Dave Doeren has already named N.C. State’s starting quarterback for 2020
N.C. state football coach Dave Doeren had to cut spring practice short last month when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down spring sports. Since then, he has spent most of his days on Zoom, meeting with coaches and players, checking up on their progress away from the Murphy Center as best he can.
The lost practice time has been a blow for a Wolfpack team that went 4-8 last season and has welcomed five new assistant coaches this spring. N.C. State cycled through three quarterbacks in 2019 before settling on Devin Leary at the end of the season and without a spring camp to show otherwise, Doeren said the job is his to lose whenever fall begins.
“Devin will be our starter,” Doeren said. “I know he’s excited about the opportunity to grow from where he was.”
Leary played in eight games last season, passing for 1, 219 yards and eight touchdowns. Bailey Hockman (546 yards, 1 TD) also saw action in seven games. Ben Finley, younger brother of former N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley, enrolled early.
“I was excited about the progress (Bailey) was making,” Doeren said. “Then you have two young guys, Ben and Ty (Evans) who are just trying to learn the offense. Really, you have two guys who have played significant reps that we are counting on, and two young guys we want to see get better. I like where we’re at, we just need the opportunity to coach them now.”
Doeren said spring ball would have been valuable to all his players who needed reps, but the quarterbacks getting snaps for all 15 practices was critical to the success of the 2020 team.
“We’re in the same boat as everyone else is,” Doeren said. “So Coach (Tim) Beck has done a really good job (keeping) dialogue with those guys and continuing their growth mindsets and helping them. When we get them back here, whenever that is, we will pick up where we left off.”
Communication with any of his players comes over a computer screen these days. Recruiting is all virtual, either FaceTime or phone conversations. He meets with staff and academic support on Zoom before position meetings with players, where they are allowed four hours a week of coaching.
TIME FRAME
Doeren pointed out that he can only control what he can control, using this time to improve himself and taking advantage of the time with his family.
He is in daily conversations with Wolfpack athletic director Boo Corrigan to determine what they are and aren’t allowed to do when it comes to contact with players. But the real question is what kind of time frame are we looking at for a return to normalcy?
There have been rumblings of a spring season or maybe a compressed fall camp, where teams might have to go back to two-a-days and prepare for a season in four weeks. Regardless of what the higher ups decide, Doeren thinks it’s important to get back to the game and not completely miss out on the season.
“We need to play football,” Doeren said. “That’s the thing everyone recognizes from a financial standpoint in college athletics, for universities and probably for national morale. When that happens, I don’t care, I think whatever is best for the health of our athletes and for the country. You don’t want to put them out there before this stuff is taken care of.”
Doeren said if it takes a month, two months, or more, it will be a “blessing” to get back on the field with his team.
“I expect that to happen,” Doeren said. “I just don’t know when. The information changes a lot.”
ACCOUNTABILITY
The staff can’t monitor or police what players are doing since they’re away from campus. All Doeren can do is meet with strength and conditioning coach Dantonio ‘Thunder’ Burnette, who comes up with plans for the players to do at home.
If the player actually does it is out of their hands. What the staff has done is take leaders off the roster and pair them with accountability partners, someone to check in on to make sure the work, on and off the field, is getting done.
“One thing I told them was this is an opportunity for us,” Doeren said. “Every team has the same issue and it’s really going to be a player-led deal. Those guys have taken on themselves to have partners to make sure they call everyday and are doing the work.”
Doeren hopes this is is a chance to “leap frog” other teams whose players aren’t holding themselves accountable.
A quick scan of the N.C. State football Instagram page Tuesday showed a small group of players doing field work to keep in shape. Doeren feels good about the leaders he has in place to make sure the rest of the team falls in line. Doeren has 15 seniors or graduate students on the 2020 roster, enough older guys to take ownership of the program during these unusual times.
“I’m excited about it,” Doeren said. “We get to see where we’re at, leadership wise. Just talking to our players, they feel great about the progress guys are making. The biggest thing we’re trying to get these guys to do is have a routine. This isn’t a vacation for them.”
Doeren said he’ll learn who is serious about their work when the team returns, depending on how in shape a player is.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 1:43 PM.
