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NC State Football

Dave Doeren: "I'm Excited About Playing Them"

November 22, 2021
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NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media to recap the win over Syracuse and preview the rivalry game against North Carolina.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.  Below is a collection of quotes from Doeren.


On Syracuse Win...
“I thought it was a really good team win.”

“You’ve heard me talk a lot about complementary football this year. That was maybe the best quarter of it in my career, the second quarter of that game.”

“It was awesome to have the Thomas brothers both score in a game. It was a special moment for them.”

“Syracuse was really good up front on both sides... we had 19 plays in their backfield and they had six in ours. That was a huge key to our game. I'm proud of our guys for what they did against the fronts.”

“It was our third special teams touchdown of the year, which says a lot about how those kids are playing.”

“Guys are straining... overall I can't emphasize enough for how proud I am of this team and our staff for showing resiliency. There are a lot of teams who quit during the course of a season when things don’t go exactly how they think it will go.”

“That's hard with these young people today and how many voices are in their ears. It says a lot about the culture of our football team.”

“Both of our backs were over four yards per carry in the game.”

“We were 5-of-5 in the redzone, and I thought we caught the football well.”

“Negatives – we got stopped in a 4th and 2 where we had a bust on a blocking assignment."

“Outside of the two long runs we gave up I thought we defended their run game well."

“The special teams touchdown run by Bam was special. The guys strained, but for him to be able to bounce off and run, that was a special run by him.”

On UNC...
"One of the best scoring offenses in the league. They are very balanced. 200-plus yards rushing, 250 yards passing per game.”

“Their tailback, the transfer Chandler from Tennessee, is over 1,000 yards and is playing well. He definitely has speed back there.”

“Sam Howell, man, he's a fierce competitor, he’s tough. He's done a great job running the football and has always thrown it well.  He's been a big threat for them with his feet.”

“The slot receiver Josh Downs has 90 catches and is definitely their go-to guy.”

“They are big up front on both sides."

“It's great to play them. I wish it wasn't a night game on Friday, but I'm excited we’re playing them. I’m excited about what the game means. It's a unique rivalry being as close as we are.”

Senior Day Info...
“It’s Senior Day. It's interesting, a unique Senior Day now with these COVID seniors... kind of make it a different feel... now it's guys who have the options to come back.”

“We will have guys walking who have eligibility who haven't made decisions yet.”

“You can read into that how you want; I’m not going to tell you what some of our underclassmen are going to do.”

“Some of them are going to walk, not because they have made decisions, but because they don't want to miss out on walking if that's the decision they make.”

“These guys have bought in to waiting until the decision is over.”

“We’ll submit that information for underclassmen. We can do up to five of those for the NFL, and it will take about two weeks. There will be guys making decisions, whether they want to come back or leave.”

“We'll have to see how it plays out.  There's 1,100 more players in this year's draft than there were in any other draft because of COVID. There is a big decision that some guys have to make, and we'll gather all the information we can from the NFL. We have a great partnership with them, and they'll tell us what they think guys should do.”

“It means a lot to me to be a part of Senior Day.”

“I remember my Senior Day, I remember everything about it, and so will these guys.”

“Senior Day, to me, seeing those guys in the locker room after a game.  It's going to be painful for them either way, so I want it to be after a win.”

"If Sam Howell is in the game for them with Devin Leary, you have two fantastic quarterbacks playing in a college football game who have done a lot for their schools.”

“I know it's Thanksgiving week and there is a lot to be thankful for, but I want to ask our fanbase to be special this week. It's Friday night of Thanksgiving, I realize what I'm asking, but these young men deserve every seat filled. We need you to be our 12th man and be as loud and intense as you can be... when you do that, it makes a huge difference.”

More on the Seniors who could walk Friday...
“There's a bunch of them. We have seven who don't have eligibility remaining: Emeka Emezie, Chris Ingram, Daniel Joseph, Dylan Parham, CJ Riley, Tyrone Riley, and Chandler Zavala.  Chandler has applied for a waiver we're working on to get him back for another year."

“There are guys trying to make decisions and haven’t made them who will be walking and not walking. We'll leave it at that.”

Mack Brown said he’d love to see a trophy for the NC State-UNC game. Would you like to see something like that?
“I think it's a great idea. Those trophy games are very meaningful. I've been a part of that at other places I’ve been. They mean a lot.”

“We have the one trophy here now from our game from Clemson, and it sits in our lobby.”

“It would be a great conversation for me and Mack, our administration and their administration, to put our heads together in the offseason.”

Will you prepare for the backups?
“There isn't a lot to go off of to prepare for their backups. They have limited work on film. Sam has taken 99% of the workload for three years over there.”

“We'll look at the game against Wofford, but I anticipate him playing. That guy has had a heck of a a year.  As always, we’ll wait until gameday to see who is really playing and adjust from there.”

More on importance of this game...
“I guess with my players we can list them all and let them pick... being ready to play in Charlotte, absolutely.  Being able to win 10 games? Absolutely. Being able to beat our rival, which we haven't done in two years? Absolutely.   We haven't played well against them in two years.”

“I expect a really good week of practice and preparation.”

Todd Goebbel's impact as special teams coach...
“Todd has done a great job. He's very engaging with our players... he stays ahead of the curve sometimes in games with what can happen with different schemes."

"Todd spends a lot of time on fundamentals and I think that shows up.”

His joy for this season...
“That's a great team to coach. They are awesome guys. I really am lucky to be around them and this staff. We have great chemistry."

“I don't know if I feel the joy while it's going on, but when you get around the players and on the grass with them... it's a lot better to be out of what we were in last year.”

“We're sitting here with eight with a chance to keep it going.”

Doeren on playing UNC...
We need to play better against them. We need to practice better, coach better... all those things. There is a good demeanor going into this game.”

Did you want this to be a day game in respect to high school football?
“Absolutely. It's Friday night playoffs in the state. The team my son plays for is playing at the same time we play.”

“I'm completely against Friday night football until the high school season is over. I don't think it’s right. It doesn’t matter what I think when it comes to TV revenue, but that’s my opinion. I don't think it's right.”

Are you surprised they kicked to Bam in the Syracuse game?
”You know, it's a tough thing. We deal with the same thing with our kickoff team. If you skykick it the whole game you're giving up yardage that hurts your defense. Then you squib it and... 

“It's a tough situation, kicking away from somebody... it's not as easy as people out there think... just give us the ball on the 35 all day and see how that goes for your defense… It's not as easy as people out there think who are eating Doritos and screaming at the TV. It's a little bit harder than that.”

What are your plans for Thanksgiving?
”We'll go to Brasa Steakhouse... we'll do that one night, and Thursday night we'll be at our team hotel having a Thanksgiving meal together.”

“It's a great week to reach out to the people you love and let them know that.”

 

 
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