Dave Doeren discusses Pack pro day, spring practice and more

Spring break is over, and NC State football resumed its spring practice schedule this week. After wrapping up Tuesday’s session in the Close-King Practice facility, Dave Doeren met with the media. 

The Wolfpack’s head coach discussed a variety of topics, from graduate student tight end Trent Pennix and his decision to return for another year, all the way to what the program looks for when evaluating recruits. 

Here’s the full video and transcript from Doeren’s March 21 press conference.

A reminder, the NC State spring game is April 8 at Carter-Finley Stadium.

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Watch Dave Doeren’s spring practice press conference 

The full press conference transcript

On Trent Pennix choosing to play another year with NC State 

Dave Doeren: “Well he scores every time he plays, so it would be nice if we had him every week. He’s a talented young guy. He’s unique because he’s got running back skills and receivers skills, and he’s really physical, so you can use him as a blocker if you want to. He’s been through a lot, just nagging things here or there, and hopefully we can manage keeping him on the field because, every time he plays, he’s an explosive player for us that puts points up.”

On what Doeren expected from Pennix coming out of high school

Dave Doeren: “We thought he’d be a running back or linebacker coming out. That’s kind of what we thought, and his body filled out and got thicker and thicker. The experience we had with Jaylen Samuels here prior, we felt like he gave us kind of a similar weapon that we could use in a variety of ways and create matchup problems and because, in the line he was in, he just wasn’t getting enough reps, so moving them to a position like that gave us more opportunities to play him.”

On the importance of the team staying healthy

Dave Doeren: “Your chess pieces are important. Whether you’re [in] high school, college, NFL, I think there’s two things that really matter with these players. One is the ability— how good of a player are they? And two is the dependability— can you count on having them every week? And, as a coach, they are very important words and, as a player, obviously, all these guys want to stay on the field and stay healthy. 

“Some injuries in football, you can’t do anything about it. That’s the sport. But some you can. That’s the educational piece that we do a lot of here with our sports science and nutrition people. As players, they’ve got to own that part of it. It’s hydration, it’s food, it’s rest, it’s prehab, it’s rehab. It’s all the things that go into staying healthy, soft tissue injuries, and then how you practice. Are your guys helping each other and staying safe, pulling off on a teammate when you could go in there and bury him like you would in a game, and there’s a lot to it to keep these guys in a good space.”

On the work Jaylon Scott has put in on and off the field

Dave Doeren: “He’s done a lot, not just physically, but he’s done a lot emotionally, mentally, too, and he’s come a long way. He sat behind some really good players. He has played, and he has helped us and it’s his time. So [I am] excited for him and proud of the work he’s done and we’ve gotta keep pushing him. He’s a guy who, every day, just needs to come in here with that hungry mindset.”

On retaining athletes who do not see the field much

Dave Doeren: “I think, [with] our culture, we’ve seen this year-in and year-out, these kids like playing here. They’re treated with respect, they’re pushed, they’re held accountable, they’re loved. We surround them with really good teachers, we surround them with great strength coaches, our sports med people, [athletic director Boo Coorigan] does a great job allowing us to maintain staff, giving us opportunities to be competitive with other schools and keep people here. 

“Raleigh is a great place to live. I think these guys like going to school at NC State. They have good friends, so it’s hard. If you’re going to leave all that, you better be leaving it for a really, really good opportunity. As everyone in the world knows, the grass isn’t always greener. You could be leaving this position, going somewhere else, walking into the same one and having a bad culture that you’ve got to deal with. When guys leave, I think it’s because they know they’re just not going to play, period, and then they need to go down a level or go to a school that has a bad depth chart situation.

“And that makes sense to me because, ultimately, these guys came to college to also play football, and if they don’t get that opportunity, then it’s probably not going to be the experience that they want. It’s not what we want either. We want all of these guys to be satisfied at the end of the journey”

On the feedback Doeren is receiving ahead of the March 28 pro day

Dave Doeren: “I’ll probably get more this week. Last week, we were on spring break, so it was pretty quiet. It was good to see Drake [Thomas] and Thayer [Thomas]. [They] just came in, and [I was] just kind of talking to them about what they’re hearing. 

