Full transcript: NC State Wolfpack football coach Dave Doeren press conference for Clemson game

Published Sep 20, 2021

Full transcript: Dave Doeren's Clemson week press conference

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

Head coach Dave Doeren held his weekly press conference Monday afternoon to discuss this weekend's game vs. Clemson.

Here is an edited transcript of Doeren's press conference.

Opening Statement

"Starting with recap of our game with Furman.

"First, just want to say thank you again to our students and the band and the donors and our fans and recruits and everyone that came and supported our team and our staff, all the players' families. It was a great night. A lot of times when you play an FCS team, your fan base doesn't support that, and I thought it was awesome that they just embraced the opportunity come to support the Wolfpack players.

"It was a great environment. It was loud. It was fun. So thank you to that and look forward to the next opportunity to play at home here this weekend with you.

"We came out of the game healthy. We were able to play a lot of guys and get valuable reps, which is always really important for the development of your roster and gives us a chance to see guys when the bullets are flying and see how they're gonna play.

"I thought we played complementary football very well, something we didn't do the week before, something we really want to be able to do. What I mean by that is the offense playing off of what the defense does for them, or vice versa, the special teams setting up that side of the ball. And then the fourth phase of that is the energy your sideline brings your team. And I felt like our sideline had really good passion. The guys were into the game, they were watching the players that play their positions and communicating with them when they came off the field.

"It's a four phase thing. It's offense, defense, kicking game and that sideline passion and so thankful we got to see that. There were eight sequential series in the game where I felt like the defense set up the offense or a special teams play set up the offense and we scored on those drives.

"As a team we had three penalties two pre-snap and one blindside block that we can't have. Both the pre-snap penalties are foolish penalties that we need to eliminate. We are better in these areas than we've been, but we want to be perfect in these areas, things that we control, things that we can work on.

"On offense, just the positives of the game. I thought Devin [Leary] managed the game well. He was very accurate. He spread the ball around, he made some plays on his feet. It's good to see him do that, extend some drives with his feet. And I thought we connected on the deep balls, good to see him and Anthony Smith get one down the field.

"We moved our tight end around a lot and all the tight ends played and played physical football for us. Was super excited to see Dylan Parham get his first touchdown catch. Guy's been here six years and means a lot to us in the run game. He's always been a really physical component, and so I was glad to see him get a touchdown, it was awesome for him.

"I felt like the perimeter was very physical. Some of our receivers who have been in and out of blocking well I think competed and battled and fought for each other. We did a good job with the exception of two times in the game of throwing it out there when we should using the numbers to our advantage. I thought we caught the ball well as a team and made plays we need to make.

"The running backs, it was good to see those guys not just run well but block well. I thought Ricky [Person] had two really good blocks when he was in the game, not just on a run play, he had nice cut block when Bam [Knight] got the ball in a sweep, but he also had some really good pass protection.

"I really liked the score before the half, getting the touchdown there, getting the ball back, using our timeouts the right way. In the red zone I felt like we played better football offensively. And they were a team that blitz a lot and obviously we're gonna see a ton of that here this week, but we limited them to only one play in our backfield, gave up zero sacks and really the play we gave them, if Devin reads it right we throw the ball out to our field screen that we have and it doesn't matter how many guys were in the box.

"Negatives, we fumbled again and we can't do that. I think it's something that Bam will fix, and obviously he did a great job after that drive protecting the ball. We stalled when our backups came in on offense. I felt like we stalled a couple times and could be cleaner there.

"Defensively just really proud of the way they played. It's hard on defense in today's world. You play Mike Leach the second week, and then the next week you play the triple option. And that's a lot on these guys in a four-day window we're getting ready.

"We had seven straight three and outs, they had nobody rushed for 100 yards, and less than three yards per carry. Guys were playing fundamental football. They were very disciplined. We didn't give up any tough option passes that you can see.

