help build on things for the upcoming season? Ways that you can help start the development of guys who maybe didn't get as much playing time? Things like that that you're looking forward to as you're heading into this game.
Well, every practice rep matters for these guys in their development. And so, being an early bowl game, we didn't get as many practices as we normally would. So it's a little bit different playing on the 19th versus the 29th or 27th, 28th in those windows.
So, we maximized the time we had. I can tell you selfishly, I wish we had a lot more time. But you do get more reps. I mean, Adrian Farrow is a great example. I thought he really flashed in his last couple of weeks of the season in practice. You can see his confidence is growing.
His understanding of the scheme is getting better each week. And so the more you get practice time with players, the more opportunities you have to help them improve. And this is no different. Adrian's a really good example of that. And it is kind of a platform for you to go into off-season conversations, because nine more practices. And what did those mean?
What did you learn? How can you grow? These are things we saw that we think you can do better. And so, that's what this is all about. It's trying to help these guys become the best versions of themselves. And more opportunities on the field mean more opportunities for conversation about that.
Coach, with a win, this would be your fifth time in the last six years winning eight games or more. Could you speak to the consistency of this program, especially with all the roster turnover in college football?
Well, I think it says a lot about our culture first. There's been a lot of coaching changes on my staff in the years that I've been here. But the consistency hasn't changed.
And so it says a lot about the type of guys that we recruit. I think it says a lot about the development piece, which Thunder and Justin Smith work hand in hand, doing such a great job developing our players. And, I heard this yesterday.
We're the only team in college football that's going to have played nine teams with eight or more wins. So the hardest schedule in the country, basically, is what we were up against this year. So an eighth win with that strength of schedule, with all the injuries and staff things we dealt with this year, would be a heck of a season.
And that's what we're gunning for, is winning four of our last five games and having that momentum going into the offseason.
Dave, you spoke to Memphis a little bit. I just, if you don't mind, sir, just kind of give a little breakdown for those that haven't followed the Tigers. Skill set, are they a type of team that can really give a threat to the major conference teams?
Yeah, I mean, they were eight and one at one point this season. If you look at them traditionally in the last 12 years, they've had 10 seasons where they've been in bowl games. They've had four 10-plus win seasons, a couple of conference championships.
They've won four straight bowl games. So it's a program that knows how to win. They've done it with three different head coaches.
It says a lot about their culture and their makeup. I know they're not down here with anything other than that thought of knocking off a power four team and trying to win their fifth straight bowl game. So we know we're up against a very strong competitor.
Kids have been impressive at the events we've been to. Sometimes, when you play a team where the head coach is gone, it gets a little loose. And it doesn't seem that way with them. They seem very locked in. And so I know it's going to be a good football game.
Coach, we've talked a lot about Caden Fordham and the way he's developed through the year. But he's been named to two different All-American teams this week. What is that like for you to see him come back from the injury, improve throughout the year, and be rewarded with some big recognition there?
Well, I couldn't be happier for Caden. And it's what you hope for. He had all the aspirations kind of just dissipate when that injury happened in his head.
How am I going to reach my goals? How am I going to accomplish the things I came here to do? And to his credit, in our training room and our weight room, he did all the right things and came back and had one hell of a season.
A season to remember. 152 tackles and all-conference, second team All-American, third team All-American. And Caden's done everything he can do to make his last season memorable.
I'm really happy for him. Proud of him, obviously. But it's awesome when you have a guy that means so much to your team, your program, goes through such a tough thing, and comes out of it on the other side the way he has.
Yeah, I'll ask one more. You talk about Caden. Linebackers have obviously been a strength of this defense for a while under you. This year, with Coach Eliot being in his first year, what is it like for you to see him in order to keep that standard that that room had under Coach Gibson?
He's done a great job, and so has Isaiah Moore. Those guys work hand-in-hand with our inside and outside linebackers. And, Cian Slone got invited to the Senior Bowl last night. So that's another one of our outside linebackers who's getting some notoriety. And DJ recruited Cian here. I think those guys work really well together.
And there's a tradition in that room, as you mentioned. And, he goes back to, obviously, Isaiah. And Drake Thomas is having a heck of a season in Seattle. Payton Wilson's having a heck of a season with the Steelers. And so there's expectations for that room.
We recruit players who understand what it means to be in there. And it's a privilege. And we're thankful that we've been able to continue to recruit guys that can play at that level. And the coaches have done a great job. DJ's really brought in some different things for Caden. And I told Caden that when Coach Gibson left, I said, I know it's hard when your coach leaves that you've been with. Just wait.
You're going to learn a lot of new things that can help your game. And he's done that. He gave us the opportunity to bring in a new coach. And he's done everything he can to support that coach and learn from him. And he's flourishing because of it.
All right. Thank you, guys. Happy holidays.
