Doeren: 'We Need to Play Football'

NC State football coach Dave Doeren isn't sure when or how the 2020 season will be played, but he's certain that canceling it is not an option as he and his players do what they can to stay ready during the coronavirus crisis

Dave Doeren isn't sure when he and his NC State football team will be able to return to the field as they wait out the coronavirus crisis.

But there is one thing about which he is certain. Canceling the 2020 season isn't an option -- even if it means waiting until 2021 to play it.

"We need to play football," Doeren said Wednesday in a Zoom conference with members of the local media. "I think that's the one thing that everybody recognizes from a financial standpoint in college athletics, for universities and just for probably national morale."

As much as Doeren, his fellow coaches, their players and fans are anxious for the football season to begin as scheduled this fall, there is growing concern that the ongoing shutdown of all organized sports in America won't allow that to happen.

Some, including college football analysts Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbsteit have warned that the entire season could be in jeopardy. Among the possible solutions to such a worst case scenario is a shortened season to be played next spring.

Doeren said that in the name of safety, he'd be agreeable to such a drastic plan.  

"I think whatever's best for the health of our athletes and for the country," he said. "You don't want to put them out there before all this stuff is taken care of. Whether it's delayed a month, two months, three months, whatever it is, I think it'd be a blessing for us to have these guys back and be able to work with them and get out there and compete. 

"I expect that to happen, I just don't know when. I'm hearing the same things you guys are. The information changes a lot. Whenever it does happen, we'll be ready."

Because of the shutdown and the social distancing measures that have made it impossible for teams to hold their usual summer conditioning programs, Doeren said that changes will need to be made to the NCAA's practice guidelines once teams are given the green light to resume activity.

He said it would take a minimum of a month in order to be ready to play any games.

"The longer you're away, the more you think about what that window should look like," Doeren said. "ACC coaches had a long meeting last week and put together various scenarios -- a six-week scenario, a five-week scenario, a four-week scenario. I do think you could do it in four weeks. Obviously, six would be better, but I do think you can do it.

"What we're allowed to do within training camp will have to be different. I think there's going to have to be a lot of really smart communication. We'd have to have a lot of conversations about the safest way for these guys, and particularly here in the south where the heat is what it is, doing the right things for them and the recovery that's needed."

In the mean time, Doeren said he and his staff are doing everything they can under the circumstances to stay engaged with their players and stay ready for them the season begins.

Whenever that may be.

"We're allowed four hours a week of virtual coaching, where we can have meetings and go through installs with them, answer their questions, connect with them and talk to them about how they're doing," Doeren said. "Monday through Thursday, what we're doing is having morning position meetings with our guys and then Fridays, we have a team meeting where myself, (strength and conditioning coach Dantonio Burnette), Justin Smith, my trainer, we all get on there and just go through a bunch of topics that we're learning about with this with our guys and have some motivational things that allow them to talk about how they're doing. 

"Our team has accountability partners that they've put in place to kind of push each other because we're not allowed to monitor their performance athletically right now. All we're allowed to do is provide them workouts that they can do from home. Our players have done a nice job of holding each other accountable on their own. We're in our last week and a half of academics, so we’re staying on the guys that way.

"I think the biggest thing about our program is that your culture is always evolving. We've made a lot of positive strides that way in our offseason program with our team and so we're working hard to keep that connection piece with our guys going."

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook -- ACC Insider

Twitter -- @WolfpackMaven and Brett Friedlander at @BFriedACC