NC State coach Dave Doeren's opening statement before Wake Forest
NC State coach Dave Doeren touched on a variety of topics, none bigger than the efforts by many throughout the country in helping out the victims of Hurricane Helene.
Doeren and the Wolfpack will host 1-3 Wake Forest at 12 p.m. Saturday on the CW Network.
Here is a transcription of Doeren's opening statement.
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Opening statement:
“Before we talk about the game, I just want to say that we're praying and thinking a lot about the folks. The recent hurricane, Helene, has devastated here in our state. It's just been crazy seeing the images more and more coming up with so much you know Wi-Fi down and people's phones not working and I think the damage is so much worse than people even understood.
“All the people, the homes, the businesses, communities, state parks, that have just been devastated by this flood. It's really sad and tragic. We are here praying and thinking a lot about the folks in the western part of the state.
“This weekend, my son Connor's team, ETSU [East Tennessee State], was driving from Johnson City, Tenn., to the Citadel [in Charleston, S.C.] and their bus got stranded. Their entire team had to sleep in the bus. That night, they couldn't get off the road so they were flooded in at a gas station.
"We were trying to call Coach [Henry] Trevathan and I, trying to get a hold of coaches in the county where they were stranded seeing if they could get into a church or a gym to sleep. None of them had power. Most of the people we got on the phone couldn't get out of their homes.
"Thankfully, their team was able to get out and you see what's going on in Boone [North Carolina]. Obviously, I have a son there and talked to [Appalachian State] Coach [Shawn] Clark up there today. They have players that apartments are condemned and they're trying to find housing for players, and they got two coaches whose homes have been condemned.
"Just a really tough time in the state. Saw pictures of Chimney Rock wiped off the map and Lake Lure, which is just a beautiful, beautiful spot. It's just full of lumber and boats and debris. It's really tough. The town of Asheville, power outages and contaminated water and businesses and everything. I would ask that everybody pray for those folks.
"I know there's still folks missing. Sounds like everybody's working really hard to help those communities. We have players on our team, Ayden White's family in Asheville, Zack Myers family in Asheville, Isaiah Shirley's family in Boone. Their families are safe, but I know that was a scary time for them. Before we talk about football, we need to talk about that.
"Today, Davin Vann's family reached out. They own a moving company. Davin and his family are putting together a truck that we're going to send over, that they're going to send over to provide relief for those in Western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene. We're going to park a truck by the Close-King Indoor.
"It'll get here today at 3 p.m., and will leave sometime tomorrow in the evening. We have a bunch of items. I know we're going to list this on social media as well, but drop-off times on Monday from 3-8 p.m., Tuesday from 12-8 p.m., and Wednesday from 12-8 p.m.
"Cases of water, electrolyte drinks, baby formula, baby wipes, hygiene products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, feminine products, hand sanitizer, diapers, shampoo, flashlights, lanterns, batteries, blankets, sleeping bags, shelf table food, stable food, and pop-top canned food, anything that anybody wants to bring over, we would love to have to fill this moving truck to take over to those folks.
"We're really proud and thankful of Davin and his family. Davin probably just came off the best game of his career as well, and for that to be what's on his mind today, I think says a lot about that young man and his family. Joyful Movers is the name of the trucking company that the Vann family owns, and they'll gather the goods and then they'll be delivered to Durham Rescue Mission for dissemination."
"With that, I'll move forward here and talk about the game. I thought it was a really good performance by our football team. It was a heck of a team win against a really good football team. I have so much respect for [Northern Illinois coach] Thomas Hammock and his staff and the way his players compete. That was an old-school football game. It was a defensive battle. It was a very physical football game.
"We won because we won the turnover margin and the field position. Our offense ended every drive with a kick, and there weren't always field goals and touchdowns, but there was no turnovers, and that was paramount.
"The way Caden Noonkester punted the football, seven of eight punts inside the 20, two inside the 10 for a 48-yard net, it was maybe the best performance I've seen by a punter. He was a weapon. We had a fake punt that continued to drive that led to our first touchdown, and our defense was dominant.
"They played really good football, man. They set edges, which we didn't do the week before, something we really worked hard on. We played where we were supposed to play. Guys were fit in the run. They had good eyes. We played a lot of players. We were stripping the football. We had two more that we could have got, and one of them bounced into the end zone, and they recovered it for a touchdown. Another one somehow landed in offensive lineman's hands on Davin's second strip.
"To force four turnovers and score our third touchdown on defense, it was awesome. Especially when you're coming off maybe our worst performance the week before defensively, to see them respond that way made me really proud of those guys. As a team it was complementary football. It really was.