"I thought our D-line did a good job of gap control. They played on their feet, they beat cut blocks. They were disruptive, and we were very good on third down.

"The biggest thing was just the maturity. The adjustments, there's a lot of things that they did that they did not put on tape prior to our game that we had to adjust and use our rules. Guys did that, and that's the sign of a mature football team.

"Negatives, we gave up a touchdown in the red zone on a skinny post route that we shouldn't have given up. We should be inside leverage on that play and not allow that to happen.

"And we missed some opportunities. We had two dropped interceptions and a ball on the ground that Savion [Jackson] was close to recovering and didn't and those are things as a team, we've got to embrace and take advantage of. You don't get many in a game where the quarterback throws it where you can catch it and we got to cash it in.

"On special teams, I was really proud of how Trenton Gill bounced back, his kickoffs locations and distances, a good hang time on his punts. Joe Shimko, our long snapper, had his second open field tackle the season and that's hard to do, to snap a ball 14 yards, to protect at times, covering and tackle a guy in space, says a lot about him. I think he's really, really, a very good player at his position if not the best player in the country as a long snapper.

"Chris Dunn was automatic, and there's room to improve. I think our punt returns did some good things with Thayer [Thomas] and guys setting up blocks for him. If we eliminate the penalty we're over 100 yards in the game on punt return yards. Our kickoff return we had one opportunity, and it could have been a house call with two guys not get their job done. You don't get the what ifs, or almosts, in special teams. It's you get one snap and it better be right on the money if you want to make a good play. It'd be good film for us to learn from.

"And now we get to play the best team in our league over the my period here at NC State. We all know they've done a great job and Dabo [Swinney] and his staff have built a dominant program. They're well-coached. They do it right on and off the field, and they bring out one of the top five defenses in college football to Carter-Finley. They've only given up seven points a game and their defensive front is very, very tough. They're impressive, good players, good rotational players, physical, they bring a lot of pressure.

"They mix up their front looks. They are running, probably, more line stunts than I've seen him run in run downs. Kind of chop it up in the run game.

"Offensively, they've got good size and speed. Their receivers are big guys that can run. Tailbacks, they got a good rotation. Their quarterback is a big dude. He's got a live arm and you can see he's not afraid to run the football and use his body, and they use him in short yardage. They use them in the red zone.

"Games like this a lot can be made of the matchups. To me this is more about us in this game and we just need to do what we did last week and in the first week against much, much, much better competition, but we need to focus on doing our job.

"We need to focus on our fundamentals. We need to focus on our eyes, on our training, on our finish, respecting the game of football and playing it one play at a time and not letting the momentum swings in the game bother us. Just managing our opportunities and responding to adversity when it happens and creating more plays than they create,.

"At the end of the day that's how you win these games. It's one play or one player that has to step up at key moments, and I'm excited for the opportunity. Anytime you get to play a team like this that's been the gold standard in our league, it's a great opportunity for your football team. I look forward to it and more than anything just being a part of what our team is doing. They're really focused in on playing one rep at a time right now.

"Aside from the game, this is Pack United week for our student athletes and our campus and it's really, really important part of what's going on, not just at NC State, but in our country. Really proud of our student athletes, and Isaiah [Moore] and Grant [Gibson].

"When this began a year ago and the things that they've taught me and taught our staff brought our team closer together, and celebrating our diversity and celebrating our differences and loving each other for them. Very proud that these guys are doing that this week and look forward to that being a part of what happens on our campus throughout the week.

"And with that I'll open it up for any questions."

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Questions And Answers

How big of a week is this for a guy like your center to make sure everybody make sure he sees everything and calls an alignment to counter what they do up front?

"Well it's a big week for our O-line, our tight ends, our backs, all those guys that have to block this front. But yeah you line up with number 11 across from you and just watching that guy play. He's a stud. Thirteen, Tyler Davis, and Xavier Thomas and Myles Murphy, they got a good D line, those guys are really good. It's going to be a battle in there.

