Dave Doeren on CJ Bailey’s Growth, NC State’s New Faces & ACC Title Push | Sports Illustrated

Here at ACC Media Days for Sports Illustrated joined by NC State head coach Dave Doran.

Dave, it always seems like whenever we arrive here, the season's right around the corner.

Yeah, it is.

We got about 1 more week and then , uh, coaches all come back to, to the office together and we play week 0, so our planning is a little bit ramped up.

How, how was the change?

Obviously, there was the, uh, thought about you guys going overseas and then the, the change back.

Did that change any of your plans in terms of preseason preparation?

Changed a lot of logistical plans, you know, our operations staff had worked extremely hard.

Getting a football team ready to travel internationally and uh my hat goes off to them.

They did a lot of hard work.

Um, but playing the same date, same time, same opponent, so some of those things from coaching side don't change at all.

So you just kind of bend your knees, be flexible, and move forward, uh, in terms of your, your team this year coming out of spring ball, it's certainly a lot different in terms of only having the one, transfer portal this year.

Do, do you feel like you have a better grasp of what your team is going into the fall?

Yeah, different in a good way.

Um, I think all coaches would tell you this was a much better spring for us as human beings to know what our roster was, um, to be able to.

Go through a winter program, a, a spring football period, and then back into the summer program where you can actually.

Develop players and know that these are your guys, and no matter what you have, you've got to get them ready to play and win games.

And so the conversations even you're having with the guys are better because you can sit down and, and really be transparent about, hey, here's what's going on, here's what you have to improve.

You're 10 pounds underweight, right?

You got to gain 10 pounds of muscle or, hey, this guy's in front of you because of these things.

You got 6 months to go out there and improve yourself.

And now, these guys, instead of looking at where they could go, They're looking at what they can do, right?

And so as coaches, it's the way it used to be, you know, the spring was a great time to develop your players and to build the chemistry of your roster, and it's had a lot of fun this spring with these guys.

One of the guys that you've developed is, is your quarterback CJ Bailey.

Having him back for, for a third season as a starter, how important is that for you guys?

Yeah, I'm so happy to, um, one, be with CJ.

Uh, he's just a, a bright light, man.

When he walks in the room, he's got incredible energy.

You know, he's a tremendous human being.

Very talented quarterback.

Uh, he's really worked hard in his leadership.

It's been fun to see him grow up.

We're one of only 2 teams in the league that can say they have a 3rd-year starter at that position, as an SMU.

And so, you know, for me, going into an offseason for the 2nd straight year with a returning starter at that position that carries so much in the locker room, uh, is tremendous and I'm excited for him.

You know, he's done all the right things off the field.

He's really got his head on straight.

He's got a lot of good people in his life that are guiding him and so it's gonna be a fun season with CJ in terms of his supporting cast, a lot of new faces around him though.

What, what are you expecting from that group?

You know, it's interesting because we lost some good players.

Everybody knows that.

And, uh, but we've added some good players and, and a couple of these guys were his Pop Warner teammates, you know.

So even though they're new, they're not new to him.

They're, they're actually more experienced with him than anybody on our roster, you know, when you talk about, Um, our running back bullet that came in, uh, Daveon Goss, I guess I should say is an accurate name, uh, Jojo Trader, uh, these two guys grew up playing with him.

And, and then there's, you know, King Mack was one of these guys that played with him, transferred in from Penn State, uh, Chance Robinson, another guy I played with him.

So, you know, he's got some years, uh, with these guys and, and, uh, we've added some really critical pieces at other spots and, and offensive line, really excited about the guys we've added there to help protect him.

And I think Jamaran McCrimmon, uh, has just been every day the same guy, works hard, great attitude, really coachable, talented.

Daniel Cruz, uh, interior offensive lineman, same thing, works really hard, does all the right things and, And so it's been a Refreshing group of guys because they just came in and wanted to get better and want to help us get better defensively.

I know 3rd down was a bit of an issue for you guys last year in terms of some of the getting off the field.

How much more confidence do you have, especially with a lot of new faces on that defense?

Yeah, I'm excited for Coach Elliott, you know, I mean, it's been well documented.

David Hale wrote a great article about what he went through last year, and so he's just in a much better place, uh, in his family.

Uh, and then to know the players, to recruited a lot of the guys that are in the room with them now, uh, the staff knows him, knows what he wants, how he wants it done.

And then there's a lot of development that's happened with, we played a lot of young guys on defense last year.

We had a lot of injuries in the secondary, and I think in the pit game, we had 4 freshmen in the secondary, you know, and so all these guys are back with experience.

