VIDEO: Dave Doeren’s Talks to Media for Last Time Before ECU Game (BULLETED)

NC State head coach Dave Doeren spoke with the media one last time yesterday before tomorrow’s season opener against East Carolina at home tomorrow. The video is ABOVE, and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

How do you balance the tension of physical football and not getting hurt in camp?

• Scrimmage earlier. Lot’s of tackling earlier. More situational closer to game, with less pileups.
• As you get closer, have to be really careful.
• We practice full speed. Lots of contact, but minimal bodies on the ground is the goal.

How ready do you feel your team is?

• Lots of unknowns.
• Excited to see guys play.
• Need to see who handles the game the right way, who needs to get better.
• See stuff in games you don’t see in practice.
• Roster full of guys that know our culture & expectations, and were recruited into our systems, there’s comfort in that.

Preparing young guys for gameday…

• I told them to enjoy it. That’s why we work so hard. That’s one of the things that makes NC State and Carter-Finley so special.
• Don’t let it get to their head. Have to be able to let that go. Run through the tunnel, enjoy the atmosphere, and then focus. Get the call, whatever it may be, lock in on your keys, and go through our progression of playing the game.

Bam Knight…

• Top-end speed running back.
• Learned our offense.
• Needs to play a game now too.
• Not thinking as much as he was.
• Having a little success will help him confidence-wise.

Versatility of Running Backs…

• Don’t really know which direction it’s going to go.
• We have some confidence in the 2 returners in Ricky Person and Trent Pennix
• We have a lot of excitement with Jordan Houston and Zonovan because of playmaking ability.
  • Got to get those guys in the game and see how they react. Some plays for these guys where you’ll see multiple guys in the game.
  • Going to have an opportunity to evaluate them.

Game prep for Holton Ahlers…

• Left-handed quarterback.
• Wxpect to see a lot of movement stuff to go to our right.
• He’s competitive.
• Told staff and team how much I respect him as a competitor.
• Face of their program now.

ECU’s approach…

• With a new staff, even though we’ve played them, there’s new personnel for them to coach.
• Whether they’re going to use Ahlers as a true runner a lot, or whether it’s just going to be here and there, short-yardage, and red zone, we’ll have to feel out what they want to do.
• Expect the James Madison system.
  • How much true QB-run game or read game that goes along with it or RPO gaming?

Emphasis on not missing tackles…

• Two things that you’ll see from a back-end standpoint everyday:
  • Tackling fundamentals.
  • Taking the ball away
• A good tackling defense eliminates a lot of big plays, and that’s something we take a lot of pride in.