NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media to discuss the Louisville win, preview this week's game against Wake Forest, and much more!
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full press conference!
Opening statement...
Going back to Louisville, I'm really proud of the guys, their resiliency, grit, and mental and physical endurance. The next man up was some guys getting injured, and in the finish, they just found a way to win, and it was a hell of a football game. A lot of respect for Louisville and the talent on that roster.
It's a really, really good bunch of athletes that they have. It was tough to run the football in that game. They had a lot of guys in the box and a good front, but I was really proud of how we ran the ball when we had to run the ball, and particularly the last four minutes of the game, to not give the ball back to their offense, which is scoring a lot of points this year.
It's just one of those games where it was a dirty run game, and the backs ran really hard. The offensive line and tight end group played really well and managed a lot of pressure. CJ played a really good game of football. He was accurate on time and on short and deep routes, ran well, and took care of the football. When he did run, the line just battled against a really good front. Davion Gause had a great game for us.
After Duke left the game, he stepped up and played 62 snaps at back. That's a lot of football. Whether he was running the ball, catching the football, making plays as a receiver, or providing protection, he had a hell of a block on one of CJ's touchdowns. They brought a max blitz, cover zero, and Ball Fight came back, diving to knock the guy out of the way for CJ to throw Keenan that touchdown. Both our tight ends, I thought, played well and had an impact on the game. Keenan continues to be a playmaker for us and shows up in key situations.
It was really good to see JoJo have the night that he did. I thought Victor Snow impacted the game as a receiver, not just on underneath routes, but he also had a really nice catch on a vertical downfield route. Tyran Warren, great to see him.
He's worked really hard to make a big play for us. The week before, we had a big play to him that was a P.I. on the defense. There are just new guys stepping up and continuing to play well on third down offensively when we're efficient on first and second down.
I was really proud of Daniel Cruz, his first start playing center in the rain, 82 snaps, and really did a great job, not just snapping, but making the calls for the O-line, protecting, and playing hard. Then Trent Mitchell came in and did some really good things in the fourth quarter when Yousef was down. Defensively, the turnovers were the key.
We recovered three fumbles, forced four, and had a fourth-down stop in the red zone, which was like a turnover. The play Harvey Dyson made was one of the best I've witnessed in person, in terms of effort. Just a tremendous play by a senior.
Obviously missed way too many tackles, and those led to a lot of explosive plays that let Louisville get back in the football game and tie us up. A lot of that's fundamental. Some of it's the talent that they have.
Some of it's the fundamentals that we didn't play with. We have to do a better job coaching those kids and then practicing those things more intensely. Spirit is to chase the football against the scout team, seven-on-seven, whatever we're doing, but just playing with better technique as tacklers in space.
But we got better and stopped them in a two-minute drive, improved on red zone defense. We were two-of-three defensively in the red zone. We had a big fourth-down stop, as I mentioned, and could have had six takeaways; two would have been good plays.
But two balls hit our hands; we dropped the interception by Teasdell and Da'Kaari. I thought we did a good job pressuring the quarterback. We had three sacks and a big one at the end with Harvey.
Multiple hits and pressure are really good for seeing some of the guys win some one-on-one; we haven't been winning. Ke'Von Carter, really nice job reaching and stripping the quarterback for a fumble. A lot to work on, but found a way to win, and that's what matters.
I was impressed with our specialists, in particular, our long snapper. I thought, again, wet balls for snappers isn't always easy. He was right on target, with a really good operation time.
Our holder did a great job. Kanoah was perfect in the game in field goals and PATs. Again, he did a great job helping our kickoff unit.
I thought our punter wasn't at his best, and I know he'll step up for us because he has a lot of ability. Playing a really good football team this week. In-state game; I have a lot of respect for Wake and the way they're playing as a team.
They're experienced, talented, and healthy. They've had a lot of we've had a lot of tight games with Wake, and in my tenure here, 13 of the 14 were one-possession games, and this might be the best Wake team we've played. When you look at how they play together and the experience that they have, offensively, you can see Gio Lopez really thrives in this system.