"Our fundamentals are going to come into play. We got to play very fundamentally sound. We're not going to be perfect on every call. They're going to have some things. They're good at showing things one side bringing it the other, so they're going to get us at times because they're going to call good defenses. We're going to get them at times, and like I said we just got to manage the disruptions.

"We got to make sure we're not putting ourselves in bad down and distances as much as possible. Our O-line, they can't try to be perfect. They just need to play fast and be physical."

How good is Grant Gibson at processing all that at center?

"He's very smart. He understands football. He is a student of the game. We communicate well with Coach [John] Garrison and Coach [Tim] Beck and, he does his best to make sure he puts his guys in the best situation he can. Sometimes maybe tries to be too perfect.

"In a game like like this there's a lot of looks when you play Clemson, and there's a lot. There's gonna be lots they don't show, new looks for us and they do a good job of setting things up. They just got to understand, 'Hey here's the percentages, here's what we're calling. Now go play fast and play with great technique.'"

What is it specifically that's made your defense off to such such a good start. What have they've been doing right that that has gotten them so successful this season?

"I think it's a combination of things.

"One, they're playing for each other. I think you're seeing 11 guys play unselfish football, and they're not concerned about the scheme, they're not concerned about the play call. They're concerned about playing hard for each other or play in a better technique than the guy across from them, and that usually equates to success.

"The second thing is there's game experience in that group, they've seen a lot on the field, and that collective experience of playing and being beat on certain things in a game and understanding how game flows and not pressing when things maybe are not going as expected or they're running plays you didn't practice because they put new stuff in and that freaks you out like. They're calm, they're poised.

"They communicate well and they take coaching on the sideline. Our coaches are able to make adjustments, and the kids listen and understand them and go to the field and it shows."

Is Porter Rooks somebody with his skill set that's able to raise the ceiling of this offense a little bit with his speed?

"Yeah I do. I think we look at Porter as a starter. He's one of our top receivers, and not to his fault, to our fault, he didn't play enough in the Mississippi State game. We told them that after the game. Joker [Phillips] owned that right away, and he's earned that.

"Being in rotation with him and Thayer in our 11 personnel stuff, three receivers one tight end, one back, is something we've been doing. Getting him in the game and some 10 personnel, where he and Thayer are in the slots and moving around just puts another stress on the defense and allows us to get another playmaker in the game."

I'm interested how do you balance with your offense trying to make the plays but also like you said kind of taking care of the football and managing penalties and things like that?

"You've got to be aggressive when you want to go make big plays. You can't let them scare you out of trying to force the ball down the field some. Sometimes that blitz package and that pass rush and the number of plays they make in their front can get you conservative, and you've got to take the things that are there so you can stay in manageable situations. You also have to take your shots when they present themselves and you got to make some plays.

"I mean in games like this, you got to make some special plays. You just do. I'm not saying trick plays. I'm saying guys going up and jumping up and making a great catch with a body on a body, or diving and laying out. You got to make spectacular plays. Got to make the routine plays routine. We're gonna have to come up with a few plays and whether it's a deep ball or a run after the catch or a big run, whatever it is, you got to make some of those plays happen with just your ability.

"We do have some guys with ability on the perimeter. We need them to step up and play well."

How much easier is to play through adversity at home when you have a supportive crowd like you've had, as opposed to being in a hostile environment like like Mississippi State?

"Yeah, I say it's got to be easier at home. I mean you would think. You don't have as many people in your ear, maybe.

"I didn't feel like Mississippi State's crowd was a negative crowd towards our team. They were actually very respectful. I mean they're loud, you know the cowbells and all that. But they're not a team that, there's some places you go where the whole game, you're getting MF from their sideline to your bench like the whole game. And that's not how that game was.

"So, I don't feel like that hurt us in that game. It was loud, don't get me wrong, but if you're at home and your fans are behind you and they're encouraging your players and tell them to keep their head up and all that, that helps. That's good to have for those guys' psyche.