“The pro day is a big deal for a lot of our players. We don’t have, like we did with [Ikem Ekwonu], you don’t have that guy that you know is going to go right away, so a lot of these guys, where they fit in the draft will be determined by these measurables and these 40s and how high they jump and the drill work they go through.

“The interview piece I’m not worried about. Our guys will do a great job on the board, talking football, talking life. These guys that are 5-11 instead of 6-1, how fast they run will matter. They look good. I know there’ll be a lot of scouts here to look at our guys, and [I] hope for a great day.”

On how much NFL combine drills and measurables impact how NC State evaluates recruits

Dave Doeren: “Quite a bit. The rubric we use for recruiting, the length, the hand size, all of the things you see at the pro day and the combines, they’re listed above the position group, so what the prototypical running back is and all right, well, this guy’s the same, or bigger or smaller, it just gives us kind of a measuring stick. 

“At the end of all things, we want length and speed. Those are the two categories when you talk about what we’re looking for and, over a long period of time, it’s been a pretty good formula for us as far as development and producing the number of players we have that were ranked three stars or lower. We’re in the top three of college football for putting those guys in the NFL from our development.” 

On the excitement he is seeing from the team during spring practice

Dave Doeren: “As you cycle through the offseason, they’re excited to lift weights and then, as that goes for seven weeks, they’re ready to play football. They’re ready to play, and it’s exciting as coaches too because we got hired to coach football. That’s what we’re in this profession to do, to mentor these guys on the field and teach them the game. 

“For us, this is one of our favorite times of the year, so there’s excitement on both the coaching staff and players, and the strength guys get to watch the improvements that were gained in the offseason and think about how they can help them get better before August.”

On what Doeren tells NFL scouts about Drake Thomas

Dave Doeren: “To me, measurables are important, but how you play the game is more important. There are exceptions and, [it is] no different for us, we do not want a bunch of exceptions on our team, but the ones that you have, they need to be ballers. 

“Him and Tanner Ingle are two examples of that. They’re going to be a little shorter than they say, [but] they’re also going to be two of the best football players they can get. I think the film doesn’t lie. You tell those guys to watch the film, put them on the grass, and put them through drills, get him in a meeting and talk football, all that stuff is going to cancel out some of the other measurables. 

“You may measure a guy that’s 6-2 or whatever and get him in the meeting room, and he can’t even come close to Drake when football IQ starts entering the equation, or they look at his change in direction or they get into his contact. He’ll make up for those measurables with most teams, some of them won’t. Some of them won’t give on that, and they’ll be the ones that miss out on coaching guys like him.”

On the benefits of a recruiting period where prospects can visit for practice

Dave Doeren: “I think it’s great for the recruit to hear the coach that’s been recruiting them coach his guys, to pretend they’re in the drills and see what kind of guy that guy is on the grass, how he’s going to teach, ‘Do I fit with his personality?’ Because it’s not just a ‘How [are] you doing?’ phone call. I’m getting to watch him do his job.

 “And for us, it’s good. These guys don’t know, but we’re watching them watch us. Does this guy pay attention, or is he on Instagram during practice? Does he really like football, or is he in the corner?

“We’re watching them too. This evaluation thing that’s going on, we are looking for guys that fit our culture, that fit our identity. And so, when kids come to practice and watch, if they’re not into it, then they’re going to find out we’re not into them. We want guys that love the game of football and love learning about it.”

On if anyone in the past has impressed him with how they engaged during practice

Dave Doeren: “We had a kid here, I can’t say his name, two weeks ago that was taking notes during practice. [He is] a 2025 kid and had his phone out and was writing notes into his phone during practice on the things he liked. That is pretty awesome to see. Things like that stand out to me because a lot of guys aren’t wired that way.”