NC State head coach Dave Doeren recently spoke on the Wolfpack Weekly Radio Show, talking about Fall camp, previewing the Virginia game, and much more!
Week one for us, for those that matter here, and it's the first week back, nation. It's the first week: Pack against the Cavaliers. It's a holiday of sorts for yours truly. I mean, is this like one of the great times of the year? I love it. How has camp been? Has practice been getting set here for game prep against the Cavaliers?
Camp was great, and we started school. We have to go, so we transitioned from fall camp to game prep, and that's been good, too. I'm glad it's not game day yet. We still have work to do, polishing up our game plan, and there's a lot of film study when you play the first game, just because there are so many players that weren't on their team last year that you get to go back and watch.
How many scrimmages did you have in fall camp? Did you get what you were hoping out of them?
Yeah, we had two large scrimmages, and then we had a couple other live segments, short-yardage, goal-line type stuff that you need to see to the end. But we came out of both healthy, got to see a lot of things that we could correct, and that film is huge when you talk about corrections because it's, you know, it's the most game-like you can make it.
How coachable is this year's group? You're talking about making corrections. You've got 50 new guys. Many of them are just freshmen, your typical newbies, but they're portal guys and whatnot. How is this group?
Yeah, they've been great. Leadership guys have done a good job helping the younger players as well. So, there's a lot of good ownership across the roster on wanting the players to do things the right way, and the kids have been really coachable.
What is the word of the week, and why?
Urgency. For obvious reasons, it's coming fast. And playing a week earlier than normal. But it's a measure of how much things mean to you in a short period of time; that's really what urgency is, and we have a clock in our team room that shows how many days until we play, right? And as that ticks down, the messaging gets increasingly urgent because you don't have time. Your preparation's running out of time, your film study's running out of time, your recovery's running out of time. Everything adds up. And so it really is a competition, and that's how we try to do it with these guys: understand we're playing another team not just on game day, but in preparation and all the things that it takes to win the game.
This is the 14th time you've stood in front of that team in that team room on the first day when they report. How much has the message changed, or not at all?
It changes a little bit every year. I think I'm always trying to learn and grow, and then you learn from the experiences you have from previous seasons. But the DNA of what it is hasn't changed. It's still football. It's still blocking, tackling, throwing, catching. But how we play, the mentality we want our guys to have, and how we want to treat people in the community — the basics of who we are — do not change. But the little messaging, the rule changes, having more players you haven't coached in the room—like, there are some things that are different.
It's got to feel good to look at a group, and it's his fourth year here. This is not breaking news by any stretch, but let's take Isaiah Shirley out of the pile. He's just a great guy. He's a great dude. He's the kind of kid you want around. You're coaching this group. I'm thinking about coachability, changes and adjustments, and new names. But it feels like a group that has connected not only because of the youthful chemistry of what was going on with CJ as a kiddo, right, but also you got great guys around him that are coming from different places in different ways. But I don't know, is this team more connected than even some other groups you've had, or are there just great guys all around on this roster, maybe even more so than in some other years?
I don't really want to compare this team to other teams when it comes to connection. I think there are a lot of guys that were close friends on our teams, sure, and the key to the drill is: how are they going to be on game day together? And I don't know the answer to that question yet. How are they going to handle adversity together? How are they going to deal with being behind in a game? How are they going to handle being up in a game? A ref makes a bad call. How are they going to respond to that?
Like, there are all kinds of things on game day you can't simulate. And so what kind of team are we going to be at 3:30 on Saturday? That's what I'm interested in, and I'm excited about the way they've prepared. That's one thing that has been good to see. But there are many unknowns for every team in college football. If the coach says there isn't, he's lying to you. There's just a lot of things that are different when you talk about teams having 50 to 80 new players on their teams.
You've talked publicly about how you'd like the leadership of both sides of the football. Yeah, one thing that I noticed in one of the practices is one of the guys was on his knee, and there was another player that said, "Are you sick? Are you sick?" And he goes, "No." He goes, "We'll stand up. Don't get down on one knee." Is that the kind of leadership and things that you like a player, ownership, to have, that you don't have to say things like that, that they take ownership to do things like that?
Yeah, I think the players holding each other accountable puts things in a different perspective for the guys. And you hope that guys who are walking the walk can go up there and ask somebody to do something better because he's demonstrating what that looks like. And that's what you want from your locker room.
