Transcript: NC State football coach Dave Doeren signing day PC

NC State football coach Dave Doeren met with the media via Zoom for over 20 minutes Wednesday to discuss National Signing Day and provide some updates on his team ahead of the Dec. 29 San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl against UCLA.

Here is a transcript from Doeren.

NC State football coach Dave Doeren opening statement

“Well, happy Signing Day and excited, you know for the 12 young men that have joined the Wolfpack. Other than one addition here on Signing Day, there weren’t any surprises, but very excited about the group.

“I guess you would say with our COVID numbers that we have now, the super seniors and how that’s impacted recruiting, purposely this was a smaller class. We just didn’t have as many spots.

“With that being said, it’s the highest average ranking in school history based on individual player rankings per signee. So, I guess you’d say quality over quantity if you were going to rank our class.

“Things that excite me: we met the needs we had. We led the state. Out of all the ACC schools there was 23 in-state signees in our conference, and we had the most of all the schools, all 14 schools in the ACC. We had seven, the next school had six and then five and then four. I feel good that we continue to take care of our own more than anybody in the state. And that’s something I’ve said I would do nine years ago and have lived up to my end and will continue to do that.

“There’s seven of these young men that were in the playoffs, one of them that was in the state championship game, and added two more brothers to the family with Isaiah Crowell and Rylan Vann joining Micah [Crowell] and Davin [Vann].

“I think that’s cool when you have that. To me, that’s the greatest thing you can tell a recruit, when you have a number of players, parents who have allowed one of their sons to come here and then sent their second son and in some cases a third, I think that says a lot about the culture that we’ve created here.

“As a parent myself, I sure would take a lot of I guess, perspective, if one of my sons was at a school and then had a chance to send my second son to the same school to the same coach. And to do that multiple times, I think, shows a lot about our coaching staff, about our culture, about our university.

“Proud of those guys, and great to have all them send their stuff in early this morning. There was no drama and we’re able to get out to bowl practice on time. So with that, I’ll open it up for any questions.”

Q&A

You mentioned one addition today with Jacarrius Peak. What does he add to this class and bring to this program?

“We needed to continue to add offensive tackles to our depth chart and Jacarrius is a very athletic young man. He’s a long wingspan, tall kid that plays basketball, shot and disc, multiple sport athlete that we feel has tremendous upside. He is a hard worker, comes from a great program in Valdosta. It was a good fit for what we do. He’s very athletic offensive lineman with a long wingspan.

“Obviously, having what we had here at tackle, we’re gonna have [Bryson] Speas and Tim McKay back. It’s obvious we’re going to lose Ickey [Ekwonu], and just have to get some guys in the program that we can develop and feel like he’s one of those guys. Just have a chance to work with a young man has his pedigree and ability.

“We found him somewhat late, and Coach [John] Garrison did a really good job recruiting and building a relationship with him and getting him up here on a visit unofficially and then officially, getting his family involved so they could see what we have to offer.

“So I think it was a win-win. They were very happy leaving here on their visit. Went and compared us to another school and felt like this was the best fit.”

How’s the health look on the defensive side of the ball for you guys, and Ickey is obviously being projected as a first round pick, do you expect him to play?

Defensively, we’ll be healthier than we were in the last game. Devan Boykin’s back with us now. So hope that we obviously have him. That was one unexpected one.

“But outside of that, it’s the same group that we’ve been playing with. There were several guys playing sick and beat up and all the above in that last game. We had a lot of guys with the flu, like I told you, I think we’re going to be in a much better place. But the guys that were out for the season are still out.

“As far as Ickey, Ickey’s been practicing with us. He’s excited to go down to the bowl site with us and get our tenth win.”

Can you reflect on some of the challenges from this cycle with the super long dead period maybe how your staff adjusted to that?

“Man, it’s just last year and a half. It’s been hard. It’s been a lot of virtual, just like you guys in your professions. Except for in ours, we really rely on seeing these guys in person and, you know, measuring different parts of their measurables as we call them, their wingspan, their hand size and so on, seeing how they can bend in person, how they can run, change direction, and so it’s been unique.

“I will tell you, I think we’ve succeeded. I think our staff, our recruiting staff, deserves a lot of credit. I think Merci Falaise has stepped in, was promoted into his role, now as our general manager, has killed it. He’s done a tremendous job and his staff that we’ve assembled with him are really working well together.

“I think they do a great job communicating with recruits. They do a great job with high school coaches of trying to get information that normally we would get on visits. And then once things opened back up, I mean, you can imagine how it was here in June when when the dead period lifted. There was a flood of recruits coming through campus.

