NC State Wolfpack football head coach Dave Doeren met with the media on Wednesday via Zoom, the new reality in today’s COVID-19 lockdown.

The eighth-year Pack leader went through a variety of topics and provided some updates along the way.

We analyze the highlights of what he said in this News & Views format:

NEWS: The first question on everyone’s mind is, will there be a college football season this fall? Count Doeren in the camp that there almost has to be, but he’s not going as far as to insist that it be played this fall. He will also not demand at least six weeks, like other coaches have done, suggesting that they can get the Wolfpack team ready in as few as four weeks.

DOEREN: “We need to play football. I think that’s the one thing that everybody recognizes from a financial standpoint in college athletics, for universities and probably just [the] nation’s morale. When that happens, I don’t care. I think [it should be] whatever is best for the health of our athletes and for the country. You don’t want to put them out there before all this stuff is taken care of.

“Whether it’s delayed a month, two months, three months, whatever it is, I think it will be a blessing to have these guys back, be able to work with them, get out there and compete. I expect that to happen. I just don’t know when. I am hearing the same things you guys are. The information changes a lot. Whenever it does happen, we’ll be ready.”

VIEWS: Doeren is speaking the hard truth of the situation. Football is the economic engine for a Power Five athletic department. Without it, there will be severe and potentially long-lasting consequences. That’s why even recent skeptics of them playing, like ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, have now backed off those doubts.

"My feeling is, come hell or high water, they're going to play football,” Herbstreit said on Maryland coach Mike Locksley's radio show. “I think they're willing to go all the way to making it a spring sport. ... Two-a-days in February, games in March and April and May, bowl games in June."

Doeren took the smart approach to this answer, however. Deferring to the proper officials on the when and how of the start of college football while also underscoring the reality that the sport is an economic necessity is wise leadership.

NEWS: In an exclusive interview with The Wolfpacker back in the spring, Doeren said that redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary is the frontrunner for the starting job. The term Doeren used then was, “It’s his job to lose.” They only got a handful of spring practices in before everything was shut down, and Leary did not lose the job in that short time.

DOEREN: “Devin will be our starter … it’s his job to lose. I know he’s excited about the opportunity to grow from where he was. I know [redshirt junior] Bailey [Hockman] wants to be a better player than he was and compete his butt off to do so and was excited about the progress he was making. Then you have two young guys in [redshirt freshman] Ty [Evans] and [true freshman early enrollee] Ben [Finley] that are trying to learn the offense right now.

“Really you have two guys that played significant reps that we’re counting on, and two young guys that we want to see get better that have great ability. I like where we’re at, we just need the opportunity to coach them now.”

VIEWS: To understate the obvious, it seems pretty clear at this point that if there is a season opener against Louisville in September (and that odds of that are very iffy), Leary is going to be the starter, barring injury.

The reality is that the spring cut down a lot of reps in the new offense. Unlike prior quarterback battles, there was not a full spring's worth of data and film to break down. Leary was already operating as the likely No. 1 in the few spring practices they had, and his potential competitors lost double-digit practices and all scrimmages to eat into that advantage.

With a potential short turnaround to get ready for a season, the need to make a firm commitment to a starter will be even greater.

NEWS: One true freshman early enrollee that definitely made a positive first impression was cornerback Devan Boykin from Ragsdale High, which is near Greensboro, N.C. Doeren also strongly implied that four-star wideout Porter Rooks from Charlotte’s Myers Park High is another of the seven early enrollees that turned heads.

DOEREN: “I thought Ben Finley did some good things; had some tough days as well, but very gifted, excited about the progress that he’ll be able to make. Those reps are going to be very valuable for him.

“On our offensive line, both Sean [Hill] and Ethan [Lane] came in and were repping with the twos and were getting a lot of reps. They are both going to be good players. They’re tough, they’re coachable and did some good things.

“I thought Devan Boykin really showed up, did a lot of positive things. Very athletic defensive back, excited about him. He’s a guy that could play early for us, and probably will.

"Porter Rooks really showed out at receiver. Porter had some nice catches. Gets open, feels it, can adjust his body well.

“[Receiver] Jalen Coit is a really, really fast kid. He’s going to have to get a little bigger in the weight room, and he’s done so already, but he has a lot of speed — which we expected him to have when we recruited him.”

VIEWS: Boykin could be another example of a strong evaluation by Doeren’s staff. NC State was his lone major offer, but Boykin is the son of a coach who ran the 40-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds at a Shrine Bowl combine last spring. At Ragsdale, he lined up all over the field on both sides of the football — quarterback, receiver, kick returner and just about every defensive backfield position.

Thus it is not surprising that the three-star Boykin made a better impression than the recruiting experts though he would.

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