Head Coach Dave Doeren met with the media today after practice before #24 NC State plays #14 Tennessee on Saturday. You can watch the video ABOVE, and read the transcript BELOW.

Coach, your overall assessment of practice this week and the adjustments from week one and into week two.

The guys have been really intentional about correcting things from the first week’s film. It’s the best thing about having game film is you know what you did well, you know what you didn’t do well, you know if you had some tendencies, you know what they are, whether it’s stances, splits, formations, alignments on defense, and so you can work on how to fix those things.

And so it’s just a lot of information and the guys have been really intentional and focused about getting better. And that was the goal, you know, we have to be fundamentally a better football team than we were last year to play better and so I’m excited about what I’ve seen on the field so far. And obviously we’ve got 48 hours of really good mental stuff coming up with the guys to kind of polish up the mental piece of the game plan.

How important is it to get off to a fast start against Tennessee and keep them from gaining momentum and confidence?

Yeah, it helps, there’s no doubt. Offenses like theirs that can score a lot of points, the complimentary football of up-tempo opponents is important. So the conversion downs on both sides and creating attainable conversion downs too.

So you talk about the importance of third down and it is important, but creating third and shorts on offense, third and longs on defense, and then winning those because the odds are stacked in your favor when you’re on defense with a third and long versus a third and short and vice versa. And so it’s the offense setting up the defense with long drives, the defense getting off the field, creating good third downs, and special teams creating field position like that. So to win a game against an opponent that can score like Tennessee, you have to play really good complimentary football.

And if you can do it from the jump, it really helps. But as you know, it’s gonna take every minute, every second of this football game.

Importance of playing in Charlotte

Yeah, being in Charlotte’s great.

We have 20 players on our roster from there. It’s always been a critical area in the state for all the teams that recruit here, in particular for us. And so playing there’s a couple things.

You get to be in a pro stadium, which all these guys grow up wanting to be NFL players, so they get that exposure of a pro stadium. You get to be in a different city in your own state that really matters in recruiting, and then you get to play a really good opponent from a great conference that touches our state. And so there’s great rivalry there between the fan bases and all that, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.

What have you worked on to improve the run game this week?

Yeah, fundamentals. Guys maybe were stepping underneath themselves on a play, not gaining six inches on their first step.

And so that’s been talked about with that player. Another guy’s hand was too far here, and you want it more on this side. And so the details of blocking, not just the front, but what happens when the front moves, what happens when this linebacker adds in.

The end doesn’t squeeze, he goes upfield, and they replace him with a linebacker. And so the more reps you get in football, the more muscle memory you get. And so it’s really good to have game film, because going against a scout team is great.

But when you understand how important it is to do it right, do it right, do it right, and then it applies in the game. Or do it wrong, do it wrong in practice. What happens on game day is you do it wrong.

We build habits in football every day, winning habits and losing habits. And so that’s where game film is so critical. And for some of these guys, 20 plus guys in their first game, it’s their first opportunity to be coached by this staff after a football game.

And so there’s a lot of things there that are new for them. And I’m glad we’re now getting into that routine, so they understand how we do our work.

First time seeing Grayson McCall analyze his game performance

Yeah, he’s hard on himself, he’s super competitive. At the same time, he goes to the next play, and that’s rare, it is. But some guys are just flat line the whole time, nothing phases them.

He gets excited, I mean, he is a guy that has charisma, and that shows when he makes a play, when a guy makes a play for him. When there’s physicality, he celebrates that with those guys. And when he makes a mistake, he gets mad at himself, but he gets to the next play really fast.

So I really respect that about him.

Is it difficult for the defense to kind of rise to the occasion even more after a difficult first half in their first game against an FCS team?

No, I think it’s good.

I mean, I think being tested is a good thing. Showing that you can come back from adversity is a good thing. And Western Carolina is the number one offense in FCS in seven categories a year ago, so I wouldn’t discredit what they did last year on offense.

And I agree with you, Tennessee’s a really good offense, too. And it’s gonna be the receiving core and the number of receivers that roll into the game and the backs that they have and the number of backs. They got a lot of good players.

Their depth is different than the team we played last week. And obviously their quarterback, he played really good last week. So defense has a great opportunity to go up against a really good offense.

And we think our defense is pretty good, too. So I look forward to the matchup.

Have you made the necessary improvements to be successful on Saturday?

That’s why we practice, why we scheme, that’s why these kids work. We’re out there practicing. I thought we had a really good day yesterday.

I haven’t seen the film yet. Guys made a bunch of interceptions running around. We had a bunch of high speeds on the field.

Their energy was exceptional. So I like what we’re seeing on the practice field.

What stands out about Tennessee’s running game?

