Dave Doeren: "It's Nice to Have a Low-Stress Day"
No. 18 NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media via Zoom following the Wolfpack's 55-3 win over Charleston Southern Saturday afternoon.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s press conference.
Opening Statement
It was great to get a win like that. It’s nice to have a low-stress day. I’m proud of our guys. I thought we got better in a lot of areas. It’s always nice when you get to play a lot of your roster, too, for growth. For some of the walk-on guys, it’s hard to get some of those guys in the game at times. With our starting unit, I was proud of the way that Devin [Leary] played. He was responsible for six touchdowns which I was just told tied a record at NC State. I’m proud of Collin Smith on the way he kicked off for us. That was a huge area that we needed to improve, and he did a great job there. I thought Thayer [Thomas] did some good things returning punts. It’s good to see Chris Dunn in a groove. Overall, I thought the guys came out very focused. The weather didn’t disrupt anything. We were physical in the run game. Defensively, we had to defend a lot of weird things, I guess: a lot of empty formations and motions they didn’t show on tape. I thought the guys managed that well. It was good to see the three takeaways on defense. All in all, it was a solid day. I appreciate the fans that stayed the entire game. You didn’t let the rain bother you, and we appreciate that. That means a lot to our players, and we appreciate you guys being who you are. I know sometimes the weather can drive people out of there, but it was good to see so many people stick around and be part of that experience. Moving forward, we came out of the game very healthy which is always another plus, and we were able to rest a couple of guys. Payton [Wilson] and Shy [Battle] didn’t play, but they’ll be fine next week. I feel good about the health of the roster coming out of the second week.
On Tim Beck calling plays from the booth…
We felt like last year at times there were some things offensively that, when you’re not getting information the way you want it all the time or as fast as you want it, you don’t want to see on the field. It’s hard calling plays on the field. I remember being a coordinator, and I was on the field, and then I moved back upstairs because I could see better. It’s frustrating when you come in on Sunday, and you watch the film thinking, ‘Man, if I would have seen that, I would’ve done something different.’ I had another conversation like that after the last game. I just said, ’That’s enough. I’m not going to hear that anymore.’ For him to be able to make the checks and audibles the way he wants from the press box, I think he’s got better eyes up there. I feel good about Coach [Kurt] Roper being on the field. He’s coached quarterbacks a long time, so having him down where he can talk to Devin on the field helps.
On the satisfaction with Beck’s play calling…
Yeah, I think it’ll be good to talk about tomorrow, see what the difference was for him, and if he thought it was better. It feels, to me, with the vision you have of formations and the spacing of where your players are, it’s easier for him to make adjustments and do things quicker that way. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow and decide where we’re going.
On if he was happy with the tackling this week…
Yeah, we didn’t practice tackling more. We just ran to the ball better in practice. I’m not sure if that was not clearly communicated during the week. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday hitting guys at the proper angles and not taking them to the ground. The biggest emphasis was how hard we practiced and the angles we sprint to the ball, and the guys were a lot more diligent about that this week in practice. They understood. They were embarrassed about what they put on film from a tackling standpoint in week one. We used this week to get better, and I feel like they did.
On Tyler Baker-Williams’ hot start…
I’m really excited for Tyler. On back-to-back series, we blitzed him to force the fumble on the pass rush, and then he got an interception for his second pick. You guys know how we feel about him. He’s one of the best DBs in the country, and he’s definitely a guy that eliminates slot receivers on a consistent basis. It’s good to see him get some production. A lot of times, the ball doesn’t go his way. I’m happy for T-Bake, and we need that. He’s a senior. He’s a guy that’s played a lot of snaps. We need him to be a difference-maker, and he has been.
On how valuable it is to have so many players see the field...
It’s really good. It's good from a confidence standpoint for younger players to get in. It helps them when they get in again. They’re not nervous. From the quarterback standpoint, to be able to put [Jack Chambers and M.J. Morris] in there to run the offense, not just hand it off, is good because, as you know, there’s going to be a point in time where Devin has to come out, and those guys have to go in during a big game. It’s nice to get those guys minutes. As far as the number of players that played, I don’t have a count on that, but it was awesome to see some of the younger guys make plays: Julian Gray, Anthony Smith, Delbert Mimms had a touchdown, Jalen Coit had a touchdown… They’re guys that have worked hard, and it’s good to see those guys get the reward of all that hard work today.
On Leary’s playmaking…
It’s what he did all through fall camp. We were really happy with how he was sliding around the pocket and extending plays. He kept his eyes downfield and made some things happen. I’m very happy with what we saw from him today.
On the time Leary had in the pocket…
It starts with the protection. Sometimes, there’s a tight end and a running back involved as well. Any time a guy like Devin has more time to throw and the receivers have more time to get open, good things are going to happen. It wasn’t a defense that pressured very much. They did blitz him a couple of times, but they didn’t play a lot of pressure defenses, and we were able to manage the four-man rush throughout the game to give him time. There were some shots called by Coach Beck, some deeper plays down the field, and we took advantage of the coverage a couple of times and made some plays.