Everything NC State coach Dave Doeren said before facing Notre Dame football

NC State head coach Dave Doeren spoke to the media for roughly 20 minutes Monday ahead of the Wolfpack’s trip to Notre Dame this weekend. This is everything he said, including his thoughts on the Fighting Irish, who he holds a record of 1-2 against since he became NC State’s head coach in 2013. Notre Dame has won the last two meetings by 21 points apiece, 35-14 in 2017 and 45-24 in 2023.

Opening statement

“All right. Hope everybody’s doing well. Recap the win over Campbell. You know, I thought our guys did what we wanted them to do. Played the way that we should have played. I love how they responded. Guys had fun playing football. Got to play a lot of guys. And we came out of the game healthy.

“So, offensively, no turnovers with our starters. Scored 100 percent of the time in the red zone. We had five red zone touchdowns. Scored a touchdown on our first eight drives. We were explosive in the run game and the pass game. Played very well up front.

“CJ [Bailey] was super accurate. Had really good protection. Receivers did a nice job executing routes. And we spread the ball around. You know, the running backs, tight ends, wide outs, all played well with and without the ball. And some really good down the field blocking by our receivers.

“It was great to see just so many explosive plays with different guys. And seeing Cody Hardy have an explosive play. You know, you love rewarding big guys that do what they do in the trenches so much. Hollywood [Smothers] and Duke [Scott] both played well.

“Negatives, backups, when they came in, turned the football over. Obviously, a play Will [Wilson] will learn from. But it was good to get those guys those reps.

“On defense, tackled much better. Stopped the run, less than two yards of carry. Only two missed tackles the entire game. And a lot of guys played. I was proud of the guys that played in different spots, too. You saw Asaad Brown playing strong safety. Jivan Baly playing at nickel. Caden Fordham was playing at the Mike. Kenny Soares at the will. So guys were playing that had played for us but playing in different positions and executed well. Did a nice job throughout the game with corrections. They were doing a lot of stuff with two quarterbacks in the game. So there was a lot more going on there on the sideline than people probably know.

“But we had two fourth-down stops, forced a turnover. Guys did a good job. Big negative. There was a penalty with our starters, second and 26. We had him behind the chains. And Ronnie [Royal III] throws a guy when he’s out of bounds and let him off the hook. And a lot of our mistakes right now are young players. That’s part of playing young guys. And it showed up big time on special teams. A true freshman, muffed a punt, fumbled another punt that he recovered, Teddy [Hoffmann]. And obviously Terrell [Anderson] came in and did a great job as our punt returner. So that was a positive.

“Penalty on LaCorian [Hodge], true freshman, on a touchdown punt return. So our young guys have got to quit playing like they’re young and play more mature when they’re in the game and take coaching. It’s like I told him in the meeting room, you came here to play. You’re getting the opportunity to play. You need to play like an older player from a maturity standpoint. And that goes down to how they practice. And the older players staying on those guys as well.

“Caden Noonkester had another great game punting the football. We didn’t punt much in the game, but it had a 40-yard net with no returns. And so we’ve improved in some areas. And obviously, offensively and defensively. I thought our fans were awesome, you know, coming out. And the ones that stayed the whole game, like I said after, it’s just awesome to have guys do that. And the upper deck, it’s just amazing. You know, you’re in the sun the whole game. You’re there cheering the guys on. It means a lot. And you don’t get to see us for a while. We’re gone for a month. And so at Notre Dame this week, and then a bye, and then at Pitt. And so we’ll miss being in Carter-Finley here for a little bit.

“And now on to Notre Dame, a great opponent. Very physical football team. Big offense and defensive lines. Tight ends are 6-6. The two running backs, super impressive on film and what you’d expect when you play them. Both run hard, different running styles, but hard to tackle, elusive. Receivers are playing well, number six and number zero. And we played against [Malachi] Fields when he was at UVA. He was a really good player then. Tight end, like I mentioned earlier, is a big, tall kid. He’s their fourth leading receiver. Their tailback, [Jeremiyah Love] is their third leading receiver. There’s match-up issues when you’re covering [Fields], as big as he is.

“Defensively, they play really hard. They’re physical. Their front, linebackers and safeties are good tacklers. They play square. They use their hands. They do a good job mixing up coverages, zone and man, line stunts and pressures. And they’ve improved as the year’s gone on, which happens when you have a new defensive coordinator. And I know Chris [Ash] well. He’s a good friend, and he’s a really good football coach. But when you take over a system, it takes a while for the guys to adapt and adjust. And they’ve gotten better and better the last two games. Arkansas and Boise, held them both to less than ten points.