They have scars and calluses and, and they're better for it.

We suffered a little bit through some of it.

And then we added some good players.

Um, 3rd down is about pass rush, you know, and so we've got to be better in that area and that's something we've worked really hard at.

Who's maybe caught your eye, uh, coming out of spring ball on that side of the ball.

Yeah, I think, you know, uh, Popo, um, middle linebacker, transfer Dan Aguire, a really good leader, and Deari Nelson, outside linebacker, uh, has gotten better and better and better, very vocal, does a really good job communicating, and I'm just talking about new players.

Uh, Harvey Dyson, really good pass rusher, came in, uh, from two lanes, done some good things for us.

Excited about, you know, what he can bring to the table.

So, and there's many others, but these guys, Are coming together and that's the coolest thing when you had 50 new players, which we did.

Yeah, you got to teach them the defense.

They got to learn what your program's about and how to handle themselves in your program and how to represent the, the university, but they got to learn about each other too, and they got to grow as, that's what football is.

It's a brotherhood, but you can't just say it.

You got to make it happen, and they've done a really good job getting to know each other.

Well, the level of consistency that you've had there, there in Raleigh has been tremendous over the years.

How have you changed though as a head coach these last couple of years, given that, you know, your roster does turn over so significantly?

Yeah, I think I've just got better at learning how to deal with change, you know, how to evolve.

And, uh, I think, you know, when you, You're a young head coach, you think you know more than you do.

Um, obviously, I had a lot of success right away as a head coach at NIU and so, you know, this is going to work here and, and it did.

You know, we flipped the program pretty quick and got into winning and, and got some really good players.

A lot of them are successful in life and in the NFL right now still.

Um, but then a lot's changed in the last 5 years and it's, it's been a lot to adjust to.

And I think I've just got better at rolling with it, trying to find a better way, uh, not getting down on, Things that are out of my control, you know, decide this is what's going on.

Let's find a way to be successful in this new landscape.

In order for you guys to get back here to Charlotte for the ACC championship game, what needs to happen?

Yeah, you know, I mean, there's a million things that need to happen.

Um, but in today's day and age of football, uh, depth is not like it used to be.

And so we got to have one of those years where things go our way in the health side of the, the ledger.

I think when you look at the teams in football and basketball that make it, you see a lot of healthy rosters.

And so you don't go from a really good senior to a freshman.

In our case, because that's what you can't have at every school now is depth, uh, like you used to.

The rosters have gotten smaller, um, because of NIL.

A lot of guys that were your backups leave now, right?

And so some of us go from senior to freshman pretty quick.

And so to be there at the end, you've got to have a roster that can stay healthy.

And so part of that's me.

I got to do a great job managing, you know, um, The volume and doing a really good job with that and then the guys have to do a great job taking care of themselves.

You've got an excellent personnel department.

Do, do you blink though at, at, at any time, uh, now, given the figures that are being discussed for , for not only some of your players, but in players in general in college football across the, across the board?

Yeah, you do.

I mean, you just don't know what's real though, and I think that's the one thing that people have to understand.

I, I see these depth charts coming out now with numbers on them, and they're not real, you know, none of these things are taken off of contracts, uh.

And so as a coach, you hear that so and so makes what and you don't know that it's real, you just don't.

So I think you're dealing with a lot of, uh, opinion, in some cases, uh, fictional.

And so, you know, trying to figure out, I guess the value, uh, has been the hardest thing, I think in the personnel offices when you talk about, This player is worth X.

And so, you know, there's a lot of algorithms now they use to figure out because of the statistics that the guy had and who they played against.

And, and so we've gotten better scientifically at figuring out those kind of things.

It doesn't always align with what the agent's telling us, those kids.

Value is and so you just got to try to figure that out with your budget.

If we're looking at, uh, the longest tenured head coaches, you know, your name is, is creeping even further up there.

How, how's your program changed over the last couple of years and, and, and what have you kind of tried to, to alter in terms of trying to reach that potential that you guys have always had?

Well, I think consistency is the biggest thing, and that may not seem flashy, but to be at a school now 14 years.

Uh, a few things have to happen, you know, you have to win and we're the 2nd winningest team in this league over the last 6 years on, in conference play and non-conference play.

Put a lot of guys in the NFL, graduated a lot of players and we sell out our games.

And so, you know, I don't know if that's a change, but that's not something a lot of people can say they're doing, and we're doing it the right way.

You know, we have a lot of tremendous young men that really represent our university the right way.

Exciting times there in Raleigh with the Wolfpack.

Dave, thank you so much for joining us here at ACC Media Days with Sports Illustrated.