NC State head coach Dave Doeren met with the press for his weekly availability Monday and covered many topics from third-down improvements to Florida State’s Cam Akers. Here are the highlights from the press conference:
Final takeaways from the Ball State game:
Offensively, [we] averaged five yards a carry, [and] continued to be very efficient in the red zone. We improved on third down; we’re 100% on third and medium, which was really the area that we’ve struggled, and we’re 8 of 10 in the first half on third down. I thought we made some really good contact, difficult catches, body-on-body catches, which was an area we needed to improve. Defensively, [I] thought we improved in the run defense, holding them under less than three yards a carry. There was four times our defense was put on the field after turnovers: after the onside kick, after getting stopped on a fourth and 1, where the defense, all four times, held them to a field goal or less, and got an interception of their own after the onside kick was great response by our defense. I thought [it] showed a lot of mental toughness.
I thought we were good on third down defensively from third and 3 up. You know, we did a nice job getting the ball back, got some pressure on the quarterback. I thought our special teams were exceptional. Trenton Gill went 6 of 7 on his touchbacks, punted the football well, flipped the field position. We covered his kicks well; we were aggressive in our coverage. The blocked punt by Max Fisher, [the] scoop returned down to the red zone by Malik, the punt return by Thayer [Thomas] for the touchdown were huge momentum plays for us in the game and something that we’ve been waiting on and excited to see that part of our special teams step up.
On the bad side, [on] third and short, [and] fourth and short, both sides of the ball need to get better. I thought we dropped some layup catches that are easy plays for us and we’ve got to focus on catching the football and making our layups for the quarterbacks. Obviously, hate to see two interceptions. Both were tipped balls [that] end up being picks. Tremendous play by their guy on the one. And the onside kick is a play, obviously, we want to be able to recover and put the game away. Too many completions on us over 15 yards and none for touchdowns, but chunk plays that affect your field position and plays we’ve got to be better at moving forward. And just getting the ball back, we got one takeaway on defense at the end, but creating more takeaways is a huge area of emphasis for us that that helps our offense and on that, we can improve.
On injuries:
From a health standpoint, Dylan Autenrieth is out for the season, unfortunately. He’ll be back and have an opportunity to get a sixth year as well after next season. But just another really good player, captain, hate that for him and he’ll do a great job leading our football team to the best of his ability. And a positive, James Smith-Williams is back in action. [I] look forward to gaining James back this week and not sure how much [time he’ll see]. We’ll see how he responds in practice but he’s really excited to get back on the field with his teammates.
On Florida State:
They’re outscoring their opponents in the first quarter at an alarming rate. For us, starting fast and particularly on the road would be a huge point of emphasis for us. But more importantly, obviously, playing four quarters of football. When you look at them, offensively their quarterback got dinged up in the last game, so I’m not sure what his status is, but both of the guys that they have, [Alex] Hornibrook came in and he’s completing over 70% of his passes. Their tailback’s really the guy — and not to take anything away from the receiving corps, because they’re outstanding — but Cam Akers is a really good football player. He’s an all-purpose back, all three downs he’s effective and efficient. He can run you over, he can make you miss, he’s good after contact, averaging 127 yards a game and has eight touchdowns. He’s their third-leading receiver, he’s thrown a touchdown. Really good football player.
Their wideouts are scary, guys. They can run; they’re averaging 19 yards, 14 yards, 15 yards [after the catch]. Obviously, [Tamorrion] Terry’s their big, deep-threat guy, but their slot receivers are tremendous players. Their tight end [Tre] McKitty’s a really good player for them. We’ve got to do a great job upfront and really across the board of defending the run and not giving up big plays in the pass game. All these teams we play are no-huddle, up-tempo, so that’s just kind of par for the course, they’re an up-tempo offense.
They’ve got a really, really good defensive line. They’re impressive. They’re big. Three starters over 300 pounds and [a] 340-pound inside tackle in [Robert] Cooper. [Marvin] Wilson, No. 21, is an excellent player for them. [Cory] Durden on the edge to the field at 300 pounds. So, you’ve got some mass that you got to deal with. Their linebackers are quick guys, they’re long. Their safety [Hamsah Nasirildeen], No. 23, is a North Carolina native and is a really good football player for them, their leading tackler.
They’re an active defense, they’ve got a good staff and do a lot. They’re three down, they’re four down, they pressure. They play press coverage, they play quarters, they do a lot of good things on defense, so we’ve got to execute at a high level. It starts with us; not beating us and eliminating the penalties that you’ve heard me talk about is huge. Obviously, you don’t want to do anything to hurt your ability to have manageable down and distances. So excited about this opportunity and a chance to go play a storied program.
