Wolfpack Players Meet Alone — What Happened After Pitt Loss?
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RALEIGH — NC State head coach Dave Doeren shared his frustrations during his Monday press conference after his team's fourth loss in five games. What the 13-year veteran didn't share was that his team held a players-only meeting on Sunday to discuss what went wrong over the last six weeks.
Doeren's pleas for his team to execute continually fell on deaf ears as the team's record plummeted from 3-0 to 4-4 with little resistance.
With four games remaining and frustrations growing as missing a bowl game becomes more and more possible, the players showed accountability and tried to correct the ship themselves.
The Players' Perspective
Details about the meeting emerged on Wednesday afternoon. After a routine practice and preparations for No. 8 Georgia Tech, Wolfpack defensive end Sabastian Harsh took the podium and revealed what happened on Sunday.
"We talked it out, hashed stuff out between all of us," Harsh said. "Being able to lean on each other as a whole team, as players, everybody's spirits are up. Just understanding that I can lean on my brothers to the left of me, to the right of me... That makes a really big difference."
Harsh added that the meeting was organized by the team leaders and the elected leadership council. After Doeren stated his team would fight to the end on Monday, Harsh provided helpful context by revealing the meeting as to how the Wolfpack will do that.
"I think it's definitely a little bit different. That's kind of one of the first times that I've had to go through something like that, just kind of have guys on the team stepping up and really taking charge," Harsh said. "I thought it was really good. I think it's a great thing that when coaches don't have to harp on it so much anymore."
Senior wide receiver Wesley Grimes also shared his thoughts on what occurred inside the Murphy Center practice facility on Sunday.
"Coming off a loss, leadership always has to step up a little bit. Because if it doesn't, then things can go down real quickly," Grimes said. "Leaders are forced to step up and just keep everybody's head up, keep the vibes positive around here."
Grimes expanded on the topic, stating that the coaches weren't the ones who play the games. The players felt the need to take some of the execution problems from the Pitt loss upon themselves, as whatever messaging came from the staff wasn't enough to get the Wolfpack ready.
Sparking the Meeting
Sitting in the bowels of Acrisure Stadium after losing 53-34, Doeren was as frustrated as he'd been the entire 2025 season. Even with a bye week to get healthier and prepare for the Panthers, the Wolfpack came out flat and failed to play up to the veteran coach's standards for the program.
"It's disappointing because that wasn't what we practiced. We worked a lot on some of those concepts and it just didn't get executed. Our players have got to do what they're coached to do," Doeren said Saturday.
While it's unclear which members of the team's leadership structure suggested and led the meeting, star running back Hollywood Smothers reached a boiling point after the Pitt loss.
"We just need to get better, man. Learn from our mistakes. I got to say... We've got to figure out what's going wrong. Like offensively-wise, we've got to get a rhythm," Smothers said. "Defense out there struggling; we've just got to figure out how to make plays. That's all it comes down to at the end of the day."
The players have shown their commitment to finishing the season strong. They'll have a chance to show any progress with a difficult matchup against Georgia Tech on Saturday.
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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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