Head Coach Dave Doeren met with the media today for his weekly press conference before NC State opens ACC play against FSU on the road. You can watch it here, or check out a bulleted breakdown below.

Good

• Want to start out by thanking Brenda Tracy and the ‘Set The Expectation’ opportunity that we had
  • James Smith-Williams for organizing it and giving us the opportunity to be a part of something that was so special.
• Offensively averaged 5 yards a carry.
• Continued to be very efficient in the red zone.
  • 100% in the red zone in scoring.
• Improved on 3rd down
  • 100% on 3rd-and-medium, which was really the area that we’ve struggled
  • 8 of 10 in the 1st half on 3rd down.
• Made some really good contact…difficult catches…body-on-body catches, which was an area we needed to improve.
• Improved in the run defense
  • Under less than 3 yards a carry.
  • 4 times our defense was put on the field after turnovers…after the onside kick…after getting stopped on a 4th-and-1…all 4 times held them to a field goal or less, and got an interception of their own after the onside kick.
    • Great response. Lot’s of mental toughness.
  • Good on 3rd down from 33 up.
  • Got some pressure on the quarterback.
• Special teams were exceptional.
  • Trent Gill was 6 of 7 on touch backs, punted well.
  • Covered his kicks well.
  • Aggressive in our coverage.
  • On the blocked punt by Max Fisher, the scoop returned down to the red zone by Malik Dunlap
  • Punt return by Thayer Thomas for the touchdown
  • Huge momentum plays for us in the game and something that we’ve been waiting on.

Bad

• 3rd-and-short…4th-and-short…both sides of the ball need to get better.
• Dropped some layup catches that are easy plays for us.
  • Got to focus on catching the football and making layups for the quarterbacks.
• Hate to see 2 interceptions.
  • Both were tipped balls. Tremendous play by their guy on the one.
• Onside kick is a play obviously we want to build recover and put the game away.
• Too many completions on us over 15 yards.
  • None of them were touchdowns, but chunk plays that affect your field position and plays we’ve got to be better at moving forward.
• Just getting the ball back.
  • Got 1 takeaway on defense at the end.
  • Creating more takeaways is a huge area of emphasis for us that helps our offense, and an area we can improve.

Health

• Dylan Autenrieth is out for the season.
  • We’ll have an opportunity to get a 6th-year as well after next season.
  • Another really good player. A captain.
  • Hate that for him.
  • He’ll do a great job leading our football team to the best of his ability.
• James Smith-Williams is back in action and look forward to gaining him back this week.
  • Not sure how much. We’ll see how he responds to practice.
  • He’s really excited to get back on the field with his teammates.

FSU

• Chance to play in an incredible venue
• Football team that has great talent.
• They’re outscoring their opponents in the 1st quarter at an alarming rate.
  • 56-9
• For us, starting fast, particularly on the road…huge point of emphasis for us.
  • More importantly, playing four quarters of football.
• Their quarterback got dinged up last game, so I’m not sure what his status is.
  • Alex Hornibrook came in. He’s completing over 70 percent of his passes.
• Tailback Cam Akers is really the guy.
  • Not to take anything away from the receivers, because they’re outstanding, but he’s a really good football player and all-purpose back.
  • Effective & efficient on all 3 downs.
  • Can run you over. Make you miss. Good after contact.
  • Averaging 127 yards a game
  • Has 8 touchdowns.
  • 3rd leading receiver.
  • Thrown a touchdown
• Their wideouts are scary guys…they can run.
  • Averaging 19 yards, 14 yards, 15 yards.
  • Tamorrion Terry’s their big deep threat guy
  • Slot receivers are tremendous players.
  • Tight end Tre McKitty is a really good player.
  • We’ve got to do a great job up front, and really across the board of defending the run, and not giving up big plays in the pass game.
• They’re an up-tempo offense.
• They’ve got a really, really good defensive line.
  • Impressive. Big. 3 starters over 300 pounds.
    • 340 pound inside tackle in Robert Cooper.
    • Marvin Wilson is an excellent player for them.
    • Cory Durden on the edge to the field at 300 pounds.
    • You’ve got some mass you got to deal with.
• Linebackers are long and quick guys.
• Safety Hamsah Nasirildeen, NC native, is a really good football player…their leading tackler

Replacing Dylan Autenrieth’s blocking ability…

• Dylan Parham has done a good job for us.
  • His role does step up.
• We were rotating the 3 tight ends. Now it’s just 2 guys getting to share those reps.
• Thomas Ruocchio is a guy that we trust.
  • Now ends up in a position where he can play
• May see different personnel groups. You saw us use Ickey Ekwonu at times as an extra lineman in the game.

Bailey Hockman…

• I was excited to get him in the game. It wasn’t mop-up duty. Was good for him.
• Did some good things.
  • Nice scramble to get a 1st down
• The interception, which he’ll learn from and grow from, but we don’t have anything in stone yet.

BAM

• I think he could have gone back in the game.
• Ricky Person was playing well. Jordan was playing well.
• I haven’t seen him yet today. He’s been in the training room doing all those things, but expect to have him Saturday.

Quarter Breakdown…

• Our 2nd quarter has been our best quarter.
• 1st quarter has been pretty stale, feeling people out, making good adjustments and then taking advantage of it.
• Defensively, we’ve played well in the 1st quarter with the exception of West Virginia.
• Have to come out of the locker room hot in the 3rd quarter.
  • It’s not like we’re coming out there without a plan.
• When you’re dealing with young players, they’re super anxious coming out of locker room. Then they settle in. We got settle in sooner, and then maintain that through the game.

Beginning of ACC Play…

• We’re looking at this as the next game. Next opportunity.
• Our players were very adamant about having a 1-0 mentality each week.
  • Not getting too up or too down
  • Never play to the level your competition per se.
  • Play to what did you just put on tape.
  • How can you be better than you were the week before.

Thayer Thomas…

• The thing you love most about him is how consistent he is. Everyday.
• He’s a gym rat. He’s in a meeting room. He’s working on his craft. He’s trying to get better. He doesn’t get up. He doesn’t get down. He’s just the same guy.
• For a coach that is so nice to have, knowing what you’re going to get from this dude every day. That’s what I love about him.
• Awesome to see him return the punt for a TD. He’s a lot faster than people give him credit. He’s got great acceleration. His shuttle time is one of the best on the team. Anytime you’re under a 4.0 shuttle, that’s an elite time. Done that multiple times.
• He has really good explosive movements. Makes quick decisions. Not afraid. That’s what you need in a punt returner…a guy that can make a guy miss, stick his foot in the ground, and quickly accelerate through the holes that are there.

Injuries…

• It’s been challenging for them…to build chemistry.
• You lose Tyrone Riley the 2nd practice of fall camp.
• Lose C.J. Riley in the 1st game.
• Nick McCloud out after the 1st game
• James Smith-Williams out after the 2nd game.
• Lose Joseph Boletepeli for 1 game.
• It’s a revolving deal with your chemistry at times. So it does make it challenging.

Depth…