Dave Doeren makes pitch for NC State players to avoid transfer portal

There’s no question that the NCAA transfer portal has already has a strong impact on the college football landscape, but not too large of an impact at NC State. The Wolfpack were able to retain some key players from last year’s team that could have had a chance to go elsewhere, and head coach Dave Doeren spoke on why he believes they were able to do so.

“I think our culture, you’ve seen this year in and year out, these kids like playing here,” Doeren said. “They’re treated with respect, they’re pushed, they’re held accountable, they’re loved. We surround them with really good teachers, we surround them with great strength coaches, our sports med people, Boo (Corrigan) does a great job of allowing us to maintain staff, giving us opportunities to be competitive with other schools and keep people here.”

Doeren has been at the helm for 10 seasons at NC State, leading the Wolfpack to eight or more wins in their last three consecutive seasons. Only seven players on his roster entered the transfer portal this offseason, as he reminded media that entering the portal may not always be what it’s made out to be.

“Raleigh is a great place to live, these guys like going to school at NC State, they have good friends. So it’s hard if you’re gonna leave all that, you better be leaving if for a really really good opportunity. And as you guys all know, everyone in the world knows, the grass isn’t always greener. You could be leaving a position going somewhere else walking into the same one and having a bad culture that you got to deal with,” Doeren said.

NC State did lose longtime starting quarterback Devin Leary to the transfer portal, whose name is all over the school record books. But they brought in veteran Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong who will likely be the team’s started next season.

“When guys leave I think it’s because they know they’re just not gonna play, period,” Doeren said. “And they need to go down a level or go to a school that has a bad depth chart situation and that makes sense to me. Because ultimately these guys came to college to also play football and if they don’t get that opportunity then it’s probably not gonna be an experience that they want, it’s not what we want either. We want all these guys to be satisfied at the end of the journey.”

With just seven players leaving through the portal and six coming in, it’s hard to argue with Doeren’s sentiments, as he looks to continue pushing NC State’s culture and program in the right direction.