“I wish we had 25 scholarships. When you have back to back years like we did, we could sign 25 guys easily. We just don’t have that room with a number of players coming back.

“I think that’s a story for another time. I think that’s kind of in some ways taken over the excitement of our football team, the run it back.

“We got fans even saying they’re coming back. It’s kind of funny seeing their messages. I love the guy that broke his leg, putting his stuff out there on social media. He’s recommitted to the Pack. It’s interesting times.

“But with recruiting, I think this is a really good class and I hope it just doesn’t slip through because of fact there is not 25 guys in it. There’s 12 really good players.”

Can you give us some insight on Michael Allen, what you saw in him and how you think he’ll fit in your program here?

“Really talented young man. Easy to see as a runner why we liked him powerful, quick, fast. Good vision, good balance. But the things that he could do as a receiver we really thought made him stand out. He can catch the football out of the backfield as well as run it. He’s tough. He’s got the body type to be able to hold up in protection, and the speed to be return guy if we want to use him as a kickoff returner, and he’s a multi sport athlete, so he’s a true competitor year round.

“Comes from a winning program. Great family, all of the above and very mature. With us, having Ricky [Person] leave and Bam [Knight] still undecided, felt like we needed to get maybe not as much of a developmental player at that position, someone that can come in and play a little earlier if need be. I think he fits that.

“Obviously that will come down to his mental part, which we feel good about, but until you get them on campus and see him react to the speed of the game, that’s kind of the biggest unknown, I guess you’d say, with any recruit.”

With these recruits, were some of the guys concerned about the players coming back, or some of the guys concerned about maybe their timeline to get on the field maybe slow down a little bit?

“Yeah, and it wasn’t a conversation that was a negative. I think it’s a positive. I think these guys, for example, the two linebackers we signed today. They’re gonna play with Isaiah Moore, Drake Thomas, Payton Wilson, Levi [Jones]. They get some really good mentorship in that first year.

“To me that’s a positive for freshmen coming in the door, is to have that kind of player in front of you to learn from. They’re not going to be here for three years. They’re gonna be here for one, so I think that’s part of the development.

“We talk about developing our players. I do look at this place is one of the best in the country at developing players. Part of it is taking advantage of the older players’ wisdom when they’re here. I think our players do a really good job, if you come to practice, and watch them coach each other, of helping each other learn.

“And so that’s something that I think is a positive not a negative when you talk about the experience that we have returning.”

How much did the NCAA going back down to 85 limit present a challenge for you this year and you having to figure out the numbers as you go, and the second part is do you have any more space to potentially add on to the class?

“I think the NCAA has completely failed us as coaches with our roster management. I’m sure they thought it was a great idea during COVID to award everybody on the roster an extra year, and I can see why that happened.

“I personally feel like the model we had last year had allowed our super seniors to not count on our 85 was the right model. To say that that’s a one-year deal but you awarded it to five years of players is not a good situation to be in as a football coach.

“You’re either recruiting fewer players, which means the future of your program’s not the way you want it. You can’t develop the guys the way you normally do with 20 to 25 guys a year, which hurts the high schools. I mean, the number of high schools I went into where players just don’t have anywhere to go because of this rule, it’s sad. It’s really sad.

“The second part of it is it increases the number of guys probably that want to stay. It changes our ability to predict attrition, like how many seniors do you have? Fifteen, okay, well, then you have 15 scholarships next year.

“That’s not how it is. So you’re either going to slow down and recruit fewer guys, or you’re going to end up with almost too many, and maybe ask some kids to go, and I don’t think that’s a good thing either.

“I think the NCAA really screwed this one up. That’s just my opinion. They probably don’t care what my opinion is, but I hope there’s some relief at some point to help all these high school kids that have nowhere to go and not just them.

“They created a portal where all these guys can go where they want and there’s no scholarship space for anyone to take any of them.

“With regard to us taking more players, it just depends on attrition. If we have attrition, then you know, the portal obviously stays open until August, right? So, if things happen between now and then and we can add we will. If it doesn’t, then we won’t.”

Does the small class though hurt you down the road? Possibly three, four years down the road?

“It can. I think it can it’s just probably put you into more of a portal recruiting mode at some point to make up for lost players. Maybe not.

“I really think that there’s going to be a lot of rule changes in the next 24 months, cause the recruiting has just changed completely then the way that our current rules are written. With with the addition of the portal guys and a calendar doesn’t really meet their needs either. They go into the portal after the season and then it’s a dead period and they can’t even visit anywhere.