It can't just be coaches that are the enforcers. It's got to be the leaders of your team. To pivot here for a second, get specific with a couple of players we really haven't talked about much who may play prominent roles. Keenan Jackson, wide receiver, returner last year at some point. We talked to Coach Phillips, and he really praised him for his blocking as much as his receiving. Big, strong guy. How has Keenan been getting prepped here for Virginia?
Yeah, he's practiced really well. I mean, he's had a great offseason. He really has a good routine. Tremendous day in and day out of showing up, working hard, getting better. Has a big catch radius, understands the offense. He and CJ have good chemistry, and he's consistent. And so those are all things you look for in a coach. And, you don't get a block on fourth-and-one as many times as he did if you're not tough. And so he's a tough kid. He wants to go in there and compete.
Let's talk about the running back room. Obviously, Duke Scott is wearing the number one. You look at Davion Gause, who came in from another school, but I've just noticed a bunch of guys in the backfield just continuously making plays in scrimmages and in practices.
Yeah, yeah, I think there's a lot of depth in that room. Not necessarily great experience, but great depth. We've got three guys that have played significant college football in that room: Duke, obviously, Davion at another school, and then Darius for us last year was a big part of third and fourth down. So those three guys we trust and have played a lot of ball, and then we're excited about what's coming up in the program. Darius has gotten a lot better, really fast. The kid can do a lot of things in the pass game, and he's really, really fast, so he gives you another gear. Jonathan Paylor, once he's 100 percent, will be the same as he used to be.
He's been practicing for the last two weeks, so we're just getting his legs back under him right now. And he brings another gear, speed-wise, to that backfield. And those two guys are similar to Nyheim in the fact that if they pop the line, you may not see him until the end zone because they're fast. And are they coachable? No, I'm awesome. A guy we signed from Philip Rivers High School. He's gonna be a really good football player.
Now, Dylan, a running back from Buford High School in Georgia, is gonna be a really good running back here. And so we got good depth in that room, and it's a position where you can play guys early if we have to.
Darius Johnson last year, when he came out, you see number 25 from the bird's-eye view we're up at. It's hitting time. It's blocking time. I got excited when he didn't get stats for that, but you know he's charging ahead. I always think about the game against UNC because of the four touchdowns; he's out there just plowing away. Great blocker, physical kid. And maybe he's got a chance to keep doing big things.
Yeah, he's kind of an unsung hero in our locker room. He doesn't say a word, plays on every special team, does the dirty work on short-yardage and at the goal line, and does it well. And so we're excited about Darius, and he can run the football like you can, so that's the other part. If something happened, we'd feel great with him in the game on first, second, or third down.
A little bit. In the last segment, we talked about some specifics: players, offense, and defense. But big picture, coach, you were interviewed for an article with The Athletic. I believe it was last week, if I'm not mistaken. And we actually talked about it with our group that we work with behind the scenes about life. It wasn't really about football. We touched on football a little bit. But you alluded to different ways to frame things in life.
It was in reference to the portal and some of the madness with roster turnover and whatnot. But how intentional have you been, or have you had to be, about being mentally flexible with difficulties and challenges and things that have arisen in the last three, four, five, six years that didn't exist in college football that long ago? And then, how much have you extrapolated those things to the bigger picture?
Yeah, I just kind of got sick of hearing, "That's not what I signed up for," from people in our business. And it was kind of like, well, then get out of the business. If you're going to be in it, find a way to be successful in it. Find a way to be happy in it. And I had to look in the mirror, and just, you've got to be part of the solution. And so that's why I told my staff, we're going to figure this out, do the best we can in this space, and don't bring your negative thoughts about it to the building anymore. And so it's helped us just have solution-based planning. And like I said, you don't get disappointed when a player you want to continue coaching leaves. You do everything you can for them when they're here. Develop them, mentor them, lead them.
Obviously, in the NIL space, try to help them that way, too. But at some point, if they want to leave, you know that there's a great place for someone else to come. And we've been successful on the portal. So it's not like the end of the world. We'll go find another guy who wants to play here. Just like a coach leaves, I'll find a coach that can make us better. And it was just a shift I had to make to find my own happiness in this profession, because it has changed. And change doesn't have to be bad. It's different. But you've got to find a way to succeed if you want to stay in it.
What led to that decision? And was there just a moment where you just said, "I have to change"?
Yeah, I was really disappointed after one of the seasons. A bunch of guys jumped in the portal last minute. And it was kind of a below-the-waist blow, I guess you would say. And it took me a few days. But then, why do you do this? You go back to what you love. You love helping these guys. You love competing. You love the game. You love the staff chemistry. None of that's changed. And so let's just figure out how to handle this other piece that has changed. And sometimes you just need a little break from it all to kind of marinate on what's really important.