He's playing good football as a runner and a passer. They're scoring 36 points a game and averaging over 440 yards. It's a good system.
There's a lot of movement, formations, and motion, and it's balanced, with good talent. Lopez is complete in the game: ten touchdowns, one interception, and five rushing touchdowns. You didn't really see him as a runner at UNC, but you do see that he's a gifted runner, and he's strong, really strong lower body.
Playing at a high level as a passer, a scrambler, and a runner. He's their third-leading rusher. The receiver, Hernandez, is a dynamic player.
He's a really good football player, with 37 catches for 600-plus yards. The backs both run downhill, a lot of gap schemes, and their whole line plays well together. It's going to be a good challenge for our defense.
Defensively, they're really sound. Their kids know what they're doing. They have a lot of returning players that we played against last year.
The secondary is probably the best group. When you look at the five guys and how they're playing that we've faced this season. D-line has the long-edge guys.
Both have three sacks on the edge. The inside kids, they rotate and play really hard. They strain.
They're only giving up 23 points a game. I think their boundary safety number five is Patterson. Really, really good football player for them.
The strong safety we didn't play against last year, the field safety number six, is a contact player that has a lot of range. It's a good football team. They're playing well.
They're playing with confidence. I look forward to the opportunity to battle with them this week. I know it's going to be a great challenge.
I know our players look forward to the opportunity to improve. We have done that. We've gotten better each game this season.
We need to do that again. It's great to have this game at home. We need to really get into a crowd.
I know noon kickoffs don't always produce the same energy as a night game. Just asking the fans to get up early, go to bed a little early, unless you're staying the night in our parking lot. But get up and tailgate early.
Get your energy ready and pack the carter once again. It's an in-state game against a really good team. We need crowd noise.
When we're on defense, we need crowd noise. We need people to get out of their seats, stand up, and cheer for the players and help the defense. It makes it harder on the opponent's offense.
That's what home-field advantage is. It's when their offense is on the field. On defense, the fans are crazy in those moments, especially on third downs, in the red zone, and on fourth downs.
That's an area we really need help with. Appreciate the support that we get. Let's just be loud, have a great time on Saturday, and make life hard for Wake Forest.
Before the season, you mentioned this offensive line was one of the deepest you've had at NC State. What is it like for you to see — obviously you don't want to see it in action in this way — but see the way that they've jumped, the guys have jumped in and come off the bench and played well?
Definitely don't want to see our depth, but we are. I'm proud of those guys for two things.
When you don't get the reps you think you're going to get, sometimes guys get pouty, even though these kids have just worked their butt off and gotten better. Now that their opportunity has presented itself, they're ready. We're getting thin up front.
Every time you lose a really good offensive lineman, it's a big loss. We've got to rally the troops up front, and those kids will be ready to play, and they've got to test in front of them. It's a good group they're going to block.
Dave, I think going back to the first game after Virginia, you guys have scored on your opening possession and also got a stop on your opening defensive possession. I know you've talked about starting fast, but specifically offensively, what does that say about your O.C.'s job of scripting plays and the execution you're getting on that side of the ball?
I think offensively and defensively, to your point, we've executed well in the opening drives of the games. It says a lot about both sides of the football: what they're seeing on tape, the plan they're putting together, how the kids are ready to play, and the execution.
Coach Roper's doing a great job with CJ and his staff, sitting in there, figuring out ways to move the football down the field, and then the guys have to make the plays and strain and protect and block and all those things. But it helps when you start fast in a football game, and it's not always that way. It's quite the opposite last year against Wake. They had a return-to-open kickoff for a touchdown.
Hopefully that doesn't happen again. But it's nice to get off to a fast start, for sure.
