No. 10 NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media Thursday afternoon ahead of the Wolfpack’s ACC opener at No. 5 Clemson.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Doeren’s interview.
"I think we’re ready for whatever it is. We’re planning on it being wet and windy, and if it’s not, then it’s pretty easy to make that kind of adjustment. The guys are definitely prepared for wet balls. We have experience here, at least some of us do, playing in a game like this. It’ll be fun to get out there and play in the mud a little bit.”
"Yeah, [Clemson’s fight song is] the crowd noise we’ve been playing.”
“[Tim McKay is] really physical. He has more pancakes than anyone in the run game. He’s improved himself a lot in other areas. We look at him and [Bryson] Speas as co-starters. It’s really the guys that are grading out the best who are being rewarded for that first series. Then there’s a rotation that goes on with Anthony Belton as well with Speas. I’m proud of Tim for his growth. He’s gotten a lot better and has developed and has worked hard."
"We’re not intimidated. We’re excited. We’re looking forward to the opportunity. We’ve got two good teams playing for a lot. Whether you guys think we’re good or not, we’re excited to get down there and compete and play against a team we have a lot of respect for."
“I’m not going to tell you [any injury reports].”
"We’re well informed. Our operations staff and Boo Corrigan are communicating with all the different people out there and talking to Clemson folks as well. There’s a lot of good communication.”
“I haven’t heard anything [from players whose families will be impacted by the hurricane]. We definitely are reaching out. I know our position coaches are, as well. I saw some pretty crazy pictures of what’s going on down there, so we’ve reached out. It’s scary, so hopefully everyone is safe and done the right different things they need to do to protect what they can. I think there’s going to be a lot of damage control down there.”
“The best window to travel was to get out of town a little bit earlier for what is happening in South Carolina. We’re just trying to beat it.”
"We believe we can beat anybody. This team obviously did a lot of things here last year that hadn’t been done here in a while. It’s a very confident group. It’s definitely not a group that thinks that they're just going to show up and win. They know there’s things they have to do right in the preparation and practice. We’re going to go down there and play a really good team in a place that, for five years, nobody has won. There’s a lot against us that way, but as far as the matchup, our guys are very confident. If they play the way they’ve practiced, make the plays they need to make, and strain for as long as it takes, they can win.
"It’s been a really good week. We challenged them. It was loud out there. It’s not all clean. That’s why you practice, but we got better and better as the week went on. The effort and intensity was excellent."
