Dave Doeren Watches Wolfpack Players at Pro Day
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RALEIGH — The Close-King Indoor Practice Facility filled up with scouts and position coaches from the NFL, all hoping to get a better idea of the players produced by NC State head coach Dave Doeren during the 2025 season as they push toward the professional level. While 19 different members of his roster participated in workouts, Doeren walked around, taking it all in.
It wasn't his first rodeo when it comes to Pro Day as Doeren gears up for his 14th season at the helm of the Wolfpack program. However, the game, both professionally and collegiately, has changed all around the veteran head coach. For Doeren, it was his last real chance to take pride in the young men he helped mentor on their path to the next level and throughout life.
Watch Doeren's Pro Day thoughts
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As players like Justin Joly, Devon Marshall, Caden Fordham and Brandon Cleveland completed physical testing and drills around the practice facility, Doeren wandered around, taking it all in. It marked the last time he could do that before finally moving on to his next group, one loaded with talent he hopes to help reach the same heights when their Pro Day comes around.
"It's the last time I get to see them do something athletic on my campus," Doeren said. "It's kind of a finality of sorts and a stepping stone for them. Accumulation of a ton of hard work and a dream and I know there's a lot of anxious guys trying to figure out which 32 teams might give them a chance, and hopeful that all of them do well today."
There's a gratification that comes from Pro Day for Doeren. While NC State hasn't necessarily produced some of the louder names in the NFL, the Wolfpack has a large roster of professionals who have quietly put together tremendous careers. Flying under the radar is sort of the way of the Wolfpack under Doeren. Now, he hopes these seniors and NFL-bound Wolfpackers can be the next to do just that, continuing a proud tradition for the school.
"It's rewarding... t's pretty incredible to be here, not only with the guys going through it, but when you look around and you see Alim McNeill standing over there ... it's just cool they're back here watching these guys and cheering for them, and it means a lot," Doeren said. "it's really kind of surreal, to be honest with you, because I've known some of these guys since they were freshmen in high school. To get to this point with them, and then to see them come back and they're having good NFL careers, it's meaningful."
Doeren and NC State football opened up their facility not just to former players trying to take another step, but also to smaller programs in the state like NC Central and Lenoir-Rhyne.
"We want to help as many as we can," Doeren said. "It's starting to end up being two pro days, really one for our guys and then one for a lot of the smaller school, local players that aren't getting the shot because their schools don't have pro days."
Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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