“Special teams, it’s probably one of the better special teams groups in the country. They’ll take risks. They’re going to run a fake, field goal fakes, punt fakes. So you have to be really sound with how you prepare against those units, aggressive with their blocks. So our protection and our punt units, our protection in our field goal units has got to be dialed in.

“Excited for the challenge. I love playing against physical, aggressive teams like this, and a great place to play with the tradition and history of South Bend and playing at Notre Dame. It’s been a while since we played them, so excited to have that opportunity, and our guys are excited. And so, questions?”

On if he is surprised by the production of Hollywood Smothers

“No, not at all. I knew last year as the season wore on how explosive he was and that if he would have the offseason that we needed him to have where he could sustain his health, that he would be what he is, what you’re watching. And it’s more than just him as a player, you know? It’s how he is on the sideline. It’s how he’s cheering on his teammates. He is a very, very integral part of the success of our team when he’s in the game and when he’s not in the game.

“I’m really proud of him, and I love his desire.I love his heart and how tough he is. And this game’s got some good backs in it, man. I’m going to tell you, you know, you take Hollywood, and, I mean, he’s as good as there is, and their two backs are really good. There’s going to be some physical football in this game and some backs that like being physical, too.

“And if you watch our game Saturday, I mean, Hollywood, his protection is outstanding. You know, he’s standing in there taking on linebackers, and so it’s how he’s playing without the ball, too, which I love, and you see the same thing with Justin Joly right now, how he’s playing, I mean, really, the one touchdown catch that Hollywood had down the sideline, Joly’s running a wheel route, sees him get the ball, turns it up, blocks, and takes his guy out of bounds so that Hollywood can score. That unselfish play is just really awesome to watch.”

On his relationship with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash and if they will talk before the game

“We’re not going to talk this week, no. But yeah, we talk during the season and offseason. Chris and I went to college together, played football together, coached together at Drake and at Wisconsin. He’s a great guy. He’s a really good football coach. And so, yeah, it’s exciting, you know, to play against anybody that you respect, and I have the utmost respect for Chris and him as a person and a coach.”

On the play of defensive lineman Josiah Victor

“First of all, impressed with how he played in the game. I think he’s got a ton of upside for us, and he is our backup nose guard now, and so his role, it just depends on the game we’re in and rotating him and [Brandon Cleveland] to keep [Cleveland] healthy and rested and making sure that those two guys can be fresh in the game. If we’re in a game where we’re playing a lot more of our third-down packages because they’re a spread team, then the nose guard sometimes will get lesser reps, but, you know, if we’re going to play 50 snaps with the nose guard in the game, then you’re going to see him in there 10 to 15 to 20 snaps so that Brandon can play 30 to 35 and that way you have a fresh big guy in the game. But he’s just gotten better and better as the year’s gone on, and he’s worked really hard, changed his body in a good way. He’s excited about playing this week. I can tell you that.”

On memories his has with Chris Ash

“None that I’m going to share with you, Noah. I’m just kidding. Yeah, we’ve had a lot of good times together, man, as coaches, back to when we were GAs. I mean, Charlie Partridge and myself and Chris and Brendan Daly, who’s the linebacker coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, we were all working together at Drake and taking care of the locker room. We remodeled the locker room. We used to go out and mow the grass and paint the fields. It was a one-stop shop. You had to drive the bus. You had to cut up the film. You had to coach your guys. You had to recruit an area. You did everything.

“And so we learned from the bottom up how it is to coach football together. We used to go on road trips and study football at other places. Our spring break, we’d drive to Oklahoma and see Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, and we’d drive down to Dallas and see TCU or somebody else and have a good time. We were in our 20s.

“And then we were at Wisconsin together, different. Now we’re married with kids and trying to make a name for ourselves in the profession. I thought we had one of the better defenses that I’ve been around that year. We went to the Rose Bowl with J.J. Watt. Chris was our secondary coach, and we didn’t have one team rush for 100 yards in 12 games on us. And to do something like that, it’s got to be really coordinated. Him and Charlie Partridge and myself were on that staff together. Not that we deserve the credit. We had J.J. Watt wrecking shop up front.

