NC State HC Dave Doeren Meets With The Media Prior To App State Matchup

NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media to discuss the Wolfpack’s response following the Vanderbilt loss, the upcoming matchup with App State, and much more!

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full press conference!

Dave, in your experience, when you were at some of the smaller schools and got to play the bigger ones, what was that like for you?

They’re fun games, first of all, because you know they don’t count towards wins and losses in your conference. It’s just like you’ve got nothing-to-lose-type games. Those kids will be fired up to play.

An in-state team, a big crowd for them to play in front of, an opportunity, and they’re a good football team.

What have the last few days of practice been like, just seeing the guys’ response and moving forward?

Really good. A lot of energy. We built a lot of momentum in how we played last week, and the guys know that. We’ve turned the page, moved forward, and really practiced well.

I was very proud of how the guys came back to work on Tuesday, Wednesday, and, obviously, today.

What kind of advantage do you have with a veteran staff and yourself having experience handling these situations?

We’ve definitely walked through the hot coals on that one and have a lot of scars.

You have to have thick skin. It’s a crazy business, and a lot happens. But you’ve got to be able to move quickly to the next play, the next day, or the next opportunity.

I think that’s the biggest thing we talked about: how we respond to adversity. We have to respond immediately.

You mentioned the heat at Vanderbilt, 155 degrees on the field. Do you think college football should be more flexible, especially with early-season games when it’s really hot in September, maybe by moving kickoff later?

I think there needs to be some communication between the experts — medical experts, I guess you would say — on what the best time is for these guys, from a player-health standpoint, to play a game when it’s like that.

I guess it was the hottest game in the history of their program. I’ve never been on a field.d, I played in Vegas one time where it was kind of like that, where you walked out on the field, and you could see the heat coming off the turf.

But it was a night game. To play it when we did at that kick, and I know TV matters and these time slots and revenue and all that, so it’s a big, big conversation, but I do think it’s worthy of one.

Not just the players, but the fans and cheerleaders. There are a lot of people impacted by being in the sun in that temperature.

Obviously, you have a job to do, but player protection is part of it. Charges were filed against the former medical director of NC State, who apparently oversaw the care of some 1,200 kids. Do you have anything to say about that? Do you think there should be player protections in place in the future, or are there?

I can’t comment on that case. I can’t. Absolutely in favor of whatever we can do to protect our athletes.

The kicking game wasn’t as strong Saturday. What have you guys seen since then?

Are you talking about the punter?

Punting, and what went into using Kanoah in the kickoff situations?

Kanoah is our best kicker available right now.

Nick is injured, so you go through your week of practice and assess where you’re at. In this case, it’s between Kanoah and Drew.

Kanoah can sky kick and deep kick, but Drew can’t. When you’re not always going to be a touchback kickoff team as we have been for a long time, you have to have some maneuverability with where the ball is going to land to make it harder on them.

They’re going to get return opportunities when you’re not kicking it in the end zone. If you kick it to the same spot over and over and over, you’re asking for it.

That’s what went into it. It’s health and scheme.

What’s it been like for you to see Elijah Satchell as a freshman?

Really proud of Satch. He’s consistent, the same guy every day, works hard, is productive, and is a smart football player. He’s increasing his reps because he’s earned that with his play.

It’s a great example of what happens when you take advantage of the reps. I always tell the guys, “Don’t count the reps, make the reps count.”

If you do that, then all of a sudden your rep count goes up. He’s a good example of that.

How do you handle day-to-day updates on the different things going on? It is your livelihood, but on the flip side, it’s also a lot of noise. It may happen, it may not happen, or it may happen down the road. How do you handle that week to week?

I really don’t read any of that until someone tells me I need to read that. When it’s just conversation, it doesn’t matter.

But when it becomes, “Hey, they’re going to vote on this,” or, “Hey, we would like your feedback on this before we talk about it,” then I’m going to have a conversation with Boo or Colin, our compliance officer.

If I’m confused by what they’re saying, like, “Hey, break this down for me. Tell me exactly how this impacts the calendar.”

But I’ve got a lot of other things that are more pressing because they’re going to happen, and that’s a thing that might or might not happen. It’s just a timing thing on when it’s appropriate for me to pay attention to it.

Speaking of that, Jamel got an injunction yesterday. Do you expect him to play this weekend?

Yeah. He’s been practicing with us since we were allowed to add him to the roster when the first injunction went into effect.

I saw there’s a ton of players on that. He came up and showed me the documentation yesterday, saying he had received approval, so we sent it over to compliance.

Now they’re going through all their paperwork and dotting every ‘i’. But I'm excited for him and us. It’s nice to have an experienced player like that whom you can use on game day, whether he’s out there on defense or on special teams.

He’s a good football player.