Each week represents a new reality in college football in 2020, and NC State is facing multiple such examples of that ahead of Saturday’s contest at Virginia Tech.

The scheduled start comes with a cautionary note from Hokies head coach Justin Fuente, who said Monday he "hope we're able to play" during his press availability.

This contest was originally scheduled to be the season opener for both teams on Sept. 12. It was moved to Sept. 26 after NC State experienced a COVID-19 cluster within its football program. Fuente later revealed that Virginia Tech would not have been able to play then either, a fact confirmed further when the Hokies’ Sept. 19 contest against Virginia was pushed back to Dec. 12.

“I think that's just how life is right now with this,” Doeren noted. “We're going to plan like we're playing a game every week, and as you've already seen from us, we had to move our original game with them back because of our situation. So we all know what the realities are of it. You just go with what you have right now.

“We have a game that's on the schedule. Nobody said we're not playing it. We're preparing to practice like we are, and if things change then we'll change what we're doing.”

If NC State gets the all-clear to travel to Blacksburg, it will learn the logistics of hitting the road in a pandemic. The team will pack eight buses to make the four-hour drive rather than fly, and hotel rooms will be assigned with social distancing guidelines in mind.

There is also the new reality of having to be flexible on the depth chart. NC State has already learned that. Redshirt sophomore Devin Leary was widely expected to be the starting quarterback this fall. However, when NC State was hit with an eight-day pause on football-related activities due to COVID-19, Leary was one of the wide swath of players caught in contact tracing.

All total, between the pause and quarantine, Leary missed 20 days of practice. With not enough time between his return and last Saturday’s opener against Wake Forest to get back to form, NC State turned to redshirt junior Bailey Hockman to start under center.

Hockman responded with a nice effort, completing 16 of 23 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown with one interception plus rushing eight times for 30 yards and another score.

The former Florida State transfer had a chance to nail down the starting job last year, but failed to take it in a preseason battle with Matt McKay, and was then supplanted by Leary following an ineffective start at Boston College after having replaced a benched McKay.

It is not uncommon for quarterbacks in Hockman’s position to transfer, but Doeren noted Hockman did not want to take that route.

“I knew coming out of the year that he was disappointed,” Doeren acknowledged. “We sat down and talked about the things that he's thinking and what he wants to do. He made it very clear from the get that he wants to get better and he wants to be here, and he was going to do everything he can to show us that he can play.

“I just said, ‘Do everything you can, continue to get better and when your opportunity comes, cash it in.’ You got to give the kid credit. He's been through transferring already, and I don't think he wants to live that life again unless he has to. He's bought into what we do here. He's been a valuable asset to all the quarterbacks, even when he wasn't the guy.”

As of now, Hockman will be back as the starter Saturday.

“If we were playing tomorrow, that's what we would do,” Doeren confirmed. “I think, Devin deserves that opportunity to keep getting better and practice, and he will.

“And like I said, we've got two good quarterbacks and we just got to keep getting them better, both of them. They both need to be ready to be our guy.”

Whoever is at quarterback will have to be ready for the unexpected. Virginia Tech has its first defensive coordinator not named Bud Foster since the 1994 season, and since it has not played a game and been dealing with coronavirus-related roster issues, the Hokies personnel is another unknown.

“It's going to be a big game of adjusting,” Doeren pointed out. “Who are they playing with, or what are they doing with those guys? How do we need to adjust both sides of the ball? What are the things that are the same,? What are the things that have changed?

“Our players and coaches are going to have to really be locked in on it to adjust on the fly.”

• NC State learned Monday that junior running back Ricky Person Jr. and sophomore offensive guard Ikem Ekwonu were honored by the ACC. Person was selected as the Running Back of the Week after rushing 14 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns and throwing a TD toss.

Ekwonu had four pancake blocks while helping NC State rush for 270 yards on the ground, and was rewarded with Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week.

Doeren was proud of each player for their performances.

"Ricky Person obviously had a standout game,” Doeren said. “All three backs played well but to rush for 100 yards, score twice with the ball and throw a touchdown, it was a great day for him.”

“Ickey [Ekwonu] brings a lot of fire to that group,” Doeren added. “He's very physical. It starts and doesn't finish the whole game. He's trying to knock people on the ground. That's what he does, and he brings a lot of juice to that room.”

• NC State junior starting safety and team captain Tanner Ingle only played two snaps before leaving Saturday against Wake Forest with an undisclosed injury. Doeren is “hopeful” it is not serious.

The team came out of Saturday in good shape health-wise, and Doeren noted that “a couple” of unnamed wide receivers who were not on the active participants list for Saturday and not at the game due to contact tracing quarantine are now back.

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