"More than anything, the players just got to understand that the play's over. The next play is what matters. That's it, and we have to embrace that. Everybody talks about being 1-and-0, and 1-and-0 means next play. That's it. Whether you did well or you didn't do well you got to go to the next one. Not that you forget what happened. You learn from what happened, but you've got to know that on the next play, you could change the game. And you can change it good or bad, and it's something that our guys have learned over time.

"Some players have to fail before they get it. Some players can learn through other players and watching them fail. That's what we try to teach. We try to use a lot of teachable moments with our team so that you're talking to one you're talking to all the guys can learn from each other on that."

The defense obviously provided great pressure to the quarterback so far but it hasn't resulted in two sacks. How important is to maybe turn some of those pressures into sacks this week against an offense that has surprisingly struggled.

"Sacks are great, especially sack fumbles. We'll take as many of those as we can get. Bottom line is we're forcing incompletions and interceptions and three and outs, and those are good, too.

"If we weren't getting sacks and we weren't getting off the field on third down and we were giving up a lot of points I'd be really worried about it but that's not what's happening. Quarterbacks are not having success throwing the football against our defense, or at least they haven't. Is there pressure? Are we forcing them to throw on time, off schedule? Are they inaccurate? All those things.

"When you watch the game the other day there was a lot of hits on the quarterback right when the ball was being thrown. Those add up, too. Those quarterback hurries or pressures or whatever you call them, but from a down and distance standpoint, those sacks are great, because it gets them behind the chains. Anytime you can have a backfield bomb go off, there's gonna be tons of those turned into fumbles for us. We'd love to get few more of those."

In the tape from Georgia Tech did you pick out anything that they did I think that game? Were you able to take away anything if you're watching that they did successfully that you might be able to integrate against Clemson?

"Yeah, I mean there's a lot of similarities defensively. Georgia Tech played a 3-3-5 structure, which is what we play. They don't normally do that so I think they caught Clemson off guard a little bit. Their preparation was probably for four down, and they got into that game and played a lot of three down, three safety defense.

"That film is obviously good film for us because there's similar schemes that are played. I thought Georgia Tech did a nice job. They hung in the game. They got off the field. They pressured the quarterback, and didn't give up big plays. They were very competitive. Had a chance to tie the game at the end and, [James] Skalski made a hell of a play on fourth down on the goal line to keep them from getting in on that little shovel play.

"But yeah, we watch every game. I mean I went home from our game against Furman and turned on the Georgia Tech-Clemson TV copy to watch the game before I went to bed. That's what we do, we study film and learn everything we can about our opponents."

I'm curious, with the older team, are there any way you address the team differently?

"I think when we have our older players talk during training camp at night, they'll get up and give advice, and talk about things they've learned over time. You got guys like Dylan Parham, been here six years, Tyrone [Riley] seven, CJ Riley six. There's wisdom in that, and those guys have been good about talking to their teammates. They've been very positive influences in our locker room.

"Yeah, it's the most unique roster that you'll have, not just here but across the country right now, of what you're talking about age, experience, stories, probably for you guys media wise. Like usually kid doesn't stick around six or seven years if there wasn't some adversity in his career that created that. So there's some good backstories there to what's going on, and like I said with Dylan Parham. He's been here a long time. He's played a lot of football. For him finally scored touchdown and that is my opinion that is why he came back. He wanted to have something like that happen, that was awesome for that kid.

"Yeah, it's it's unique and as far as I can tell, it'd be hard to have another year like this where you have that kind of experience on your roster."

Do you do anything differently with how you address a team that has maybe even the older than you're used to guys or you do the same thing you've always done it's just they're older?

"I think you have to talk down to the youngest guy in the room all the time. I mean, yeah Tyrone's heard it a million times, but Anthony Smith hasn't. I got to talk to everybody that could play in the game and, I know there is monotony in that, but I promise you in NFL locker rooms, there's 38 year-old guys that are hearing the same messages we're talking about with ball security and leveraging the football .

