Everything UNC coach Bill Belichick said about NC State ahead of rivalry matchup

NC State is set to close the regular season with a primetime matchup against North Carolina on Saturday night (7:30 p.m., ACCN) at Carter-Finley Stadium. Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick will square off with the Wolfpack for the first time in his career, a rivalry that the Pack has won each of the last four meetings in.

As the two teams prepare for the showdown, here’s everything Belichick said about NC State and its roster going into the contest in his Tuesday midday press conference.

On Dave Doeren:

“I’ve known Coach Doeren for quite a while. I’ve always had a ton of respect for what Dave did and has done there. He always has a tough, highly-competitive team. His guys play with really good fundamentals and good energy. I’ve always liked to watch his teams play and I know that they’re very well coached, they’re disciplined, they’re absolutely tough.”

On NC State’s defense:

“They’ve got a very strong front with those two defensive linemen, [Travali] Price and [Brandon] Cleveland, big strong guys, very physical inside and hard to move. Harsh is one of the better defensive ends that we’ll see, and [Cian] Slone. Those guys are very disruptive. And, of course, [Caden] Fordham’s leading the ACC in tackles and makes a ton of plays. [Kenny] Soares, too, is a productive player. They’re a very good front. I know they’ve been a little banged up in the secondary, but they’ve got a pretty good group there, too. [Devon] Marshall did a really good job last week against Florida State. [Jackson] Vick is their nickelback and he’s another very productive player. They’re tough on defense and are very well-coached.

“It’s a disruptive group. This is probably the strongest, most-physical group that we’ve seen. And we’ve seen a few. It’s hard to move them. They do a good job of rushing, attacking the pocket. I know there’s not a lot of high sack production, but they’re disruptive with their power and strength.”

On NC State’s offense:

“Offensively, a lot of explosive players. Starting with the quarterback, [CJ] Bailey, he’s a problem. And they have two really good running backs, [Hollywood] Smothers and [Duke] Scott. Smothers leads the league in yards after contact. He’s hard to bring down, very good with the ball in his hands. Both of them are. They’ve got some explosive runs.

“Obviously, [Terrell] Anderson is an outstanding explosive receiver. He’s their punt returner, took those duties midseason. He had a long one called back. He had a long tear screen for a touchdown, a 75-yarder catch-and-run play behind the line of scrimmage. Those guys are good. [Justin] Joly is one of the top tight ends in the conference, along with Anderson, Smothers and Bailey, it’s a lot of firepower there offensively. They’ve hung up some points on a lot of people. 

“Impressed with [Cody] Hardy, not sure what his situation is with the game, he’s certainly one of the better blocking tight ends that we’ve seen. Their offensive line, they’ve been banged up, but they’ve got a big, strong, physical group there to protect the quarterback and get the running game going. 

“Overall, a really solid team. Well put together and well-coached. They play with very good fundamentals and don’t make a lot of mistakes. We’ve got to do a good job with tackling, especially on the quarterback and Smothers and Scott. Those two guys are definitely a problem.”

What do you do as a coach to make sure a chippy game doesn’t escalate?

“We need to do a much better job with that. We had too many personal foul penalties that really cost us in the game [against Duke]. We’ve talked about it all year, we’ve addressed it. We expect those to be called because that’s the way they’ve called them all season. We’ve just got to do a better job of keeping our cool playing football and not doing things after the play.”

What have you learned about the NC State rivalry or remember from visiting Wolfpack Pro Day?

“Hard working group of guys. I think if you’ve been through the program with him, you know how to work, you’re tough — physically and mentally. He runs a good program. You earn what you get there. Those guys play hard. You can see it on film. Every play is not perfect, but they’re playing hard up and down, regardless of position. Even in the Miami game, they fought right until the end there. You can see the competitiveness in the team. They rush PATs hard and things like that. It’s every play. You can’t afford to take many plays off against this group. Or they’re going to get you on it because they just keep coming at you. Dave’s had a lot of good players down there, and certainly a lot of tough, physical players.”

What stands out about CJ Bailey on film?

“He’s got a good supporting cast around him. He’s got two good running backs, a good tight end, another good tight end as a blocker. Between Joly and Hardy, those two guys are two of the best tight ends in the conference, two of the best tight ends in college football. And they’ve got some explosive receivers. He doesn’t try to do too much, but he’s able to utilize the skill around him, which is what a good quarterback does. When he needs to make a play, he can make it. It’s not all about him, it’s about the running game and distributing the ball to his playmakers, and he does a good job with that. That’s really the quarterback’s job: find ways to help your teammates make plays and be productive. He does a nice job.”