“But he was always just so dialed in, Chris was. He’d go in and present all the formations and all the things they could do and the route concepts and the splits and the tendencies and protections. And he was just a great right hand to have because we’d sit in there and argue about things, too, and come out with the best solution. So, came up in the business with Chris and Charlie and two guys that I have really, really fond friendships with but the utmost respect for as football coaches.

On meeting Chris Ash again in this capacity after all these years

“Yeah, it’s been a while since we coached against each other, and I’m trying to remember when it was. Not sure if we have. Oh, yeah, we have. When I was at Northern Illinois, he was the D coordinator. He replaced me when I left and we played Wisconsin and didn’t go well. Russell Wilson was actually the quarterback for Wisconsin that year. That was the year they won the Rose Bowl, and Chris was the defensive coordinator. We played him at Soldier Field. But that’s the last time I’ve coached against him. So that was 15, 16 years ago. Been a while.”

On what he learned from facing Darren McFadden and Felix Jones back in the day and how he can apply that to stopping Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price

“Well, not that I want to injure anybody, but we tackled Darren McFadden back before the horse collar tackle was illegal on the first or second play of the game and he twisted his ankle and was out for the rest of the day. And so that helped us win that game for sure that we didn’t have to play against him because he was crazy good.

“But it comes down to tackling, man. I mean, I just was with DJ [Eliot] upstairs. We were watching all the explosive runs and how many missed tackles there are, and these backs are really good, as is our back, at making people miss and running through contact. You aren’t going to just go in there and shoulder somebody and they’re going down. You’re going to have to wrap them and get them on the ground and swarm tackle them.

“And so it’s a fundamental game. That’s what football is. It’s a test of will and skill and two guys imposing their will on each other and getting off of blocks, being sound with your edges. They do a great job of cracking safeties and making corners fit in the box and tackle as well, and so everybody’s involved in this. To stop the run, it’s going to take all of our guys, and we got to do a great job.

“Like when we played Wake Forest this year, we did a great job of hemming that kid up. That guy’s a great back, too, and we were able to stop him. And then we’ve been in other games where we didn’t do it, didn’t get it done, didn’t tackle well, didn’t set edges well, and so the best version of us has to show up on defense and offense to control the line of scrimmage more than they do and to make the tackles when you’re there to make them. You got to get guys on the ground.”

On playing at Notre Dame and if he’d like to play the Irish every year

“If they were in our league, I would. I mean, they’re not in our league, and so to me, that doesn’t make sense. But like I said, I’m all in favor of playing more league games, I think that’d be great, to play as many league games as we can. But it’s great to get to play them every now and then, and it’s a special place to play, there’s no doubt. The history and tradition of college football itself. So it’ll be a great experience for our guys.

“As far as anything unique, I mean, it’s just a crowd noise thing. So when you have over 70,000, I think it’s 77,000 for them, plus, crowd noise comes down to how you play, and you got to do a great job offensively of staying on the field and winning your third-down opportunities and not letting their fan base be the 12th man, and that’s hard to do. You have to really play well to make the noise not a factor in a game like this. So it’s our first road game with noise this year, so that’s what makes it different, probably more than anything.”

On NC State quarterback CJ Bailey

“Well, when you have a quarterback playing like ours, you got a chance to win every game, and he’s playing at a high level. And if you ask him, he’s got a lot of improvement he can still make. I mean, he’s really hard and he’s very competitive on himself, and he wants to play as well as he humanly can to help his team win. He’s always trying to get better, trying to find an edge.

“And the guys around him are playing well for him, and that’s the other thing. I mean, he completed over 80% of his balls, but there was a lot of guys making good catches, too. They weren’t all thrown right in their face. There was guys having to catch some balls behind them or adjust their body. And so I was proud of the way we caught the football, not just how we threw it, but guys making plays for their quarterback. That’s a big deal, man, because it’s not going to always be easy.

“Sometimes he’s going to have to put a ball a certain place because of where coverage is, and that’s been something I think we’ve done well this year is relate to the football, and he throws a catchable ball. Most of the time, the velocity is not an issue for guys, and they can adjust their body and make plays for him.”

On the play of Jivan Baly at nickel”, a banged up spot for NC State

“Pretty banged up is an understatement. Very proud of Jivan Baly. And he made some mistakes, one touchdown, down in the red zone, is a play that should have been a dead play for us, and, again, young guy. They changed the formation with motion. He didn’t see it. But he played hard. He was physical. He was productive. He tackled well. He had a lot of energy. He was not nervous at all. And excited for him. I’m proud of him. Like I said, the guys that had to step up stepped up, and he was one of them.”