Dave Doeren Not Done Celebrating Win Over UNC
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RALEIGH — NC State head coach Dave Doeren, the second-longest tenured ACC head coach, takes the Wolfpack's rivalry against North Carolina very seriously, both and off the field. Few coaches embrace their program's rivalry games more than Doeren does with the Tar Heels and even after throttling UNC and first-year head coach Bill Belichick 42-19 in the 2025 edition of the game, he wasn't done.
At NC State's press conference for the opening day of the Early Signing Period for the Wolfpack's 2026 recruiting class, Doeren took yet another shot at the Tar Heels after he flipped a recruit late in the cycle from Chapel Hill and convinced him to bring his talents to Raleigh.
Flipping Lawrence Brown
NC State completed a signing day flip of three-star edge rusher Lawrence Brown, who committed to North Carolina back in June. Brown was slated to be a part of the Tar Heels' No. 17-rated recruiting class, which included a whopping 39 commits. Instead, Brown flipped on Dec. 3 to the Wolfpack, just days after the Pack's dominant win over UNC.
Brown became the latest player to flip from one Triangle school to the other, joining players like current Wolfpack wideout Keenan Jackson and current Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Payton Wilson, who was one of Doeren's great recruiting steals back in 2017. Brown's flip speaks to a larger issue in the recruiting war between the two programs, one that Doeren proudly brought attention to on signing day.
BREAKING: NC State has flipped former UNC EDGE commit Lawrence Brown in the 2026 class.
— Pack Pride (@PackPride) December 3, 2025
Brown is a Peach State playmaker who has already signed with the Wolfpack to join the program.
✍️: https://t.co/jhcKiFDGBH pic.twitter.com/ADIcwMuZnQ
"I think from a fan standpoint, you should care more about the results than you should where we're ranked," Doeren said. "As far as I know, UNC is ranked ahead of us and recruiting every year I've been here and compare the records."
From a historical context, Doeren isn't wrong. The Tar Heels have long been viewed more favorably in the recruiting world when compared to the Wolfpack and the 2026 class was no different. NC State finished the signing period ranked No. 49 in the nation according to 247Sports and failed to sign a single four-star recruit.
Since Doeren joined the Wolfpack back in 2013, UNC cycled through two coaches and now landed Belichick and all of the drama that has come along with him. On the field, Doeren takes care of the Tar Heels annually, now having won five-straight. Off the field, NC State prides itself on doing more with less and the Wolfpack head coach provided some statistical context for that.
"One of the best stats I saw seven or eight years ago, it was around COVID, we were top 3 in the nation at putting players in the NFL that were ranked three stars or less," Doeren said. "This is a developmental program that knows how to identify talent and always has been since I got here and we'll continue to be that way."
NC State has shown signs of adapting to the new college football landscape, embracing revenue sharing and working the transfer portal more aggressively. However, there is a point of pride for Doeren and the Pack in beating the Tar Heels both on and off the field, despite potentially lagging behind in resources.
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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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