Dave Doeren radio show recap

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.

Pack second-year cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell is apparently a big fan of eating out. He joked he’s going to take advantage of being in a metropolis like Raleigh where they can go out every night and find something good to eat

Defensive line coach Charley Wiles apparently is good at picking out restaurants.

• Looking back at the Mississippi State game, there were some really good things on the film, Mitchell noted. He cited the tackle of fourth and one by redshirt freshman corner Shyheim Battle and the pass breakups by redshirt junior corner Derrek Pitts Jr. Mitchell also noted the successful third down stops, but there were also things the defense could have done to help win the football game that it didn’t do.

• The defensive backs are playing the ball better in the air, Mitchell felt like. It is something they emphasize in practice.

• In his past experiences at Texas Tech with head coach Mike Leach, there was only one team that an opponent held them to under 400 yards of total offense, yet the Pack defense against Mississippi State, which limited the Bulldogs to 17 offensive points and 316 yards, could have done even better than they did, Mitchell said.

He also noted that Leach’s playbook is very much the same as it was Texas Tech with a few new wrinkles. Mitchell compared it to playing the option where they attack you with the same plays, just out of a different formations until they figure out where the weak spot is in the defense.

• Mitchell cannot recall ever recruiting a tight end at Texas Tech, and he joked the only tight end Leach ever had was probably someone he inherited on the roster.

• Mitchell noted he is lucky that he gets to coach senior Chris Ingram and junior Teshaun Smith. He said both can dissect film like a coach, and it’s refreshing to have a veteran presence in the secondary. It feels like he has player coaches among the cornerbacks.

Ingram brings mileage and a level of comfort to his teammates, Mitchell said.

• Ingram missed 19 months with his knee injury, Mitchell reminded. Ingram’s body is still getting back to where it needs to be, but they’ll get him in some more games. He did not play at Mississippi State.

• Mitchell feels everything starts with him when it comes to his players. He will take ownership when his players don’t perform, and he wants his players to take some ownership, too. Mitchell really liked how energetic practice was Tuesday.

• This is Mitchell’s 27th year of coaching and he is still seeing new stuff. Thus for someone like Battle, a young corner, the focal point will always be about becoming a student of the game. That said, Battle has made improvements by leaps and bounds.

• Mitchell is one of two Pack assistants in the coach’s box during gameday for NC State, but he doesn’t get lonely. He said there is more communications between the box and the field than people think. NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson asks for a lot, so Mitchell has to be ready.

Head coach Dave Doeren noted the entrance at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., was loud, but the cowbell noise wasn’t as loud as he thought it might have been. It was a great gameday in Starkville, but the indoor practice facility at NC State during the week was actually a little louder.

They did show the players the Will Farrell SNL cowbell skit (from way back in 2000), and everyone they asked on the team thought it was funny.

• Doeren said that you have to study the film from a loss like Mississippi State first before addressing it. He wants to be cautious about saying anything about the game, especially specifics, until he sees the film so he doesn’t speak out of emotion.

He noted that the inability to score points in the red zone was the struggle Saturday. There was a lack of execution and making plays.

• The defense kept its composure well after the kickoff return for a touchdown, Doeren said. They were disappointed to let up the TD near the end of the first half. He noted that they are not supposed to be in press coverage in the two-minute drill, and on the touchdown throw Battle went into press coverage when he shouldn’t have.

With regards to the Ricky Person Jr.'s interception throw in the end zone, they probably would like that play call back. They expected Mississippi State’s defense to react differently since they used the same formation in the opener and ran for a score out of it.

• The opening kickoff, Doeren noted, was supposed to go deep right and instead went down the middle. Kicking it down the middle gave the returner the entire field to use, and one Wolfpack player in coverage didn’t stick to his assignment which impeded another player in the process.

There were also two missed tackles.

• NC State returned at 3 a.m. after the game. Typically they bring the players in on Sunday around noon and give them Monday off. Because of the late night, Doeren decided it would not have been a good turnaround mentally, so they flipped the Sunday/Monday routine. Doeren felt like it worked and that they had a spirited practice Tuesday.

• The offense saw a lot of missed opportunities and poor execution on the tape, Doeren said. He told the players they needed to learn their lessons in practice and not in games, and he suspected some position groups may have read their clippings, too.

Doeren noted that it’s on the defense, too. He said there are going to be games where the defense needs to get a shutout, and also games where the offense might have to score 50 to win.

• If you had told Doeren what the defensive output was at Mississippi State before the game, he would have “absolutely” taken it. Gibson and the staff had a good game plan. The only two areas he regretted was not getting any sacks and missing two opportunities for interceptions.

• There is a lot of timing in pass plays, and it always start with protections, Doeren said. When it comes to deep passes, there are landmarks that the receivers are running toward, and the quarterbacks have to lead the wideouts away from the coverage.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary has been a bit inconsistent on the deep passes, and he has to put the ball to give the receiver a chance to make the play. Freshman Anthony Smith was open three times for deep passes to score and they missed all three.

• Doeren is confident that redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson is not done playing. Wilson has decisions to make over whether or not he plays again for NC State, which Doeren would love to see, or throws his name into the NFL Draft. Those conversations are yet to come.

Safety Cyrus Fagan has a redshirt year, and he’ll spend the time with the strength and conditioning staff and should return.

• For players who return from injuries, there are mental hurdles, Doeren noted. Once they get through the contact and realize they are fine, that is when the player is truly back.

• Not all the quarterback pressure on Saturday was the fault of the offensive line, Doeren noted. Mississippi State did blitz a lot, and they did not get picked up or identified by NC State.

Doeren noted there may have been a record number of missed assignments Saturday. He cited as an example an offensive lineman taking a wrong step on a run play that led to a busted play that had nothing to do with Mississippi State.

• The coaching staff all has experience, Doeren noted. They all take complete responsibility for what they are responsible for, and they do not put it on the players. The coaches do not sleep well after a loss, Doeren said. They were anxious to get back to work.

• Junior safety Tanner Ingle wants to play at the next level, Doeren noted, and he cannot do it being ejected for targeting. Doeren is proud of Ingle for making clean hits thus far this season and noted Ingle is making more plays on the ball, too. That is critical for Ingle’s development.

• Sophomore linebacker Drake Thomas, now a captain, is one of the best players on the roster regardless of position, Doeren said. Thomas has earned the “C” on the uniform. Wilson endorsed Thomas to replace him at captain.

• Sophomore linebacker Jaylon Scott played well in Wilson’s absence at Mississippi State, Doeren added. Scott knows the position well and has good knowledge of the defense.

True freshman linebacker Caden Fordham needs to step up, Doeren said. Fordham will probably now play more than they planned.

• Furman is a storied program, Doeren noted. He recalled playing against them in the FCS national championship in his second season as an assistant at Montana. Furman uses a spread option offense, and defensively they are similar to Wake Forest. Furman will also be motivated with nothing to lose, and these are games you cannot take for advantage.

Doeren expects that his team is going to be more motivated by how they just played and fixing it. All of the team’s goals are still in front of them.

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