Dave Doeren: "They've Got to Earn it Every Week"
NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media Thursday afternoon in the leadup to the No. 18 Wolfpack’s home opener versus Charleston Southern.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s interview.
“Yeah, I think disappointed, embarrassed, and all the things that go along with not playing the way that you want to play is pretty indicative of the feelings coaches and players had. Not to take anything away from ECU — they played a really good football game — but we did not perform to the level we wanted to. We needed to practice better, obviously, so we had a very challenging week of practice, a very competitive week of practice. We emphasized the importance of running to the football and getting the proper angles. We overran the ball a ton in that game on defense. It was spirited. There was a lot of good mindset changes, in my opinion. These guys understand where they’re at. They’ve got to earn it every week, every single week. The rankings are going to be what they are, but the way that you play should be a personal thing for you. That is your résumé as a football player and as a coach. I look forward to getting back on the field and seeing these guys in week two.”
“I think [Devin Leary] was just taking things that weren’t there. [I told him,] ‘Take what the defense gives you. When they’re not there, it’s okay to burn it or throw it out of bounds.’ Sometimes, it felt like, in that game, he was trying to be perfect in some ways and not make mistakes, and when you do that in any position, you usually make more. Just go back to the reads Coach [Tim] Beck gives you, play fast, trust your ability, and protect the football.’”
“Yeah, we were physical. They were flying to the ball. There was a lot of pads on pads. They were getting there, sprinting to the near hip. We challenged the scout teams to give us a better look, too, so we’d have to compete harder or be embarrassed, and they did. These kids really worked hard. Last year, as you know, we were a very good tackling team. Well, we practiced at a pace that was a little bit different, so we had to get back to that. They were exhausted coming off the field Tuesday and Wednesday for good reason.”
“[We missed] 26 [tackles versus ECU]. Absolutely pathetic.”
“I think they understood it, but I wasn’t going to let it be unsaid. I think that’s one of those days that’s no different, I’ve said this a couple of times this week, for those of us that are parents. You tell your kids things over and over and over, and they have to sometimes fail [before they say,] ‘Yeah, I should have listened.’ We had one of those moments as a team. I think these guys sometimes think they know more than they do. I’m glad we got a win. I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow from the errors that we had. There were some positives in the game, too. I’m not trying to be all doom and gloom. There were a lot of good things that happened, but there’s enough negatives that make you feel like there’s so many things that we’ve got to do urgently better.”
“[Payton Wilson is] day-to-day. You’ll find out on game day just like our opponent will. We’ll see where it goes. He’s in a great spot. I met with him this morning. He’s in a really good spot physically and mentally. We’ll keep progressing him and see where he ends up.”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s whatever they feel on that. To me, like I told them at the beginning, we’re going to earn our spot at the end of the season based on 12 weeks of regular-season play. The first week wasn’t great, but we all know, at the end of the year, it’s not going to say your record and then next to it, ‘This win was lucky.’ They don’t say that. It’s a win. That’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to finish this regular season down the road here in three months, and everything that we do during the week will lead to what we do on the weekend, and the results of those games will give us the ranking we deserve."