Back to the offensive line, I wanted to ask you how difficult it was throughout the week to figure out how you're going to move pieces around. Obviously, you had Keke at center for multiple weeks, then you moved him back to right tackle, put Daniel Cruz in there, and then what can you say about Garett Tujague's job having all those guys ready for those roles, too?
Garett deserves a lot of credit, and we've cross-trained Rico for a long time, and one of his greatest assets to us is he can play any guard or tackle position, and he's a very smart kid, has no problem, offensively speaking, with being on the right side or the left side. Sometimes kids really struggle fundamentally when you change their stance to right foot back versus left foot back, right-handed, left-handed, all those things, and having a guy like Rico's is so critical and valuable for our team.
Wherever we need him, he'll play, and to your point, it's a moving thing, like day-to-day sometimes with some of these guys, and you got to find a way to get your best five out there, and Garett does a great job of cross-training his guards to play center, his tackles to play guard, and so that whatever happens, we can figure out a way to get the best five out there.
A quick follow-up about CJ: I wanted to ask you, obviously, everything that he went through two weeks ago to get that moment that he did on Saturday night and have the type of game that he did — what did it say about him, and what did you see from him afterward as well in the game?
He's played four straight games where he's been really accurate and has been taking care of the football, giving his guys opportunities to run after the catch with precise throws. He is a very mentally tough human being, and you have to be to be great at quarterback position. I'm proud of him, and he keeps getting better, and trust me, he's not even close to satisfied with where he's at.
He wants to get better every day, and he's got that drive, and the guys feed off of it.
Carlos Hernandez leads the country in yards after the catch. Obviously you all want to work on tackling regardless, but how important is that going to be on Saturday?
It's critical. Carlos is a really good player for them, and as I said, he's got 600 receiving yards, and a lot of that is after the catch. He's really quick.
That's why he's a good punt returner, too, and they find ways to get him to the football. They move him all over the place and motion him, and he's not going to be in one spot. Defensively, we've got to know where he is, and then we've got to do a great job with our tackling technique, finishing tackles, and running to the ball.
How much is it by design that you guys have been overwhelming opponents in terms of time of possession over the last four games?
In sustaining drives, that's what's going to happen, and it's not like we're trying to run the clock down in between plays, but the way that things have gone, we've been explosive. We haven't had many explosive touchdown plays, but we've had a lot of gains over 10 and over 20 in the run and pass game, and it helps the defense, obviously. When offense is out there for 82 plays and defense is out there for 55, you're going to be more rested on the defensive side of the ball, which helps when you need to get a stop.
It's definitely helpful. At the end of the day, you still need to get points, and that's the other part. We've been able to sustain drives and get points, and scoring over 31 points a game is our goal. We've just got to keep taking care of the football and manage our efficiency so we can hang on to the ball and finish with points.
Dave, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster of a season so far, even though it's only been five games, with where you started and where you are now. You mentioned the team has gotten better. Where do you feel like you have improved the most since the opener, and where do you still want to see improvement beyond tackling — more consistency overall?
Tackling is frustrating because we've tackled well this year. That game, we've missed 23 tackles, and that's more than we've missed in four games combined, five or two. I don't know what led to it because we had a really good week of practice on defense and offense, but we'll get that fixed.
Where have we improved the most? I think the complementary football of our team. There were so many things we had to get better at after the opener, so it's hard to pinpoint one, but I would say running the football consistently and averaging over 40 yards per carry has probably been the most consistent improvement in our football team, and that opens up a lot of things in the offense, and just continuing to be able to stay balanced.
If I could ask one more, you mentioned Gio and just the fit in the offense now. Obviously, he was with Coach Ezell previously, and I know it probably sounds like a dumb question, but you need a good OC who gets the QB so he can make the most of what the QB is doing.
You have that as well with the consistency you've had. With CJ and your OC, how important is fit in terms of getting the most out of your QB, as it relates to CJ and what we're seeing from Gio as well?
It's critical. It's like when Eli Drinkwitz and Ryan Finley came from Boise State together. There was immediate chemistry and a fit, and they understood each other's personalities.
