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NC State Football

Dave Doeren: 'It's been a year we'll never forget'

December 31, 2020
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NC State football will return to a bowl game after a one-year absence Saturday, and seek head coach Dave Doeren’s fourth bowl victory. 

Doeren spoke to the media about the matchup via Zoom, here’s a full breakdown of everything he had to say: 

On finishing the season despite all the challenges: It’s definitely unlike any other journey, season-wise. There was a lot of things behind the scenes that operation staff and training room staff, coaching staff had to do to get this thing right, our strength staff, so when the players returned, we could keep them out of harm’s way to the best of our ability. I think once we kind of got in the rhythm of it, the COVID aspect, other than being tested so many times, was pretty smooth here.

But it created a lot [of challenges] I think, the unknowns of COVID. When it first started, we all thought it would kind of disappear quickly and then when we realized it’s here to stay, it was just a matter of being able to manage it. On top of that, managing injuries that happen as normal throughout the season. I thought our players did a really good job understanding what they should and shouldn’t do and keeping all of us safe. As concerned as you are about a losing a player for 14 days, [I was] just as concerned or more for some of the staff we have that are in their 60’s. Throughout the season, we were fortunate to not have to deal with anything like that. So, it’s been a year we’ll never forget.

On if the players wanted to play in a bowl game or not: The way they celebrated after we got bowl eligible, it wasn’t much of a conversation to have. I think it’s about finishing what we started, and this group has enjoyed playing all year. We have open dialogue and if it was a topic worth discussing, they would’ve come to me on it. You could tell from the get go they wanted to play and we’re excited about the opportunity to be back in the Gator Bowl against an SEC team.

On Kentucky’s offense: Well, they’re really big upfront. They have two decorated offensive linemen and they’re all experienced. They’re big. Their tight ends are big. Their backs are big. Their quarterback can run. They’re dedicated to running the football, so they make it a physical game. They do a nice job schematically of creating numbers games and different gap schemes with misdirection. They’re a good scheme. Their O-Line’s impressive and I know they’re a tight group [with] what they went through losing their coach [Kentucky Offensive Line Coach John Schlarman] and all the other things we all went through. You can tell that those guys care a lot about each other. So, it’s going to be a very physical game against a good physical group upfront from Kentucky.

On if any players will not be playing due to injury or opt-out: We’re pretty healthy. Guys got some time to mend up and had good preparation with good breaks in there to kind of keep them rested and fresh. As far as who’s playing and who isn’t, I’m not going to talk about that. We’ll get to the game and there’s no reason to give any information like that out.

On what the football program accomplished and how that success carries over to over athletic programs at NC State: I feel like that one of the things that makes our athletic department special. Throughout the season, coach Keatts, coach Moore, coach Avent, coach Popolizio in wrestling, they would call me, text me, wish me luck, send congratulations. It’s a tight group and we’re all competitive. We see each other’s teams succeeding and we want to succeed, we want to set the bar. I think there’s good momentum. Obviously, we’re the first sport in the fall that gets to go [to the postseason] and what that generates publicly for the other athletes is all positive for them. We’re cheering them on. The men’s [basketball] team had a great win last night. That’s one thing that I love about this school. I think fan base wise and coach and student-athlete wise, we support each other well.

On QB Devin Leary’s injury recovery: Devin’s doing well. Every day he’s going through his rehab. He’s out there throwing the ball, but he’s not in practice yet. He’s not ready for that, but he’ll be on track to be cleared when we return from the winter break. But he’s doing really well and he’s out there without a boot on, walking around without a limp, and doing some good things in rehab.

On Kentucky’s defense: They’re big up front. 350-370 pounds over the center and one of their defensive ends is close to 280. Their standup linebacker [Kentucky LB Jamar Watson], buck as we call him, is a long guy that leads them in sacks and TFLs. Their linebackers are bigger kids. There’s really nothing schematically that we haven’t seen, it’s just they have some big personnel and I think matching up [is the challenge]. We’ve played against big guys. I think Virginia had a really good size defensive line that compares when we played them. It’s just about getting in good position, playing with great leverage, and playing with elite strain on the line of scrimmage and finishing blocks. I think from a coverage standpoint, they don’t do a ton. They’re pretty simple. They play hard. I think they understand their scheme and we have to outexecute them and play with better effort. That’s what games like this come down to. I think both teams are very sound and play hard, so it’s a good matchup.

On the importance of taking care of the ball: We’re undefeated when we win the turnover margin, so it’s critical. It’s the one thing you can point to if you want a sure win, it’s for us to take care of the ball and get it back and create some explosive plays in special teams. It’s always paramount. If you watch the bowl games right now, I know last night’s game Florida threw a bunch of interceptions and Wake Forest did the same thing. Both those games got away from them, so we’ve got to do a great job getting the ball back on defense. Probably their biggest strength defensively is they’ve had 13 interceptions that they’ve created. I know we’ll do a good job making good choices and catching the football.

On any players that have flourished amidst the circumstances of this season: There’s so many guys that have stepped up this year and that’s what makes this team fun. Each week we’ve won games in different ways, whether it’s making a key catch or tackle or sack, interception, blocked a punt, blocked a field goal. There’s a lot of guys you can point to that have seized moments or opportunities to help this football team become what it is. I think it’s more of a team thing and there’ll be that opportunity again in this one. There’ll be guys out there that haven’t played as much as they’ve played in this game and they’re going to be key players when you look at the outcome.

On preparing for the game in Raleigh instead of in Jacksonville: I don’t know about that. I think every bowl game I’ve been a part of the kids got better. We enjoyed the time that we had together, we celebrated the season. Obviously, you want to win the game, but had we gone down there for five days, our kids would’ve prepared well. They would’ve focused. They would’ve showed up and worked hard and we would’ve enjoyed ourselves as part of it. But this year’s just different and so we’ve made the most of the opportunity. We definitely have had some good practices. Like I said, it was a long 12 weeks with 11 games, so they’ve had some needed time off.

On evaluating players for next year in the game: During our practices until the last two, we’ve had dedicated time to developmental periods so we can really evaluate guys. We’re always evaluating in games. You’re looking at your guys and seeing where they can get better and giving them that information so they can use it in the offseason. I don’t think there’s ever a time you turn that switch off as a coach, but it’s not an experiment. We’re not just going to put guys out there and hope that they do well. We’re going to play the guys that have earned the right to play and give them the opportunities to help us win.

On his best Christmas present this year: The staff gave [my wife] Sarah and I a little care package for the lake that had some things in it I’m definitely going to enjoy, so let your mind do the talking on that one.

On playing a team with a losing record in a bowl game that’s favored to win: I kind of feel like we’ve been disrespected a lot throughout the season that way and even [in] some of the All-Conference stuff at the end. It just adds to the chip that we carry here. We were picked to finish eleventh in the league and there wasn’t a lot of guys on the preseason all-conference list. There wasn’t a whole lot of notoriety about anything in our program and we continue to find ways to win games and do good things. So, it just adds to the fuel that we have to prove people wrong.

 
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