Yeah, I mean, they’re ninth in the country rushing last year. What makes them different, the spacing of their offense.

So there’s more people removed, and so you have less guys that can get into the box to stop the run. They don’t have a lot of schemes. Their guys are really good at blocking the things they do.

So they get good at seeing every look up front, and their quarterback can run. And so that adds another element. Some of the rushing yards aren’t run plays, they’re drop back passes that he makes run your rushing yards out of.

So yeah, it’s a really good offense. I have a lot of respect for what he does and how he does it. And for us, we gotta be really good on first and second down.

When those offenses, first down, first down, the tempo just goes. And so you gotta get them off schedule, and it’s easy to say that that’s really what you have to do in these games, and you’ve seen us do it in the past. And in those games, we’ve had success.

Grayson McCall was close to having 400 yards passing. Excitement of seeing explosive potential.

Yeah, I think we had 19 explosive plays in the game. It would have been above 20, which I don’t think we ever had that.

So he was behind KC on an over route, he missed Keenan on a post, and we had a touchdown callback that was an explosive. So it’s great to see. And that’s what I was hoping we would see, because we’ve added skill to the offense in every position.

So there’s guys that can do things after the catch. It’s one thing to run the football or throw a completion. It’s another when the guy turns those plays into explosives, because he doesn’t get tackled by the first player.

That’s something we’ve put a lot of effort into.

What impact did Caden Fordham’s absence have?

Yeah, I think just his experience.

I thought Jayland Parker stepped in and played really well. But Caden’s played more football, he has more knowledge. He’s got more game experiences to lean back on.

And you’re gonna be more confident when you’ve played more football. You can talk to the guys around you more because you understand what’s happening. And so you gain a leader on the field that has a status in his realm as that, and with the defensive front with that.

So yeah, losing your MIKE is similar to losing your quarterback in a game. That’s a big loss when that guy goes out on play five. So we’re excited to have him back in the lineup.

Emphasis on improving 4th and 1

That rips my heart out when we don’t get one on fourth and one. To me, that’s a down in distance that is a personal down in distance. As a guy that blocked for a living as a college player, you call fourth and one as a head coach, as a player, You’re like, ‘Hell yeah, coach, let’s go.’

And you owe it to the coaches that put the trust in you to get that down in distance. And it wasn’t that we weren’t trying, we weren’t playing with good enough technique.

You can see it on the film, guys are false stepping, we’re not getting off the ball with proper leverage. And so we put a ton of emphasis on short yardage in this game, not just for Tennessee, but for the season. That’s a down in distance midfield that you need to go for it.

I mean, every chart in the world is gonna tell you to do that. When you get to the 40 yard line, that’s what you do. And we get to fourth and one, we need to be successful.

Do you talk about this being an SEC opponent?

No, I mean, they know that they’re in the SEC. They don’t have to spend time on that.

Talked more about how we have to play to win the football game. It’s not about them, everyone makes it about who you’re playing. We’re gonna know these guys just like they’re gonna know us.

But for us to win the game, we have to do what we do. We have to execute. We have to play at a high level.

We have to play 11 man football. And so a lot more emphasis on us when it comes to executing and winning. I think a lot of games are lost, and all that talk about who you’re playing, it’s more about our guys doing things the way they’re coached to do it at a high level in sync, 11 guys every play, stacking 11 man football every play.

And so that’s the emphasis of this game.

What changed in the 4th Quarter?

I mean, we just started playing together. Started playing together, getting off the field on third down on defense, staying on the field, scoring touchdowns, breaking tackles, finishing drives.

Yeah, I mean, we just stopped shooting ourselves in the foot. And it wasn’t penalties, I think we played pretty clean that way, except that lineman downfield. There was no pre-snap penalties on either side of the football.

So we caught the football well, and so it’s more about just getting all those guys to do it together.

Motivation for Caden Fordham

It’s hard on him, yeah. I mean, he worked really hard this offseason to be a leader.

He improved himself, his stamina, his knowledge of the defense. These guys care a lot about winning. And so when you take yourself out of the game, I mean, that’s hard.

And you hit a quarterback anywhere in the head, there’s a yellow flag coming out. I mean, that’s how it’s called now, and we know the rules. We gotta be able to play by them.

And the sliding play of the quarterback is a challenging play in football. It really is, and as a player, you gotta do everything you can to avoid when you see that guy going down.

Importance of having Ja’Had Carter back vs. Tennessee?

Yeah, it helps. I mean, Ja’Had was an All-American two years ago.

He’s a really good defensive back. He’s played a lot of football. He’s covered a lot of good receivers in his time.

He’s an experienced guy. He’s hungry. He didn’t play last year a lot, and he’s hungry to get on that field.

We’re excited that he’s healthy and look forward to seeing him in the lineup.