They understood kind of the nuances of working together, and that relationship is really critical for your quarterback coach, which a lot of times is your offense coordinator, and your trigger man, and you can totally see a different guy in there. We played against Gio last year, and completely different. His confidence, the way he runs the show.
You can see that he's got a lot of reps in the system and he's playing well, so good for him. Those coaches do a good job systematically.
You talked about the offensive line. You guys have played three different centers in five games. What does that say about CJ having clean handoffs with all of them and being able to command all five, who are different guys, each week?
It's a good group of guys, and they get along. We got great chemistry on the O-line, and CJ is obviously a huge leader. He understands that taking care of the big guys as a QB is pretty important. To think that we've had to play three centers — crazy — and thankfully we had three guys that we can win with, with Teague jumping in there and now Danny [Daniel Cruz] doing it, so it's good to have depth at that position.
That's the one spot that, out of all the positions you have on the field, if you can't snap a ball, you can't even run a play. So we're very fortunate to have the guys we do, and proud of the way they've stepped up.
To follow up, do you have an update on any of the four who left the game early?
I'm not going to talk about injuries until I have to.
Dave, you mentioned Jackson Waller and how he has the ability to be a really great punter but hasn't had the consistency he might have hoped for. What do you think it's going to take to get him where he wants to be?
I thought his first two games were really good. He had the flu right before one of our games, and he didn't play well, which is understandable. He was really under the weather, but he went out there and tried his best.
This past week, it's just like hitting a golf ball. Sometimes these guys get out of rhythm, and he's got to get back into his rhythm, his trust, his training, and his routine, and have a lot of confidence in Jackson. He'll do a great job.
He'll get it back. He had a really good punt to flip the field out of a backed-up situation, and then the next two were just below his level. He knows that.
He's just got to get back to doing the little things.
When Jim Grobe was there, he had the jet sweep. Dave Clawson had the slow mesh. They both wanted to redshirt everybody.
What have you detected through 14, 15 games that makes Wake Forest a little different this time around?
They have their systems, just like the previous coaches did. They believe in them. They know how to recruit to them.
You can see the guys they lost and who they brought in, and how it's an exact fit for that guy that left and this guy that showed up. They're very sound. They play hard.
Their kids are smart. They don't make many mistakes. You can see that on film.
They play well together. As I said, they have a lot of experience now, even though he's only been there for two years. These players have been with him a lot.
A lot of the guys we played against are back in the game, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think as a coach, when your opponents look at you and say that you're sound and your kids play hard, that's what you want to hear. He's definitely done that there.
He's done a good job, and I have a lot of respect for him.
Dave, who are a couple of your leaders on the defensive side of the ball?
Popo Aguirre, for sure. There's an alpha over there for us. Isaiah Shirley does a really good job with the front, commanding those guys.
Brian Nelson II, Ronnie Royal III, Jackson Vick, those guys are all really vocal in the back end,nd talking. Harvey's really picked up his leadership here in the last two weeks. I'm proud of him; he's starting to use his voice.
Obviously, the way he plays helps. I think that's part of it when you're a new guy. You haven't done anything yet.
Even though you're a good player at your previous school, you feel like you've got to put it on film before you have that voice. Now that he is consistently making more plays for us, I've seen him, especially at practice, demanding more from the guys and helping them understand the level of play they need to bring to practice.
Coach, how helpful is it to, when you're looking at film, when you can look at Wake playing Louisville from a couple weeks ago, how helpful is that in the crossover of knowing what they did against a team you just played against?
It helps. Crossover games, obviously, if you watch them play a team that you're playing five weeks from now, it's different than if they're playing a team you just played and you know their personnel. It's a really good litmus test to see how they covered those wideouts and how they played against those alignments and delineations.
I think it's probably helpful for them, too, to see us play against them. But it is, in preparation, nice to have a game like that under our belts.