"Football's football and the lessons have to be taught. You can turn on games all the time, and I don't care what level you're at, you see bonehead things happen. Like how did that happen? What was that coach doing, or how can that player not know that? Well, that's why we have these meetings where we talk about the basics over and over and over and over because it's not that basic when there's 80,000 people screaming at you, and the play can be win or lose. There's pressure and a guy is however big, however fast running at you to knock your head off while you do it.

"There's a lot of things these guys have to be able to handle. Coaching them to the lowest denominator of experience in the room I think is very important."

Clemson quarterback, big kid, 6-4, almost 250, likes to run. I'm just curious for your scout team this week, how do you how do you simulate that in practice?

"We'll have quarterbacks back there that can throw it, but we don't tackle our scout team quarterbacks anyway, so it wouldn't matter how big the guy was on the scout team.

"The bottom line is we need to get the timing of their offense down to the best of our ability. We need to get those pictures and blocking schemes to our front, our backers and safeties and things like that and try to simulate, you know the routes, like the speed of the routes, that's the harder part. Sometimes your scout team you won't have receivers on it that can run like the team that you're about to play and then you get out there and your guys are, 'Whoa, this guy's fast.' You want that speed to be honest throughout the week. So I think it's more about that than it is anything.

"Aaron McLaughlin is a pretty big kid. He'll come over and help us at times on the scout team to simulate some of the run quarterback run game stuff that they do."

Clemson has recruited at an elite level through the years, especially lately. Have you guys changed anything to keep up with them?

"We're always competing. We want to compete with everybody, particularly a team that's won the league as many times as they have. I mean there's certain things until you beat them that you're not going to be able to compete against them with. They've got bragging rights. They've earned that.

"They've got their facilities to where they are, we have ours the way ours are. We're going to constantly try to generate revenue and make our facilities as good as we can. I think it's more about us. They're going to have what they have. They're gonna have the coaches they have. The salaries they have, the fans that they have, all of it. Clemson is a very proud place and they should be.

"We have to celebrate who we are here, and celebrate our fans and the city of Raleigh and what we have to talk about. Sometimes you get too caught up in comparisons. The bottom line is we want to be the best we can be here and to be the best NC State possible we have to go out and not beat us and play as hard as we can for each other and see where that puts us."

PFF has you with 22 missed tackles in three games. Is tackling something that you can target when you're recruiting a player, do you feel like it's more coached, and also just how important is that going to be in this game with their playmakers?

"Yeah, that seems like a lot of missed tackles to me. It seems like a lot, and some of them are on special teams too.

"But yeah, I mean when you watch a kid play, body control is a big part of tackling. So if you see a guy that's an out of control guy. I think that's where these live evaluations are so important. Like last year we couldn't go to a game and and see a guy and obviously they send you the highlights, there's no missed tackles on those so you got to watch the game film. Getting out there and seeing them play in person a live eval, you can't get enough of that. Getting them in camp is huge, you can put them through drills and see how they handle changing direction skill work and reaction skills.

"Tackling is, other than what a corner has to do and can you cover, tackling is the number one thing you look for, from a fundamental standpoint, with defensive players is. Are they going to have the ability to be a good tackle?. Not just do they like hitting, because there's a lot of guys that can hit that can't come to balance and change direction, things like that. Can they handle the game in space, can they handle the game in a phone booth, all the things that go into it?

Who was the guy you recruited that were already a good tackler?

"Drake Thomas was that way. He was a violent hitter in high school. I told him. I went and watch them play. They played Sanderson that game, and he was knocking the living hell out of people. I was like, 'Man this guy's violent,' and he's been that way since he got here.

"He's a contact football player and he's good in space. He can change direction. He's under control because he runs through people. He is one of the better fundamental linebackers I've been around."