NC State coach Dave Doeren said his team was oozing with motivation this offseason.
If ever there was a team that understands the task at hand, it is this year’s Wolfpack football team. The players and coaches have felt the anxiousness from the fan base throughout the offseason, which started in shocking fashion — finding out the Holiday Bowl against UCLA wasn’t going to be played the day of the game in San Diego, Calif.
That is just one example of a wild offseason that has been about conference realignment, NIL scenarios, scheduling changes and roster management. Doeren the CEO has a much different task at hand in 2022 compared to even a few years ago.
Doeren broke down the football component and the business side of football Wednesday during ACC Football Kickoff. He feels the ACC will be OK in the short-term due to the Grant of Rights and that teams have held their own on the field, despite not making as much money as the Big Ten and SEC.
“With our Grant of Rights, it is hard to be worried about the future of our league,” Doeren said. “We have 14 teams that can’t go anywhere, with a $120 million escape fee.
“We have total faith in [ACC commissioner] Jim [Phillips]. He has done a great job since he’s been here, but it is changing. Where it is going is driven by television and network things, things that are outside my conversations. I’m watching just like you are.”
Doeren said the only way to get rid of that feeling from the Holiday Bowl is to play another game, and that won’t happen until the season opener at East Carolina on Sept. 3. Add in some NCAA-affected issues with NC State baseball and women’s basketball playing Connecticut in Bridgeport, Conn., the angst level is high among Wolfpack Nation.
“Yeah, we've had some tough things happen, and I think adversity creates opportunities,” Doeren said. “Nobody likes feeling like you got the raw deal, which several of our teams have probably felt that way.
“It's going to come full circle, and we're going to be smiling at the end of it, and I believe that whole-heartedly. It's about how you act and how you respond and who you are with.”
Doeren wants to bring that winning feeling to Wolfpack fans.
“I want to help them ease that pain,” Doeren said. “It has been 42 years in football. I got to witness what Coach [Wes] Moore did with the women’s basketball team to get them over the hump. Anything is possible if you do it right, do it consistency and over time with the right people. Our fans are incredible. I understand and I want to bring it to them.”
The chance to win 10 games last year was a major goal for the players. Having the opportunity taken away last-second stung for the 9-3 Wolfpack. A little over seven months later, it still stings some.
“That is a huge factor,” Doeren said. “It wasn’t just losing the opportunity to play in the bowl, but losing the opportunity for a 10th win. The bowl people were great, but the opponent [UCLA]. We understand that COVID is real and felt for the players on their team that had it. It just wasn’t communicated to us in a timely fashion and wasn’t handled professionally. It just didn’t feel right for a team that is trying to do something special for their University.
“It has driven us this offseason. We came out of that very angry, very driven.”
The fact that NC State is senior-dominated is another reason for the vibe that this needs to be the season.
“I think it would do a lot for the NC State program,” NC State redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary said. “Each and every year we do have high expectations, and you know, a little bit of what we put on film last year, we're kind of earning that respect a little bit.”
Middle linebacker Isaiah Moore knows first-hand about unfinished business, both with the team and individually. His season was cut short due to an ACL tear last year.
“I think when we all came to NC State, we wanted to put NC State in a place it's never been before,” Moore said. “While it's still in progress, it hasn't been done yet. For the brand of NC State, it would do wonders for it. We're always trying to get better as a group, and it doesn't stop with our brand as well.”
The offseason seemingly was full of changes, some that Doeren likes and some he still has concerns about.
Doeren does love the idea of the 3-5-5 scheduling model and not having divisions in the ACC. He wishes that could happen this season, and doesn’t mind if a future ACC title game happens to be a rematch.
“I’m excited about it, and excited to get to play the other teams more often,” Doeren said. “You just think that's good for the television. It's good for the fans, and it's really good for the players.”
Roster management has become increasingly harder. On the one hand, NC State will benefit from having numerous “Super Seniors,” but as Doeren pointed out, he can’t plan his 2023 roster with so many players deciding on whether they want to use their extra year or not. In turn, that trickles down to affecting how many recruits or transfers the Wolfpack might sign.
"The hardest thing for coaches right now is roster management," Doeren said. "When the NCAA made the decision to give everyone an extra year of eligibility by their choice, and not give the coaches extra scholarships because of it, it has disabled high school recruiting in a big way."
In years past, Doeren would know that he could have 25 seniors and he'll need 25 new recruits. Now, seniors could return for an extra year and not tell the coaches until the start of the second semester.
"That really hurts you in recruiting and it is hard," Doeren said. "We are at a disadvantage as a head coach. It's very challenging."
One thing Doeren is positive of is the stability the program currently has, with all 10 assistant coaches returning. He also feels good about the health of outside linebacker Payton Wilson.
“Payton is 100 percent,” Doeren said. “He feels great. I thought last year would be the last time I coached him, and so I think he'll tell you that it wasn't fun going into what he did. He is in as good of a place as he has been mentally right now.”
Doeren also pointed to outside linebacker Drake Thomas as a perfect example of a player who elected to remain home for college and has thrived in the Wolfpack culture. The former Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage standout had a breakout redshirt sophomore year last fall, while playing middle linebacker and outside linebacker due to injuries.
“I think you look at what we’ve done in the state, the success rate in the state, we’ve put more North Carolina players in the NFL than any University in the country,” Doeren said. “That says a lot. There are a lot of good players who have left and could have come to State, or the other in-state schools, and didn’t pan out.
“The student-athlete, there are a lot of things they face that are very challenging. When you have the people who love you the most to help you through it, you have a chance to be successful.”
Doeren feels what players make in NIL is good, but he’s not going to embrace a pay-for-play version in recruiting. That isn’t the culture of his program.
“We aren’t a privileged, entitled culture,” Doeren said. “It’s a culture of earning things and being a teammate and helping others.
“I don’t think it was created as an inducement to recruiting. That is where they need to step in.”
Moore echoed Doeren’s thoughts and said he feels good about whatever NIL opportunities come his way.
“They say comparison is the thief of joy,” Moore said. “What we get as far as NIL at NC State and the platform that we have individually as student-athletes, that's kind of just who we are.
“We can't sit around and compare that other schools or what other players are doing. We're taking away from it all the things that we've accomplished and all the things that we have put forth to make our platform the way they are.”
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