Dave Doeren Talks After 1st Spring Practice: BULLETED

Yesterday was NC State’s 1st day of Spring practice, and head coach Dave Doeren spoke to the media afterwards. You can watch it in full here, but here it is broken down in BULLETED form.

• DE Darian Roseboro, DT Eurndraus Bryant, LB Germaine Pratt has played a lot of football for us. Fun to see them step into their new roles. They have been waiting for their time. That’s what Spring ball is. Opportunity for new guys.
• QB Ryan Finley is very intelligent. They looked at every piece of information. He thought coming back would allow him to be the BEST quarterback in college football. That’s his goal. Highly ranked. Highly drafted. And to lead this team again. His goal is to break as many records as he can and win as many games as he can.
• Leadership of Defensive Line doesn’t fall solely on Darian Roseboro. Also on Eurndraus Bryant and James Smith-Williams.
• QB Finley is now interacting with other groups on the field. Not worried about winning a job or getting to know the offensive line and receivers. Now he’s encouraging everyone on both sides of the ball. He is so comfortable in this new role. It’s his team.
• Steph Louis, Kevin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers are really good players. Experienced. Physical. Take it serious. They are the strength of our offense and they should be.
• Thinks NC State has earned respect nationally.  4 straight bowl games. Top-25 Team. Now we need to sustain that. This group is trying to match or better what the team did last year.
• New Defensive Assistant Coach Ted Roof has great experience. Coached multiple positions. Been a head coach, defensive coordinator and position coach. He knows Georgia and Gwinnett County as well as anyone. Roof is Huxtable’s (Defensive Coordinator) right hand man. He will give input, but Hux will still call the plays.
• Don’t know who our returner is yet. Might have to wait till the freshmen get here, because there are a few players in the class that could do it as well.
• Reggie Gallaspy is going into his final season as the most experienced back. He has had a good offseason. This is an important Spring for him. Nothing has changed in him. He’s a serious guy. He has a kid. Everything about him is serious.
• Steph Louis was talking about switching numbers, and Doeren told him he had a number for him (#1). He’s a graduate. He’s a 1st class guy. He’s appreciative. He’s a playmaker. His work ethic. Consistency. Way he treats people. Doeren respects him and the leadership council was unanimous in their support of the decision.