Opening Week Depth Chart Still a Work in Progress

Even though NC State's opening game against Wake Forest is just over a week away, coach Dave Doeren still isn’t sure exactly who will be available to play, let alone where they stand when it comes to a depth chart because of the effects of COVID-19

Under normal circumstances, NC State football coach Dave Doeren would have a working depth chart by now.

But as we’re all only too aware, current circumstances are anything but normal.

So even though the Wolfpack’s opening game against Wake Forest at Carter-Finley Stadium is just over a week away, Doeren and his staff still aren’t exactly sure who will be available to play, let alone where they stand when it comes to playing time because of the effects of COVID-19.

“Some positions are pretty settled. We’ve had positions that haven’t been affected,” Doeren said Tuesday during a taping of his weekly radio show, which airs on Wednesday. “My tight end position, knock on wood, is one of them. We have good depth there and they’ve been at practice every day.

“Then we have other positions where we’ve had guys, whether they’re COVID positive or were quarantined because of contact tracing where you don’t know yet. So we’ve got a couple more days to figure that out.”

Because of the uncertainty of who will be available and the number of players that have been prepared to play numerous different positions, Doeren said he’ll likely do more rotating than usual for the Wake Forest game.

He called the depth the Wolfpack has developed -- much of which is the result of all the injuries that marred last season -- the “silver lining” to a disjoined preseason.

“We were the second-youngest team in college football last year in the number of freshmen that played,” Doeren siad. “Those kids aren’t nervous now about playing the sport at this level. They learned a lot -- a lot of good, a lot of bad. They went into the offseason with a purpose, knew what they needed to get better at and came out of it in a good place.

“Then you add back in the number of players that were out to injury with the youth that got experience and you’ve got a lot of guys that have played football. … We’re going to need all those guys.”

Although Doeren and his staff still have time to figure out where and how all those players fit it, decisions will eventually have to be made sooner than later.

“This week we’ve tried to spend (Tuesday) and (Wednesday) on us, just playing the game.” Doeren said. “We’re still getting guys back from quarantine from when the break started. So we’re trying to get them back in football shape and see where they’re at mentally with the recall of what we were doing prior to that break.”

He said by Thursday, he’ll “probably have a pretty good idea of how at least it will roll out,” he said of an opening week depth chart.

At that point, the team’s focus will shift to Wake Forest.

“We’ll install our first down, second down game plan for Wake and then Friday and Saturday we’ll practice our first two game prep practices,” Doeren said. “Then we have what we call our mock game on Saturday, where we go in the stadium with the guys and take them through every scenario that can happen in a football game.

“We’ll go out there at eight o’clock so that it’s game-like and let them play under the lights. Then we’ll have our game week and get ready for Wake Forest. Obviously Saturday we’ll be tuned into their game against Clemson.”

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