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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 18, 2017

Dave Doeren

Greensboro, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We now welcome NC State head coach Dave Doeren.

COACH DOEREN: I was proud of the way the guys played in the second half at Pittsburgh. I thought Pitt did a really nice job in the first half with some run game stuff that took advantage of some edges and we made good corrections.

I thought defensively really played well in the second half, only gave up three points and created a couple of takeaways.

On offense, I felt like we beat ourselves. In the first half we had six drops, and five of them were drive-ending drops on third down or fourth down.

We were able to create some explosive plays with Nyheim on the run game and on special teams which made a big difference, kept us in the football game.

And in the second half I thought we woke up and played a lot better. And it's nice to get a win and be able to learn from it. We did come out of the game healthy.

And now in a bye week here, a needed bye week, as we get ready for a very physical Notre Dame team and the latter half of our schedule which in this league is always challenging.

So excited about where we are and what we've done, but at the same time focused on the next one and things that we can do internally this week during our bye to improve.

Q. So looking at staying the course, in developing this NC State program, and when you came in obviously from the outside looking in there wasn't a ton of expectation, but you had a lot of expectation in rebuilding this team and creating an environment of a winning culture there, just what you can say about staying the course and seeing the success of that plan you implemented a few years back?
COACH DOEREN: I think that's the one thing that I'm proud of our players and our assistants. We've never wavered on what we believe in.

Our core values have been the same. Our mission statement: One tackle, one goal, a united mission to win a championship. Nothing's changed. We've stayed the course, like you mentioned, by being the same people every day, not allowing guys to underachieve, believing in more victories and working with these kids and staying positive with them, even in the midst of a lot of negativity that was going on outside last year.

And just let them know that the process will take us where we want to go if you believe in it and if you do the right things. And I think a lot of people give up on things and give up on people. And that's something that I don't believe in.

I knew the blueprint we brought here was going to work. It had worked everywhere I had been and had to tweak it along the way to fit what we had to do here.

You never know when you inherit a program what it's going to be and how much you're going to have to do, not just culturally, but from a talent standpoint. And we walked into the ACC Atlantic at a challenging time, when Louisville was peaked out, and Clemson was rising and Florida State was peaked out. And the neighborhood was rough. And I think it's been great to see the progress we've made. And there's still some more we can make. I don't think we're even close to finishing what we started.

Q. In having the success you've had so far this season and going into the bye week at the top of the Atlantic Division, to keep the team bought in and focused, just what you can say about, is it difficult at all to do that to not buy into hype, or has this team just kind of learned over the years, listen, whatever is outside is outside and we still have work to do?
COACH DOEREN: Yeah, I think last year was a tough year for a month, and we finished winning three of the last four. And I think our guys got great perspective on who their true friends are.

They've got great perspective on the outside things and how they can affect them, rightly and wrongly. And we talked a lot in training camp, openly, as a program of coaches, in our coaches meetings, and with players in our player meetings, about the pitfalls that can take place if you're not bought into what we need to do. And nothing that is said, whether it's after a win or after a loss will change our goals.

And the guys have learned. And I think that's the beauty of being given the time that I've been given, the guys have learned through the process as opposed to having to change courses and getting new things.

And they just understand that the writers are going to write because that's their job. Social media is going to do what social media does, and none of those things impact their attitude. None of those things impact their effort, unless they allow it to.

Q. I wanted to ask you about what it's been like for Ryan the first seven games of the season, going into the bye week, he has not thrown an interception, just what you can say about how his confidence in the pocket and his ability to remain mistake-free up to this point?
COACH DOEREN: I'm not going to own it right now. He did throw a pick, but it got called back because of a penalty. But we already tell him he's thrown one.

But he's doing really well in just managing the game. And I think his receivers, backs, tight ends, have all fought for the football. And his timing is good. But I think the one thing that needs to be said is the protection has been phenomenal. Our offensive line hasn't given up a sack in ACC play.

And our tight ends and running backs are a part of that. So it's really a group effort. But Ryan's had the opportunity to stand tall and throw the football and his receivers have fought for him. He doesn't make stupid decisions.

He understands the importance of field position, and he doesn't want to hurt his football team. He knows the next play he could throw a touchdown if he gets us out of that play.

So I think he's learned a lot as a starter that's returning. And he has good information. I think the offensive staff does a really nice job of putting things in a way that he can learn them and where he can study it and have a pre-snap and post-snap understanding of what could happen.

Q. As far as in the rushing attack, before the season I had spoken with you about Nyheim Hines and Jaylen Samuels and the weapons they can be, to speak on what they've shown you in seven weeks. You knew there was talent there, obviously, and having them a part of the squad, but have they impressed you and gone above and beyond what your expectations were at this point, or what you can say about evaluating them through seven weeks?
COACH DOEREN: They're doing what I hoped they would do. You can never predict how a guy is going to play. You just never hope, through the body of work that they've shown you, that they can produce the way that you would like them to. And they've done that, and then some.

I think the thing that Nyheim continues to impress all of us on our staff with is his competitive spirit. Just regardless of what he's doing, whether he's catching the ball out of the backfield, running inside or outside zone or returning a punt or kickoff or running down the field on punt coverage. I mean, the guy plays as hard as he can play all the time, and I just think that that competitive spirit is -- I wish I could bottle it and feed it to people. It's priceless.

And that's what makes him even more special. I mean, he's talented. He's blessed. And he has tremendous genetic ability in all those things, but his competitive spirit is so elite.

And Jay Sam, I think the offense has just done a nice job moving him around. He's always been talented as a receiver, as a jet sweep guy or screen guy, but now they're getting it to him out of the backfield more now and allowing him to get some more creative touches.

Q. You mentioned your offensive line. Can you talk about some of the standouts this season that provided that kind of protection.
COACH DOEREN: All five of them are playing well together. And Coach Ledford does a great job training those guys. I think Will Richardson is playing as good as any player in the country, not just in the ACC. I think he's one of the better offensive tackles in college football, I really do.

And he's playing at a high level. He's competing hard. He's preparing well. I think Garrett Bradbury has stood out in his first year as a starter at center, and all the things he has to do directing our line calls. Those guys have both really played at a high level.

Q. In your secondary, which began this season as relatively inexperienced, how has that come along for you?
COACH DOEREN: You know, it's getting better. It didn't start well. And we were playing five guys that were out there for the first time at the beginning of the year. And Shawn Boone is playing nickel. He never played nickel before.

And Morehead and Kidd-Glass, or Dexter Wright, first-year starters; Johnathan Alston, although he's a senior, first-year starter at corner. And Mike Stevens was hurt, is now back, healthy. And seeing that unit grow has been key. We're giving up a lot of yardage in the pass game but we're also not getting a lot of teams trying to run the football on us.

First and second down has been 70 percent pass this year against our defense. So seeing a lot more passes than we have in the past, and the key for us back there is to not allow a short pass to turn into a long run after the catch. And we've got to tackle better in space, but I do like the growth that I'm seeing and just want to see him finish plays.

We dropped three interceptions at Pitt that we should have had. And those are confidence-type plays that those guys have got to be able to make for us down the stretch.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

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