Dave Doeren Breaks Down NC State’s Opponent: UVA

NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the media at his weekly press conference on Monday. Here’s what he had to say about NC State’s opponent tomorrow night: UVA.

• Coach Tony Elliott’s done a good job there.
  • You can see they’re playing spirited football. They’re playing hard.
• They have really good skill in that Running Back room and at Receiver.
  • Wide Receiver’s Malachi Fields and Malik Washington are making plays for them.
• Their defense, up front is their strength. Those guys have played a lot for him.
  • Their 2 Defensive Tackles are good football players.
  • I really like watching Nose Tackle Jahmeer Carter play.
  • If you watch last year and this year, those fronts are almost identical with the exception of Nick Jackson being gone. Those guys have played a lot of football, and they played well in some games.
• Defensively last year, they played against Coach Robert Anae last year when he was at Syracuse.
• All games in this league, regardless of where people are in the standings, are games you got to really play well in.
  • These are important games to these kids.
  • They’re players that know each other through recruiting.
• I’ve gotten to know Brennan Armstrong now. Regardless of who he is playing, that kid is über competitive.
  • Now, when he gets in that stadium for the first time, I’m sure he’s going to have some feelings.
  • He loved that place. He has great friends and memories there, but he’s playing for our team, and he knows that.
  • He’s going in there to win a football game and to make it about us and how he has to play, and that’s kind of where it is.

UVA’s QB Situation

• The kid’s [UVA QB Anthony Colandrea] got a lot of guts. You see him go in there, and there’s no flinch.
  • He plays hard and is definitely energetic. You can see his enthusiasm with his teammates.
• Then Tony Muskett [UVA’s Listed Starter at QB], when he was in the game against Tennessee, even prior to the injury, he’s got a quick release.
  • He threw some really nice dig routes in that game into tight windows. You can see he’s got a talented arm.
  • He didn’t run a whole lot in that game, so you didn’t really see that part of it, but they’ve got 2 good quarterbacks.
• Obviously, it’s Coach Elliott’s team. He’s going to do what he knows is best for those guys, but you can see why they’re excited about not just the older guy that’s there, but the younger guy.
  • I think they’re both guys that can help their offense and have proven that, when they go into the game, they have the talent.