NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media to discuss the Wake Forest game, provide an injury update, and more!
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full press conference!
What's it like in practice with all the personnel changes you've had to make?
Next man up. Same thing that you saw in the game. Guys are getting opportunities. That's why they came here.
There are two things that have to happen. The next guy has to play well, obviously, and then the guys around him have to play better than they did the week before.
Those are the two things that need to be done.
Whether it's the line, the DBs, or the linebackers, we've had this throughout the years. The next man up in our program understands that his value is that opportunity, right? Then the guys around him have to really support him.
Similarly, how have the injured guys supported those trying to step up?
We give an award each week for guys on our sideline who bring great energy. We call it the Juice Squad Award, and A.J. Richardson has won it two weeks in a row.
Those are the conversations we have. Obviously, there's the recovery, the injury,, and the medical piece, but the natural thing to do is focus on what you can't do as a playerrather than askingf, "All right, what can I do besides rehab?"
What you can do is be a great teammate. You can bring energy. You can be a student coach in the meeting rooms.
That's what all of our guys are encouraged to do. Some of them do it better than others, but A.J. has done a great job.
Anyone on our team will be counseled the same way — step in there and be great for your teammates mentally.
You were able to see some of the younger running backs against Richmond. Obviously, Wake Forest is a tougher test. How have you seen those younger running backs develop since then?
It's a good room.
I think you saw what Dylan McCoy and Noah Moss did as runners in that game, and they've only gotten better since then.
It hasn't been on film in a game, but you see it in practice.
We feel great about the depth in that room, and if we have to go down the depth chart, we will.
Historically, running backs have been able to get on the field earlier as younger players. Is that the case with those two?
Yeah, and those two guys are mentally and physically more mature than a lot of freshmen.
They both came in that way. They were well-coached in high school — good programs, good head coaches, good strength programs.
They're just a little further along.
How much does it help to have a back like Davion Gause, who can pass-protect as well as he does?
His aptitude.
He understands protections. It's not just who he's blocking. He knows what the line is going to do. He knows what C.J. has to do on that play. He knows where the launch points are.
The physicality, toughness, technique, and aptitude make him really special in that area.
Can you assess the job Jake Dickert has done in his two years at Wake Forest?
Really good coach.
I've got a lot of respect for all the guys in our league. I've played against him once, but knowing him from previous schools as well, he's done a really good job.
It's been a program since I've been here where the head coach has done a really good job.
Dave Clawson did a great job before him. Coach Grobe did a great job before that.
There's always been a really good guy in that seat, and Jake's no different.
Along with that, what makes Carlos Hernandez such a tough cover?
He reminds me a lot of Thayer Thomas from our program.
Great route runner. Understands leverage in routes. He has a really good catch radius, ball skills, and ball tracking.
Once he catches it, he's shifty. He can make people miss.
For so many years, when talking about Wake Forest, we were asking you about mesh points and that slow-mesh offense. Are they still along those lines, or is this completely different?
It's not at all like the old offense.
It's a timing-motion offense, a balanced offense. The quarterback can run the football, so you've got to deal with both tailback and quarterback runs throughout the game.
With the timing motions and swap routes they have, you've got to be really smart about how you're playing your coverage. You've got to have great eye discipline and communication.
Each week is a different challenge.
Last week, Louisville and Coach Brohm presented us with a great challenge. Each week, it's that way.
That's what's fun about this job — trying to get the best game plan you can for the guys you have available, coaching them up and seeing if they can go out there and execute it.
How do you explain the history and importance of the Wake Forest rivalry to all of the newcomers on the roster?
It's a history lesson.
You go in there and say, "Hey, guys." The guys who have been here have heard this, but you take them through the whole thing — how long it's been going on, how many tight games we've had over the last 15 years, all of it, and what kind of team they are.
Then you get into who they are right now, because the previous games don't matter for Saturday.
But its history does matter, so they understand that part of it.
Then you get into the now: who they are on offense, defense, and special teams, by position, schematic tips, and other things that can help them, and then you move on.
On your radio show last night, you mentioned Spike Sowells Jr. being done. Do you expect him back this year?
Spike's out for the year, yeah.
We tried really hard to rehab him back, and it just didn't make enough progress to feel like it was going to get anywhere.
Unfortunately, he'll get his repair done and get back with us healthy after that.
Looking at the film, why does Gio Lopez seem so much more effective this year than he was at North Carolina last year?
The system fits, and the relationship with his offensive coordinator fits.
I think that's big for any quarterback.
There's a relationship piece there, which is trust. That position has to have trust between the coach and the player.
You can see that he has that with his offensive coordinator.
He's playing with confidence. He understands the offense.
He's been in it for a long time, too, so there are a lot of game reps from his last school where he was with the same coach.
There's experience for him, not just from playing football; he played at UNC, but also from playing in the same system.
He understands it well enough to run it like a coach on the field.
He's a good football player. I've got a lot of respect for how he's playing.
You've brought up Ryan Finley and Eli Drinkwitz in the past. Even then, did you know that transition was going to be as seamless as it was? And now you're seeing similar situations 10 years later.
Yeah, that was my first time having that, I guess.
I've been at places where we had that in other positions, but not at quarterback.
That was as seamless as it could be to have a player who can translate what the offensive coordinator is saying to the rest of the group and talk about the why behind the play and its history.
"Hey, when we ran this at Boise for Ryan, these were things that could happen."
It's really, really helpful.
You're seeing that more and more in college football, with coaches leaving and guys going with them.
What's it been like seeing Keenan Jackson rise to the occasion?
I'm so proud of Keenan.
He's done a great job for our program, both on and off the field.
The way he commands his position group, the expectations, the standards, his demeanor, his daily work ethic, and then his playmaking ability.
His hands are sticky right now. He's making a lot of really good catches in practice.
Then what he'll do without the ball — how he likes blocking and takes a lot of pride in being a physical wide receiver and pancaking guys and all that.
He's a really, really good all-around football player and a tenacious competitor.
That's what I saw in high school. That's why I wanted him so bad when I saw him play.
He's just tenacious. That makes him a special player.
