Dave Doeren’s Thursday Media Availability Prior to Wake: BULLETED

NC State head football coach Dave Doeren met with the media yesterday prior to the Wolfpack’s season opener against Wake Forest tomorrow. Below is a bulleted breakdown of what he had to say.

Bulleted Breakdown

• Had 105 guys at practice today. Highest it has been.
  • When we started after the 8-day break, the number was 45. Added back about 10 per day. Up to 84 a week after.
  • The 105 has been able to practice all week.
  • Nobody got out of quarantine yesterday and is totally out of shape.

Rickey Person

• There will be a 5th game captain each week, and this week it’s Ricky Person.
• He’s been through a lot physically. A lot of ups and downs with things out of his control.
• Came back in January, and has done a great job keeping himself in shape in our Winter program and the quarantine period.
• Really solid Fall camp. Didn’t miss a single day.
• Has been showing leadership.

Situational Football

• Spent a lot of time over the past 10 days on Situational Football.
  • 2 minute drill, 3rd down, red-zone, game-ending situations.
• Couldn’t really do that after the 8 day shut down with 45 guys on the field when we returned.

Depth Chart

• Some guys on the depth chart haven’t been back 2 weeks. Even 10 days.
  • Don’t expect them to be able to play the whole game.
• On the other hand, Joe Sculthorpe, Grant Gibson and Ricky Person have played the entire camp and are in great shape.

Wake Rivalry

• 3rd longest consecutive game rivalry in the country.
  • Based on what happens out west, they may not play those rivalries, and this could end up being THE longest consecutive game rivalry.
• They have beat us three times in a row. We beat them three times in a row before that.
• Our guys know what this game is about.
  • It’s an in-state game.
  • Play a team down the road we have a lot of respect for.
  • Coach Clawson and his staff have done a tremendous job.

Empty Stadium

• It’s not empty. We’ve got sweet cutouts in there right now. Like 600 of them. I’m proud to say my dog is one of them.