Dave Doeren shares insight on NC State's recruiting process
The spring is an interesting and unique time for Division-I football recruiting. It precedes the official visit window, when most schools, often including NC State, assemble the bulk of their classes. For that reason, March and April are often extremely important months for building positive recruiting momentum.
For the Wolfpack, it is the perfect opportunity to get prospects on campus to watch practice and gain a better understanding of the coaching staff recruiting them and the overall environment of the Wolfpack program.
Head coach Dave Doeren elaborated on why this is a useful recruiting period for the prospects considering NC State.
“It’s great for the recruit to hear the coach that’s been recruiting them coach his guys, to pretend they’re in the drills and see what kind of guy that guy is on the grass, how he’s going to teach, ‘Do I fit with his personality?’” Doeren said. “Because it’s not just a ‘How you doing?’ phone call. I’m getting to watch him do his job.”
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With that said, the evaluation goes both ways, and how the prospects carry themselves on the practice field is also important to Doeren.
“These guys don’t know, but we’re watching them watch us,” he said said. “Does this guy pay attention, or is he on Instagram during practice? Does he really like football, or is he in the corner?
“We are looking for guys that fit our culture, that fit our identity. And so, when kids come to practice and watch, if they’re not into it, then they’re going to find out we’re not into them. We want guys that love the game of football and love learning about it.”
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NC State hosted a sophomore recruit, who Doeren could not identify due to NCAA recruiting policy, earlier this spring. He was so engaged while watching practice that it caught Doeren’s attention.
“We had a kid here, I can’t say his name, two weeks ago that was taking notes during practice,” Doeren said. “[He is] a 2025 kid and had his phone out and was writing notes into his phone during practice on the things he liked. That is pretty awesome to see. Things like that stand out to me because a lot of guys aren’t wired that way.”
How do combine measurables influence NC State’s evaluation?
During his press conference, Doeren discussed recruiting, the Pack’s upcoming March 28 Pro Day and where those two intersect. He said NC State’s staff uses combine measurements and times as a part of a rubric, which serves as a “measuring stick” in the evaluation process.
“At the end of all things, we want length and speed,” Doeren said. “Those are the two categories when you talk about what we’re looking for and, over a long period of time, it’s been a pretty good formula for us as far as development and producing the number of players we have that were ranked three stars or lower. We’re in the top three of college football for putting those guys in the NFL from our development.”
