Hectic month for NC State football coach Dave Doeren includes hiring two new coaches
N.C. State football coach Dave Doeren predicted December would be a “very, very hectic month.” It’s the new normal for coaches, he said.
So far, so true.
The Wolfpack had Devin Leary enter the NCAA transfer portal. Offensive coordinator Tim Beck became the head coach at Coastal Carolina. There’s the crush of recruiting with the early signing day coming up next week, and there’s always the specter of potential NIL deals as coaches fear players could be poached from their programs. And, there are staff changes.
Doeren said Monday that longtime offensive coach Robert Anae had been hired as the Pack’s new offensive coordinator, replacing Beck. Doeren also said offensive line coach John Garrison left for Ole Miss, and would be replaced by Garett Tujague.
Anae, 63, was at Syracuse and Tujague at Virginia this past season, but the two once worked together at BYU and Virginia under former coach Bronco Mendenhall.
“They know each other, inside and out,” Doeren said. “I’m looking forward to the change. Our systems have evolved over time.”
Anae, Doeren said, is a part of the coaching tree of former BYU coach LaVell Edwards, and then with Mike Leach at Texas Tech, Rich Rodriguez at Arizona and on Mendenhall’s staff at BYU and Virginia.
“His offense has a lot of stamps on it and it’s very unique,” Doeren said. “Having had to compete against him, at Virginia and then Syracuse, he knows how to fit what he knows around the players he has and utilize the strengths of his team. So there’s going to be a lot of learning here after the bowl game.”
The Wolfpack (8-4) will be headed to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, facing off against Maryland in the Dec. 30 game at Bank of America Stadium. The winning coach has a vat of mayo dumped on his head, although Doeren jokingly said if the Pack wins he’d be glad to volunteer someone else for that particular postgame ceremony.
Doeren said wide receiver Devin Carter is the only player who has opted out of the bowl, saying Carter is declaring for the NFL Draft -- Carter later tweeting no decision on the draft had been reached.
With Beck gone, Doeren said the play-calling in the bowl would be a “collective effort,” with quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper, receivers coach Joker Phillips and tight ends coach Todd Goebbel all involved in game planning.
“Kurt will take the lion’s share of the play-calling but it will be a group effort,” Doeren said.
As for the starting quarterback, Doeren noted Ben Finley and MJ Morris both are practicing. That’s all. He would not commit to a starter, not wanting to release any early intel to Maryland, which finished 7-5.
Morris missed the final two regular-season games with a lower-body injury suffered against Boston College. That allowed Finley to finish off his scout-team-to-starter story by leading the Pack past North Carolina 30-27 in double overtime in the last game.
Finley was the fourth Wolfpack starter of the season, following Leary, Jack Chambers and then Morris, the first true freshman to start at QB since Philip Rivers in 2000.
Leary, who suffered a season-ending pectoral injury on Oct. 8, announced Dec. 5 on social media he would enter the portal and play for another school in 2023, if he doesn’t enter the NFL draft.
Asked Monday about Leary’s departure, Doeren said: “I wished Devin well. He’s been a great young man to coach. I have nothing but respect and positive things to say about Devin and his family. He made a decision. Let’s leave it at that.”
Dunn an All-American
Wolfpack placekicker Christopher Dunn, who already has won the Lou Groza Award, has received another honor: first-team All-America.
Dunn was named to the Associated Press All-America team announced Monday. On Thursday, he was given the Groza Award as the nation’s top placekicker in the 2022 season.
“I’m incredibly proud of him,” Doeren said Monday. “He’s been through a lot, off the field and on the field, and has just worked himself into being the best version of himself. It’s great he’s getting the recognition that he’s earned.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 4:40 PM.