“The whole thing needs to be relooked at. I’ve been told that that’s what they’re doing is relooking at it. Maybe they’ll allow us to recruit differently in the future and be able to use our scholarships differently. I’m not sure, but it definitely needs a tune up based on just the evolution of the rules in college football.”

How much NIL was a topic of conversation with this current class and and if you guys felt like you were more prepared to answer those questions than previously?

“Not as much as you would think. It does come up some. It’s not a point of contact for every conversation. I think it’s talked about a lot in the media. In the small circles of recruiting more about what our players currently have and, how do they go about doing that?

Less about what can you give me, at least in our experience.

You know which ones are enrolling early?

“Not yet. That will happen probably in the next week or so.

“Again, it’s another rule that needs to be looked at, but you can only replace midyear the ones you lose midyear. And so until I know exactly that number we’ll have to hold and wait.”

What’s the best quality of the 12 guys as a as a unit coming in in 2022?

“It’s hard to answer that. I think this is based on how the recruiting people rank them. So when I say they’re the highest rated that’s based on 247 and Rivals and all those people that rate these recruits, right. So, for what that’s worth, it’s the highest ranked class in school history.

“I think you guys know me well enough to know I care more about how they play and what their career looks like in four years than what I do their stars today.

“The thing I’ll tell you about this group, they’re a very tight knit bunch of guys. They’ve all been committed, except for one of them, for most of the season. We’ve gotten to know each other. They’re very mature and been in almost all their homes. Come from really, really good backgrounds, families, coaching staffs. They understand us, we understand them.

“I think there’s a very good bond in this group and with our staff and this group.”

When you talk about developing these players, maybe the roster isn’t dotted with five stars, but it’s noted that you’ve been able to develop these guys, How much pride do you personally take and your staff and being able to do that?

“Well, it’s the only way we’re going to win. I think we have to be able to find guys that fit the measurables we want on the field and then be able to build them up. Find guys that have the work ethic and intangibles to be developed because that takes a certain guy to find guys that fit hard, tough, together. They’re gonna come in here battle and compete and be a good teammate and be selfless.

“And so I’m very proud of our staff, our strength staff, what Thunder and his crew do, Justin Smith and our sports med team downstairs, Natalie Faustyn, and our nutrition staff, we all work really, really good together, and I think that’s the thing. There’s really good synchronicity in our building. Everyone’s communicates well with each other. They understand each other.

“Merci can sit in a room with me and Thunder and Ruff [McNeill] and Justin and we go through the roster with Coach [Henry] Trevathan and talk about these guys and where their needs are, their measurables , how much weight they can gain, what’s going on with their diet, anything and everything. What are their extra needs? And what are the reasons he’s not developing or if he’s not, or this guy’s really coming on coach, you should see him.

“It’s a good group of people that understand the vision. They’ve all worked well with me and communicate well with me to help me take this program from the signing date to the finish line, which is trying to get where we are in the league and the top three in the league.”

Along those lines, is Deajuan Thompson kind of the epitome of what you’ve just described?

“Yeah, total upside guy, very long, fast. Explosive player. Coach [Tony] Gibson’s raved about him as a contact player, watched him play in person, but a guy that’s going to come in here probably 190 pounds and, things go the way we plan on, he’ll leave here to 225 to 235 and there’ll be flying around.

“He can really run and so now it’s just getting them into that college nutrition and college strength program and helping him put that weight on.”

When you watch Michael Allen do you see a Nyheim clone, a guy who can come here possibly play both positions before he leaves?

“Not really. Similar ball skills out of the backfield.

“Nyheim was different. He was a guy that was built like a wideout, too. He could play in the slot body-type. Nyheim was 175 to 185 left at 195ish. Michael Allen’s gonna end up being a 215 to 220 pound running back. It’s just a different body type.

“But he does have really good ball skills. As you saw with Ricky this year, Ricky caught a lot of passes for us. Matt Dayes got a lot of passes for us when he was here back in the day. It’s a position that we like to throw the ball to, if they have that skill set.

Can you kind of talk about quarterback recruit MJ Morris. What stood out about him, what you guys liked about him?

“MJ did a great job throwing the football in our camp. Tremendous athlete.

“He’s a winner, state champion and then state semifinalist this year, at two different schools. Two-sport athlete, going to try to play baseball here as well for Coach [Elliott] Avent, so really good competitor.

“Great family. Just the way carries himself, he’s just got one of those kind of demeanors. You like being around the guy. He’s a guy that you would gravitate to as a player.

“He brings a different dynamic athletically probably to the position than we’ve had in a while. He can really run you know, so it gives us a true dual threat guy back there.”

——

• Talk about NC State football recruiting inside The Wolves’ Den

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook