Dave Doeren talks spirited practices and Payton Wilson's status

NC State football coach Dave Doeren met with the media Thursday for one last time before Saturday’s home opener against Charleston Southern. He reflected back on a spirited week of practice, fallout from the close call at East Carolina and the status of fifth-year redshirt junior linebacker Payton Wilson, who left the contest Saturday with a sore shoulder.

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On emotions after the East Carolina game:

Dave Doeren: “I think disappointed and embarrassed and all the feelings that go along with not playing the way you want to play is pretty indicative of the feeling coaches and players had. Not to take anything away from ECU. They played a really good football game, but we did not perform to the level that we wanted to.

“We needed to practice better, obviously, so we had a very challenging week of practice. A very competitive week of practice, and emphasized the importance of running to the football and getting there at the proper angles. We overran the ball a ton in that game on defense.

“It was spirited. There was a lot od good mindset change in my opinion. These guys understand that where they’re at they got to earn it every single week. The rankings are going to be what they are, but the way you play that should be a personal thing. That is your resume as a football player and as a coach.

“I am looking forward to getting back on the field and seeing these guys in Week 2.”

On what fifth-year redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary needs to improve:

Dave Doeren: “I think he was just taking things that weren’t there. Take what the defense gives you. When they’re not there, it’s okay to burn it or throw it out of bounds. Sometimes I felt like in that game he was trying to be perfect in some ways and not make mistakes, and when you do that at any position you usually make more.

“Just go back to the reads that Coach [Tim] Beck gives you, play fast, trust your ability and just protect the football.”

On physicality this week in practice after the missed tackles:

Dave Doeren: “We were physical. We went out there, and we weren’t tackling like you know but they were flying to the ball. There was a lot of pads on pads. We call it thud, keeping people up but getting there, sprinting to the near hip; and we challenged the scout team to give us a better look to so that we’d have to compete harder or be embarrassed and they did. Those kids really worked hard.

“Tackling, as you know, last year we were a very good tackling team. We practiced at a pace that was a little bit different, and so we had to get back to that. They were exhausted coming off the field Tuesday and Wednesday for good reason.

How many missed tackles vs. ECU?

Dave Doeren: “26. Absolutely pathetic.”

On players understanding mistakes:

Dave Doeren: “I think they understood it, but I wasn’t going to let it be unsaid. I think that’s one of those days. No different, I said this a couple of times this week, for those of us that are parents you tell your kids things over and over and over then they have to sometimes fail. ‘Yeah, I should have listened.’

“We had one of those moments as a team. I think these guys sometimes think they know more than they do. I’m glad we got a win. Thankful for that. Thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow from the errors that we had.

“There were some positives in game, too. So, I mean I’m not trying to be all doom and gloom. There’s a lot of good things that happen, but there’s enough negatives to make you feel like that there’s so many things we got to do and urgently better.”

On Wilson’s status after returning to practice Wednesday:

Dave Doeren: “It’s day to day. You’ll find out on gameday just like our opponent will. He’s in a great spot. I met with him this morning. He’s in a really good spot physically and mentally. We’ll keep progressing him and see where we end up.”

On players saying they are relieved preseason hoopla is over:

Dave Doeren: “I guess whatever they feel on that. To me, like I told them from the beginning, we’re going to earn our spot at the end of the season based on 12 weeks of regular season play. The first week wasn’t greet, but I think we all know at the end of the year it’s not going to say you record and next to it, ‘This win was lucky.’ They don’t say that. It’s a win.

“That’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to finish this regular season down the road here in three months and everything that we do during the week will lead to what we do during the week will lead to what we do on the weekend, and the results of those games will give us the ranking we deserve.”