The weekly Dave Doeren Radio Show is streamed live on NC State's Facebook account at around 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday and then also broadcast on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on various affiliates across the state.

Tight ends coach and special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel is the assistant coach joining the program this week.

• Goebbel said that all three specialists are not only talented, but they are mentally strong in handling both success and adversity. Goebbel added that they all root for each other.

• Junior kicker Chris Dunn is very mentally tough, Goebbel noted. Goebbel added that Dunn has set the expectations so high, and they told Dunn after the Clemson game that they had his back. Head coach Dave Doeren met with Dunn right after that game, too.

The message was simple: “Go be you.”

• They may not have blocked a punt yet this season, but Goebbel noted they are getting good pressure on the punter which has led to some bad punts. They counted seven going into the bye week.

The preference is early in the game to bring pressure on the punter so it is in his head for the remainder of the day, Goebbel pointed out.

• The program is very appreciative of what redshirt junior punter Trenton Gill brings to the table. The same applies for all the specialists. Goebbel stated that there is not a day where any coach on the staff does not appreciate them.

• They challenged sophomore receiver Keyon Lesane to step up as a missile on punt coverage and he has really responded, Goebbel noted. Freshman receiver Anthony Smith is also coming along in that group.

• Goebbel pointed out that Doeren makes special teams an emphasis at the start of every spring and preseason camp. The coordinators also point out that if you want to play in the NFL, then you need to be on special teams.

• There is some similarities in breaking up the wedge on kickoff coverage to how a running back approaches their position. Goebbel brings up how former NFL MVP Terrell Davis was an unknown in the pros until he knocked someone out on kickoff coverage.

• Goebbel said that he has challenged sixth-year senior tight end Dylan Parham about every way possible since Goebbel has been in Raleigh, and Parham has responded.

• Blocking as a tight end is a mindset, Goebbel said. He added that the group takes pride about putting good stuff on tape and is an unselfish group.

Doeren joins the show and they joke about how it was a really good day for players named “Devin” or “Devan” on Saturday.

• Doeren does believe they proved something to themselves by playing so well on the road at Boston College last Saturday. He added that they had a great week of prep, but they truthfully felt that it would be a tighter game than it turned out to be.

• Looking back on redshirt sophomore receiver Devin Carter’s touchdown catch, Doeren said it was incredible eye-hand coordination involved, and “it was really a special play by the young man.” Doeren added that Carter has made a lot of difficult catches in practice.

• They spent a lot of time Friday detailing the contact catches they would have to make against Boston College that other teams did not make against them. Doeren added that they also showed examples of NC State players making those type of receptions, and it was a standard set previously by former Pack receiver Kelvin Harmon.

• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary has a lot of arm talent and has always shown velocity on his passes, but now he has learned to show more touches, which Doeren said he thought was what Ryan Finley did so well.

• Doeren absolutely believes that Leary’s game-winning drive at Pittsburgh in 2020 built a ton of confidence in two-minute drills for him. They also do a lot of practice on that.

• Freshman safety Devan Boykin has been dependable in practice, Doeren pointed out. They had him at nickel and safety in practice. They felt when they lost senior safety Cyrus Fagan to injury, they lost something in the pass defense,. Boykin was a really good receiver in high school that has good ball skills.

There is also a concentrated effort to give junior Tanner Ingle and sophomore Jakeen Harris a few reps off to save them for the remainder of the season.

• It was nice to have a fumble actually bounce towards one of the NC State players, Doeren joked.

• Doeren told the team Sunday there was a lot of things that made him proud. He joked that the BC students clearly enjoyed themselves in the tailgate and brought the energy into the stadium. An immature team would not have handled that or the weather well. None of it bothered the Wolfpack.

• Doeren has a lot of respect Boston College and its style of football. They are a hard-nosed, classy group of players, and it’s a game that Doeren always looks forward to playing.

They also crushed the clam chowder Friday night.

• The leadership council met Sunday and talked about how fulfilling it is to win on the road.

• Leary does do a good job of seeing what the defense is giving the offense, Doeren added.

• All the run game they saw against Boston College came with motion in various directions, which is something they had not done near as much, and the result was pulling players in and out of the box. Doeren explained that was what the halftime adjustments were about.

Doeren also complimented the team on how they took in the adjustments despite all that goes into the halftime. They could tell on the first series of the game, Doeren noted, that Boston College was doing something different, and they were trying to make adjustments on the sideline but that is difficult and dependent on how the offense is doing.

• During training camp they had daily discussions. One night was talking about the team goals, and the next was how they could screw that up. One of the things that could mess up their goals was players being selfish about touches on offense because that behavior would fragment the unit.

Everyone seemed to take that in that message well. Yet when they got into the Mississippi State game, what they warned against happened. Nevertheless, Doeren said that they did a great job of taking ownership and correcting it.

• There is some correlation to losing that second game at Virginia Tech last year and then going on to have success and Mississippi State this year, but Doeren reminded that they had no idea what to expect in Blacksburg because of COVID and all the rumors that were swirling about who would or would not be available.

• At times the tackling was very good at Boston College, but at times it was not very good, Doeren said.

• Redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore is playing great football, Doeren said, and had his best defensive performance in coverage. Defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Tony Gibson grades them very hard, and Moore is likewise on himself.

The good part about Moore is that what they are critiquing are the very little things right now, which is different from most players.

• It has been great to see the next man up play well throughout the season, Doeren noted. He thought that redshirt sophomore guard Derrick Eason played really well in his first start.

Doeren noted that sophomore linebacker Jaylon Scott does things that redshirt sophomore Payton Wilson does not and vice versa. Redshirt junior Vi Jones played more snaps at weakside linebacker this week coming out of the bye, working with Scott to help bring some of the things that Wilson had given them in coverage.

• Doeren called Goebbel “a strong leader of men” and added that Goebbel is creative and forward-thinking.

• Redshirt junior receiver and punt returner Thayer Thomas grew up tracking the ball in the air since he was a centerfielder in baseball. Thomas also knows when it’s not smart to try even if it might roll bad for 15 yards afterwards.

• Doeren wants guys that have high effort and are trustworthy when evaluating special teams. He added the penalties on special teams can really hurt field position. That’s why playing young guys is tricky, because they cannot make mistakes in the heat of the moment.

• Doeren does not see a 2-4 team on film when he watched Miami. They have a lot of speed and athleticism. The defensive line has a lot of depth. Doeren noted they remember the game well last year as coaches and players when Miami won in Raleigh.

• Doeren trusts Gibson to have a great game plan against Miami, but they will be diverse and disguise some of the things they do. They want to make all quarterbacks think on their feet.

• Miami has come back in its last two games on explosive plays, Doeren noted.

• The Hurricanes had a lot of designed runs for D’Eriq King last year, and Doeren has not seen that yet with freshman Tyler Van Dyke. But Doeren noted Van Dyke has shown the ability to run and scramble for big gains.

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