NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media following the Wolfpack's first practice of 2026 Fall Camp.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview with Doeren.
How did the first day of fall camp go?
Yeah, it was great. Proud of the guys. It's a really tight-knit team; you can see it, and you can feel the chemistry amongst them. Very coachable.
There is a lot of carryover on both sides, which is a lot different from last year. Two new coordinators, per se, and especially defensively, you can see there's a huge advancement in their knowledge of our scheme. So it was fun to watch.
We had an end-of-half situation today with both our kickers: Kanoah made a 50-yarder, and Nick made a 57-yarder. So that was great to see their leg strength open camp like that. It's just fun to be back on the field as a coach. I've heard people say this many times, but the first day of fall camp for a coach is a little bit like your birthday or Christmas. From the end of spring all the way to the end of summer, there's a lot of improvement with these guys: bigger, faster, stronger, more intelligent in your systems, better maturity level, and great chemistry amongst the guys.
When you get out there in that first practice, you really get to visualize a lot of work and see what they've done. These conversations that I have with every kid on the roster after spring ball about what they need to do better, I get to go in there now and evaluate: Did he hear me, and did he get the work done? Today was a lot of fun, being back out there to see it.
You mentioned the defense. Is there any concern on the defensive front, considering the status of Evans?
Yeah. Obviously, we were disappointed. We filed waivers and appeals, and we still believe we have a strong base. We totally support Katron. Anytime you lose anybody, it concerns you. But we knew that when we signed him, we needed a waiver. We've made plans with him and plans without him.
It's not a surprise, but it's disappointing, given the many past cases that are clearly similar and were passed in a positive way. We support him in everything he does to keep fighting, and we'll see where it ends up.
Speaking of which, Jai’Lun Hampton had a similar situation. What is the depth adjustment on the offensive line?
Every case is different, first of all. His case was much more of a long shot in our opinion. But on our offensive line, we have a very experienced group over there with guys who have played multiple positions. Rico Jackson has played everything but center. Teague Andersen can play tackle, guard, and center. Spike Sowells Jr. can play center and guard. I've got a whole list of guys in my head. Multiple guys are cross-trained, and that's part of your depth.
At the end of the day, as an O-line coach, you've got to get your best five on the field. Whichever five they are, Daniel Cruz can play guard and center, and Yousef Mugharbil can play guard and center. We have strong experience and depth in those areas, and we'll be able to rotate some of them.
What players have you noticed in this camp who have really made offseason gains?
Brian Nelson II, I've been very impressed with him on and off the field. His leadership, his voice, his work ethic, and his command of the room with those guys. We needed a command presence in the secondary, so I'm really proud of his growth.
Ronnie Royal III has grown up a ton and made a great play today in the red zone. Those two guys in the secondary have stepped up. Caden Gordon also really has impressed us at Corner.
On the defensive front, it's fun to see some of these new guys. I'm sure you guys have watched the videos: Colby Cronk can power clean 410 pounds, so he is an animal when it comes to strength. Isaiah Shirley and AJ Prim are up at 300 pounds and look really quick on their feet. Those guys jump out at me.
On offense, Davion Dozier, at receiver, has really changed his body. Tyran Warren and Amiri Acker have put on very positive weight. I think Vander Ploog came in here at like 220, and he's 250 now, so he looks really good. So I'm excited about the changes and proud of Dantonio Burnette and his crew. Jaelyn Shipman and Erin Noble on the nutrition staff do a great job with these guys as well.
How do you feel about the running game today?
Taking a little pressure off CJ helps. We're in helmets today, so it's not like we're in an inside run drill where it's easy to tell where we're at, but I like our backs a lot.
I think the biggest question mark for us, not because of ability, but because of experience, is in the tight end room right now, though we like those guys quite a bit. We lost three players who are currently playing professional football, and the tight end is an integral part of the run game. That's going to be a part of training camp for us: watching Hunte Provience, Preston Douglas, Vander Ploog, and Ian Flynt to see what these guys can do. Hopefully, that room won't have any drop-off. We're very athletic at that position, which allows us to do some other things, as we did with Justin Joly in the past.
I like how the O-line looks. Our quarterbacks can run, and the receivers will block for you. Those guys will get out there, get in front of you, and get in the way. Some of them are really physical. We have the components to have a good run game. Now it's just putting it all together and blocking the moving fronts and looks that you get. A lot of blocking people is about reacting when that guy moves or blitzes. It changes things, so those guys have to be on the same page with the O-line. I always call it "five as one" playing together.
Coach, in your experience, when you have a quarterback who had some success as a freshman and did a good job as a sophomore, how big of a jump have you seen quarterbacks make in their junior year?
One thing a coach can't do is make a kid more experienced. I can put him in the summer program and get him to game day, and I can have him watch a lot of film, but I can't give him game experience. He has to physically do that himself.
What happens is that the game slows down for them. The things they have recall for and experience in are their past failures and successes. CJ Bailey is in a really good spot right now. The game is slow for him. The offense is second nature now; he's not thinking about our play call, he's thinking about what the defense is doing, where the clock is, what the situation is, and where he is on the field. He's at a different level of thinking, and it's fun to watch. You would hope that after having a pretty good year last year, he gets even better.
Is there an area or two where you can tell guys worked on what you told them to work on from the spring until now? With him specifically, is there something that stands out?
His leadership jumps off the table. Last year, he was an offensive leader; this year, he's a team leader. It's different, and you can feel it. He can talk to anybody; he has complete confidence, and the team has complete confidence in him, and he knows that. There is just a command presence and a level of comfortability.
Speaking in front of people isn't easy for everyone, and not everyone can do it, even if they're a good leader. He has grown in that area, and that will help our football team. Having an alpha leader at quarterback is huge. It's not always that way. For years, for us, it hasn't been: it was Bradley Chubb, it was Payton Wilson, it was Isaiah Moore, it was different guys. But to have the quarterback be able to do that for your roster is a big deal.
You've been able to plug-and-play cornerbacks over the last few years. How does Ondre Evans stack up?
He's really athletic. There's a great competition right now at the corner, and he's one of the guys competing. Caden Gordon, as I mentioned earlier, we're excited about his growth and development, and he's done some good things. Jaren Sensabaugh is healthy; it's my first time seeing him play corner because he played nickel for us last year, and he had a good day today. There is competitive depth for that other spot opposite Brian Nelson II, and we like our choices. We'll see which guy earns it.
Does Year 14 feel different at all?
I feel great. I've got to tell you, it was so much fun to be on the field today. I'm not going to say that I'm comfortable because on the first day, you're all excited to get out there, but there are a lot of good things going on right now.
I think it's not so much the number of years you do it as the teams and staff you do it with that make the difference. There's a real shared commitment with this group and a hunger to make this place better than it's been. It's been good, but we want to make it special. It's a one-day-at-a-time approach, and that's what we're going to do. We've got 30 days until we play Virginia, and we need everyone to count. Thank you guys, I appreciate it. Thanks, y'all.
