NC State football focused on preseason growth instead of alignment news, commitments
N.C. State kicks off the 2023 season on the road in two weeks. It faces a tough early schedule with a road game against UConn on Aug. 31 and its home opener versus Notre Dame on Sept. 9.
On Wednesday, coach Dave Doeren reflected on fall camp and other points of interest impacting the program.
College football conference changes
Conference realignment became the biggest story line of the offseason. The Big 12 and Big Ten expanded, pilfering the Pac-12. Questions remain — at least from the outside — about the ACC’s future.
Doeren, however, is pleased with how things have worked out so far.
“N.C .State’s in a good place, you know. (I) love the fact that our conference has stayed kind of what it is and people haven’t left,” Doeren said Wednesday. “I know there’s a lot of chatter and different things like that, but at this time of year, it’s really hard as a coach to spend all your time thinking about things that are out of your control.”
He expressed disappointment about the realignment moves in other conferences, noting the impact on longstanding rivalries.
“You’re losing hundreds of years of interstate rivalries in some cases,” he said. “I was a part of that when I was at Kansas and the Kansas-Missouri game stopped. It was tough, as a native to that state, to see that that no longer existed. You’re seeing it in other conferences, as well. I don’t think that’s good for any sport, especially the one we’re in.”
New commitments
The Pack picked up two commits last weekend, both of whom are staying home.
Four-star tight end Gus Ritchey (2025), from Pittsboro, and four-star wide receiver Terrell Anderson (2024) both committed to N.C. State on Saturday.
Ritchey flipped his commitment from North Carolina to N.C. State, telling the media he “just kept thinking about State.”
Anderson, of Greensboro, chose the Pack over Michigan and Tennessee, a big win for the program. The Wolfpacker reported that freshman wide receiver Kevin Concepcion played a role in Anderson’s decision.
“He felt like, if I come there, I’ll be able to make plays with him, contribute to the team and help them get to the national championship stage,” Anderson told the Wolfpacker.
Doeren can’t comment specifically on the commits due to NCAA rules, but he’s pleased that the program is landing local student-athletes.
“Things are good. In-State has always been something that we try to do,” Doeren said. “We want our young men in the state of North Carolina to stay home. We want to play for us, when we feel like they’re that kind of player.”
Having players stay close to home is helpful for them and their loved ones, he added. The families can participate in the college football experience, while the student-athletes have their homes and support systems nearby.
Doeren said that’s been a “huge push.”
“When I first got here, I think, the roster was less than half in-state; now it’s close to 70%,” Doeren said. “(That’s) something that we take a lot of pride in.”
Wolfpack roster depth
N.C. State lost 25 letter winners from 2022, some to graduation and others to the transfer portal, and returned 38. It added, however, about two dozen true freshmen and several high-impact transfers.
When asked about how he feels about the team’s depth, Doeren said it depends on the day. He feels like it’s good, but it’s also a day-to-day process.
“There’s good competitive depth on our roster. There’s good young players developing at the same time,” Doeren said. “We’ve still got two weeks, so hopefully we can kind of stay in the same place. Most of the things we’re dealing with are very minor.”
Continued preseason improvement
Lastly, Doeren and his players feel like there’s room for everyone to make additional progress.
For example, Concepcion is still learning the team’s schematics. The rookie said quarterback Brennan Armstrong and the older receivers provide support and on-field direction, helping him become a better player.
Concepcion said having veteran players like Armstrong is beneficial.
“On certain plays where I don’t know where to go and I’m messing up, he just comes over and he talks to me, tells me where I need to be at, so he can give me the ball,” Concepcion said.
The Pack held an intrasquad scrimmage last Thursday and plans to hold another one this week. Doeren hopes to see growth from this week to last.
“I want to see if we can throw and catch in the stadium. We weren’t really throwing the ball a ton in the rain that day,” Doeren said of last week’s scrimmage. “I want to see guys finish blocks, and the biggest area is just fewer mistakes, mental errors and things that you would expect you know on your first scrimmage.
“People talk about growth between the first game and the second game. I’m expecting to see similar growth between the two scrimmages and continued competition from the specialists.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 3:39 PM.