"NIU's defense has now held three teams under 200 yards. I don't know if I've seen that in today's age. That's an impressive thing that they're doing on their field. Obviously, a lot of things we need to get better at, and we'll continue to work at. Positives on offense, obviously we didn't turn the ball over. We were 100 percent scoring in the red zone — two touchdowns and a field goal.
“I thought [junior tight end] Dante Daniels went in the game and did some good things for us at tight end. [Redshirt junior right tackle] Jacarrius Peak played his best game on the O-Line.
“We started with our first possession scoring a touchdown, building a lead, which was positive in that game against a ball control offense. To have a lead in the game, and we maintained the lead throughout the game. From a negative standpoint, we've had some penalties.
"They're calling more holding now than I've ever seen, and we've got to be able to play well within that and know how they're calling it. We've had three in that game holding penalties that were drive killers, and getting yourself into especially when they're positive plays and you have a 15- or- a 20-yard gain, and now it's instead of first and 10, it's first and 25, first and 20, second and 15, whatever it ends up being. It's a drive killer. So we've got to be better fundamentally at not having our hands in positions where we're getting called for those.
“I thought we would, deferring at the kick and getting the ball there to start the third quarter, I was disappointed we didn't get points in that first drive. Just not enough explosive plays. We've got to be better there. Third downs, obviously were atrocious for us, 1 of 11. A lot of that is the down and distances that we're playing in. That goes back to efficiency, which you've heard me talk about a number of times.
“There's a lot of positives on defense in that game. Four takeaways, setting edges, tackling, playing with passion, pressuring the quarterback, and making plays in their backfield. We had what we call bombs — 16 plays, 12 tackles for loss, and four quarterback sacks, which [three] of them ended up being fumbles.
“Special teams wise, it was a great game. From a field position standpoint, Caden Noonkester responded. Did not punt the ball well the week before. He's a returning starter. Challenged him to be what he is, and a really consistent guy that can hit the football, and he did a great job. Our coverage units were good. Guys tackled and pursued. [Senior kicker Collin] Smith continues to get touchbacks for us. I thought DK [senior safety Donovan Kaufman] had a nice kickoff return. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get our punt return game going. Their punter just did not kick the ball to us. So that was kind of a non-factor.
“Now on to in-state rival, Wake Forest, and Coach [Dave] Clawson. We've played against each other a long time. Got great respect for Dave and his staff. A lot of continuity, the same coaches he's had for a long time. They have systems they believe in, and they're good at operating them. They play hard. They have a lot of returning starters on their team.
"Their defensive line, in particular, is very tested. Has played a lot of football. It's a game that goes back a long ways, and traditionally, these are close games.
"They're a unique offense. It's been talked about for a long time. Experienced receiving core. I think the receivers are a strength for them. The running back got banged up in the game. I'm not sure what his status is, No. 1 [junior Demond Claiborne], but he's a really impressive guy on film. He's fast. He has patience. He's tough.
"Offensive line is big. Their quarterback's a transfer [senior Hank Bachmeier]. You know, only have four games on him there at Wake. I thought he had a good game last week. I can see that he has a good understanding of their offense. He can move around in the pocket and make plays with his feet.
"Defensively, like I said, their front is really impressive. Their defensive end, No. 30 [senior Jasheen Davis], has 23 career sacks and over 100 quarterback pressures. He's a force on the edge. Their inside guys, No. 91 [senior Kevin Pointer] and No. 55 [senior Bryce Ganious]. Been there a long time. They're tough. They're disruptive. They play with really good technique. Their defensive line coach does a really good job developing defensive linemen. Kids play really hard. They play square.
“Their kids, you know, force a lot of turnovers. They always have. They're good at punching the football. We gotta be really good at protecting the ball in this game. As a team, I think we've learned a lot about ourselves and challenged our guys. It's been stated that we're getting better. I look forward to another week to get better again and grow in places we need to grow. There's a ton of football. October starts tomorrow. We've got seven games with two bye weeks and two months. It's gonna go really fast.
"We just gotta stay really mission-focused on the day we're in and have a great week of practice. I'm excited to get back on the field with the guys and see their energy. They were really good in the team meeting yesterday. They've learned a lot. Like I said, this is a team that had a lot of new players on it. We've had to embrace growing together. I feel like this team is doing that. It's been definitely a challenge but a fun challenge for me and our coaching staff. I appreciate the willingness of this team to continue to fight.
"As far as injuries go, I'm not going to discuss anything. I don't have any updates. We meet with our trainer today at 3 o'clock. We came out of the game pretty good. Most of the stuff in our game was cramping. We'll see where we're at and get out of our staff meeting this afternoon.”
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