Dave Doeren Talks to Media About Spring Football: BULLETTED

NC State head coach Dave Doeren spoke with the media yesterday with the Spring Game approaching on April 7th. You can watch it in full here, but here is a BULLETED rundown.

• We’ve gotten better. Progress for a lot of guys. Good scrimmage Friday on both sides of the ball. Finishing plays, good contact, contested catches.
• Younger players are playing faster, not thinking.
• Hard to replace Kick Returners. Current Candidates: Thayer Thomas, Jakobi Meyers, Steph Louis, Maurice Trowell. Looked the best so far.
• Redshirt Freshman Walk-On Thayer Thomas has stood out the most at punt return. Every day the same. Hard worker. Good skill set. Catches the ball well. High Football IQ. Sneaky. Runs by people.
• Today (yesterday) was the first day with full returns on kickoff, so we’ll have to look at the film.
• Treats walk-on’s the same as everyone else. Have same opportunities. Key is being opportunistic. Thayer has done that. Been working in with the 1’s and 2’s.
• Wide Receiver group is very talented. Incredible Experience. Big Guys. Steph Louis and Kelvin Harmon are both over 215. Jakobi Meyers came in 160, and is now 200. Hard to cover. Use bodies well. Go up and get it in traffic. One of the best Wide Receiver groups I’ve ever been around.
• We are a Top-25 team, and we want to stay there and improve. Just because players leave doesn’t mean players aren’t ready to take their place. Fun to watch these guys on defense seize the moment.