We started talking about all kinds of things in our meeting. It was positive self-talk. It was all the things that really weren't football-related for us because we're in adjacent roles. But it applies to a lot. Yeah. Your business, your life, your sport, your job. Yeah, it felt like you could take what you're dealing with in the portal and go big picture. Not just the portal, but in general, with all the turmoil of college football. Shoot, we're talking about legal jurisdictions and all kinds of stuff.
Yeah, it's crazy right now. I mean, it's just that we're all sitting here waiting on judges to make decisions so we know who we can coach. But yeah, I mean, it's just part of the deal, man. Like, everyone asks me, "What are you going to do?" I'm like, well, we have a plan with them and a plan without. I'm like, that's how it is.
Even in the way-back machine, when you might have one or two transfers, and you would look to the portal to fill a few things, you always said, "I want a guy that can come in and be a starter." It can't even be a contributor. Have you always been more—I don't know what the right word is—you've always seemed more concerned about the guys you have than the guys you don't have. Has that been a constant throughout your career?
Yeah, I think so. Someone told me that a long time ago. Worry less about the ones that you're not coaching. Worry about the ones you are. And I think it's good advice for whether he should be a starter or not. Going back to that comment, I think it depends on what you're bringing in. If you're bringing in a first-year player from Georgia that needs to develop, then you're going to develop him. If you're bringing in a fifth-year player who's been a starter, he doesn't want to come in as a backup for you.
And so you just got to look at what you're bringing in and make sure we're transparent with these guys when we recruit them. Say, "You're in a competition to play." Hey, you're not going to play. We're going to develop you. And then you're going to play when this guy leaves. Or, hey, this job's open. Come in here and compete. And by the way, there are other kids here. It's not going to be handed to you. We don't hand anything to you. But the opportunity is good.
You mentioned Georgia. There are nine players from Texas on the roster this year, which is more than in past years. Is that something that is intentional? Is there a pipeline opening there? Is it, well, these guys are coming from different schools? The portal, they're from Texas, but they're actually coming from school A, B, or C, which isn't in the Lone Star State. What went into that?
Yeah, it was kind of just weird how that worked out. The one year, we were scrambling when we hired DJ to find some linebackers. We just didn't do well recruiting that year. And he did a great job finding a couple of guys: LaCorian Hodge, Ke’Von Carter. They were under-recruited in Texas. And we found them, and we were able to get them. And they're both talented young players for us, with a future here. The rest of them were portal guys. And it doesn't matter where they're from.
Sometimes with these guys, they want to find the right fit. Brian Nelson's a kid that's from down there, right? So it's just, does it open a pipeline? I don't know. I mean, it's hard in pipeline worlds anymore. I do think connections matter. So if there's a kid Brian played with somewhere, or a kid LaCorey played with, that helps with recruiting. It doesn't necessarily mean that kids from those high schools will want to travel all the way to North Carolina.
Are there different states with different levels you look for in high school football? And some states have a reputation for being a great pipeline for college athletes. Are there certain states that have that? I think of Miami. I think of Texas or Florida — Texas. Even North Carolina has gotten better over the years.
Yeah, I mean, this state's fifth or sixth in the NFL right now for players. It's really good. But yeah, there are some states that are better for two reasons. They have bigger populations. And they have more access to their players as high school coaches. So they're developed better. They have football blocks. And maybe they have eight blocks of classes. One of those blocks is football when you go to Texas and Georgia.
And so those coaches get to coach their players, develop them, and lift them, and do walk-throughs with them. Whereas you go to somewhere in Kansas or Nebraska, that's not happening. Those kids aren't in football blocks. They're playing through sports. So yeah, there are states that definitely have more tradition and better opportunity to produce football players.
So it's kind of more integrated with the day, with just the school day. Yeah. Wow.
Access. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you walk into a Texas high school, and there are 10 coaches that are in the building. They have a strength coach. They have an indoor. They have a football block. I mean, it's just like they're in college already. High school. High school. Yeah, that's how it is. Well, there used to be a time when we didn't have spring football here in North Carolina. At least we have that now. Yeah, when I got here, they couldn't have more than 22 players. It was maybe 21 players at practice at a time to keep them from going 11-on-11.
Really?
Yeah, so they'd have the rest of them inside. And then these guys would practice. And then 21 more guys. It kind of was weird. Shucks. And so I'm glad it's changed to allow these coaches in our state to do a better job with their guys and give the players a better chance to develop into who they want to be.
