WATCH: Dave Doeren Talks First Day In Pads

NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media today where he discussed a variety of topics, ranging from the first day in pads to freshmen Keyon Lesane and Savion Jackson.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

Is this something you’ve been looking to?
Yeah, I mean today we were able to tackle a little bit.  The last 12 plays for each group got some live work and practiced our short-yardage situations.

It's good to see guys finish plays, and we've been in shells the previous two days... shoulder pads and helmets. So you get to see a lot of the contact but you don't get to see the finish at times. We weren't taking people to the ground.

It was fun to see that at the end and see how guys are going to tackle, cause it's always, “Oh I had you” or “No you didn’t,” but today we found out a little bit.

When the pads are on, does that boost up the competition level?
Absolutely. I mean there's more on the line, so those guys are going to play to the whistle. There's a lot of straining going on, especially in that kind of drill where you're in the short-yardage situations.

Bailey Hockman was in with the twos, are you noticing any separation?
They've been rotating throughout camp. So just a matter when you're out there and they're getting reps with the ones, twos, and threes. Three guys, we have them moving around. They're all getting equal reps right now.

What's the status of Ricky Person, he wasn’t out there today?
He’s just a little sore. He's doing well. He had a really good start to the camp and got a little sore.

We’re just being protective of him.

You had sure-fire ones at receiver last year and going into camp. How do you feel about the ones this year? How much competition do you have there?
We have good depth; I mean, I think C.J., Emeka, Thayer, Tabari... Keyon Lesane, Max Fisher... Devin Carter... that we feel like can play.

There's other guys that are working out there, as well, but those guys stand out.

How much is Emeka Emezie emerging as a leader for you guys?
He's quiet in his leadership role, but he's so respected because of his work ethic, what he stands for, how important things are to them. The guys really look to him for that I think more than his speeches or anything because he's not a real vocal guy.

When you have that much depth to work with, how much easier does that make the evaluation process for you and your coaching staff?
Well I think when you have more guys in the competition it's a tougher evaluation, to be honest, because you're sharing the rep load with nine to 10 guys, whereas if you have a top three and they're the ones below them, it's a little different.

It's a good thing because you know it takes reps off of guys. You don't have to wear guys out, and there's other positions where I wish we had the luxury.

Do you have a timetable for when you start narrowing it down, especially at quarterback, or do you let those guys make that decision for how long it's going to take?
When they tell me by their play, then I'll have it.

If I tell you it's next Wednesday and I'm not ready, I mean that's crazy. When they give me the stats and the proof that they are our guy... we’ve got time.

You have a couple sets of brothers on the team. How do you see that bond kind of on the field?
That's pretty cool. You see Thayer and Drake walking out there together... the Dabbs brothers... I think that's pretty special.  The McKay brothers... I can’t imagine that.  I just think it's awesome.

I think it says a lot about your program when an older brother comes and has obviously a good experience and the parents want the younger one to follow him.  It's not always that way, and I think it says a lot about our culture... how we treat these young men.

It's fun to see them together. I mean for life they're going to have that experience of being brothers on the same football team in college. It's pretty neat.

How much has Keyon Lesane surprised you with his play?
Keyon is really strong. He can run, but he's really strong, and he is a good guy with the ball in his hands. He's tough. He likes contact, so he's a unique receiver that way.

He's got a little bit of running back to him as wide out.  It’s fun to watch him play, and he's fearless.

Does that help them in terms of trying to carve out a special teams role in his first year as well?
Yeah, he has that returner knack, as well. He can return punts and kickoffs, reverses, jets. He can do all kinds of things with the ball.

I heard Savion’s name yelled a lot.  Do you see him being someone that can make an immediate impact?
[Laughing] Hopefully not getting yelled at. 

Savion has got a lot better.  I think the spring really helped him. He was lost when he first got here, and he's in a lot better football shape from one. Just knowing the speed that we practice at and what to expect, he’s starting to play a little bit more within himself.

He’s got a lot of ability.

You were high on Stephen Griffin last year and he got hurt in camp.  Moving Tanner Ingle to safety, does that say what you think of Griffin at nickel?
Yeah, and also Tyler Baker-Williams, we see like him and Griff are in a good competition at nickel.  We have good depth there... Jalen Frazier coming in.

We’ve just had some good DB recruiting classes of late and it's helped us.

For Tanner, I think he’s probably our best contact player, so getting him in that free safety spot like we had Josh Jones where he can fit in the box and make a lot of plays will help our defense.

You mentioned that you have time to figure out these depth charts. Are you prepared to go up until the final week of training camp to figure out who is going to be your starting quarterback?
Yeah. I mean if that's what it takes, that's what I'm going to do.

How long is the process when a freshman comes in where it ends being surreal and it starts becoming their new normal?
I wish I could answer that with a firm, but some guys just impress you cause they jump right in and other guys it takes time... some guys it takes years. So there really isn't. It depends on their maturity when they get here.

How do you help accelerate the process? Is there a way you can?
You spend a lot of time with them, and it's not just our coaches... our strength coaches do a great job in that. DD Hoggard does a great job... Al Byrd.  All these guys around them, just off the field... our training staff.

Ultimately they have to make a choice as a person that they want to do the things that it takes to play Power Five football. Sometimes they're just used to coasting through in high school and getting away with it because they're that good. When you get here you can't be that way.

You hear our seniors when they get up and talk, a lot of them tell that story... so some of them get it and some of them don't.  I wish I could make it easier, but sometimes you just got to go through that.

More on freshman Jordan Houston...
He probably hit the wall a little bit today. He had a really good first four days and not so good today, but he'll bounce back.

He’s very athletic, good vision, and can catch the ball. He's not afraid to go in and block somebody that’s a lot bigger than him. He has courage.