Dave Doeren ready to take field with his deepest Wolfpack squad yet

The first time NC State football coach Dave Doeren had a Monday game-week press conference was 10 seasons ago, getting ready to preview Louisiana Tech. Back then, Doeren didn’t need glasses. Now, as he started his opening remarks Monday, he wears a pair.

But back then, Doeren was also working on rebuilding his roster. Now, while reading with his glasses from notes in front of him, he reveals how he has as much competitive depth as he can remember having with NC State.

“This is what I hoped for,” Doeren confirmed. “I hope to not just have the starting group of guys, but a group of guys that are trying to beat them out, that are good enough to beat them out.

“[Guys] that can go in the game and not just take reps but produce and help us win. I think we have that, and we have tremendous leadership on this roster, not just with our captain, with guys in the position room.”

Reaching this point has not come without adversity.

The 2019 season in particular still lingers in Doeren’s mind. As recently as Monday morning, Doeren privately reflected back on the injury-riddled season that ended with NC State going 4-8 overall and 1-7 in the ACC.

“I think the biggest thing I can tell you is in my 12 years now as a head coach, I look at failure as an opportunity to grow, and you can’t get better without struggle,” Doeren said. “You can’t, and nobody likes to hear that, but that’s the God’s honest truth in life.

“If you really want to get better, you have to put yourself in very difficult situations to grow. You don’t grow much when it’s easy. And I’ve grown a lot.”

Doeren is excited to get started with a team ranked No. 13 in both the preseason Associated Press and coaches polls. He noted that the team is “as healthy as I’ve ever seen a team coming out of training camp here.”

He also appreciates the challenge that East Carolina will present Saturday in Greenville. The fact that NC State is 1-4 all-time playing ECU in the Pirates’ home stadium is not lost on Doeren.

“My last time there, we had 13 penalties and lost a one-possession game [in 2016],” Doeren noted. “So, I know this is a tough place, trust me.”

Doeren likes that NC State will get the road opportunity in what should be a rowdy Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The next time that the Pack has a road experience after Saturday will be when NC State travels to Clemson Oct. 1.

The coach also believes his counterpart, fourth-year East Carolina coach Mike Houston, has a worthy opponent for NC State.

“They’re a good football team,” Doeren noted. “I think it’s the best team Coach Houston’s had. He’s got a lot of good players back. His staff, it’s been together a while, and they’re his kids he’s recruited.

“We’re not just playing against some team. I mean, it’s a good football team. They were a bowl-eligible team last year, and they’re better than they were last year because of who they brought back.”

But mostly, Doeren is ready to get started on the journey that will be the 2022 season. Many players on the Pack roster were around during that 2019 campaign.

“I think shared adversity is a critical part of a team,” Doeren noted. “It’s how you come together. It’s going through creating scars. We all have the same scar from 2019. It’s a big, ugly one. And we remember it for those of us who are here, and we don’t want another one like it.”

More Tidbits From Dave Doeren

• Dave Doeren did not release a depth chart Monday. That will wait a day until East Carolina also releases their version.

That said, Doeren did run through the personnel groupings and shared some thoughts.

– Doeren credited third-year redshirt freshmen Anthony Carter Jr. at guard and Patrick Matan at tackle and redshirt freshman Lyndon Cooper at center with adding depth on the offensive line.

– Super senior receiver Thayer Thomas is playing his best football, Doeren noted, and third-year redshirt freshman Jalen Coit had a big second scrimmage that put his name into the conversation at wideout.

– Another receiver who has impressed, redshirt freshman Julian Gray, is one of the favorites to return kickoffs. Also on special teams, fourth-year redshirt sophomore walk-on Collin Smith will handle kicking off.

– At tight end, Doeren noted that redshirt freshman twins Cedd Seabrough and Fred Seabrough “have come on to add depth at that position.”

• In anticipation of the crowd Saturday, the offense will practice with noise Tuesday and Wednesday.

“When we get to play at some place where that’s an element, it tests you,” Doeren added. “It tests your focus with your 11 guys on offense. It tests your mental maturity when you have opponent fans saying whatever they’re going to be saying to you.

“Can you manage yourself in that environment? Because we can’t practice that. We can’t put people in there yelling at our guys.”

You can watch Dave Doeren’s press conference below.