NC State football’s Dave Doeren says honoring ‘gift of playing’ is key for Pack in 2023
There isn’t a specific word this season that N.C. State football team wants his team to live by, but it has a distinct philosophy: be present.
Head coach Dave Doeren said the team focused too much last season on what it could do and all the expectations. It didn’t focus enough on what needed to be done immediately to actually meet those standards.
The Pack wants to change that this year. It wants to play with urgency, passion and with its best effort. No, there’s never going to be a perfect game, but it wants to keep taking positive steps forward without getting caught up in hypothetical situations.
“If we just stay in the moment and honor the fact that you have today,” Doeren said on Thursday. “Honor the 24 hours that God gave you, the gift of playing in a game. These games are limited. They’re not promised.”
The 11th-year State head coach praised sixth-year players Brennan Armstrong and Payton Wilson for their leadership and playmaking in the 24-14, season-opening win at UConn.
Armstrong, the grad transfer quarterback, accounted for 251 total yards, including 96 on the ground. He ran the ball for two touchdowns – the first and last TDs for the team, respectively – and finished 17-of-26 for 155 passing yards.
Wilson led the linebacker corps effectively. He finished with 10 tackles, eight solo, a pass breakup and a game-sealing interception with less than a minute remaining.
“To have a season that you want to have and to win the game, your best players gotta make plays in key moments. He’s one of our best players,” Doeren said of Wilson. “Usually the better football teams I’ve been on, your seniors play like they’re running out of time. That they feel the sand running out.”
Both graduate students said they both try to approach each game with that mindset.
“I’m just grateful that I’ve been able to play the game this long,” Armstrong said. “If everything goes well, it’s my last year. I’m just trying to play every snap like it’s my last. It could be eventually, I don’t know. We play a violent sport. There’s an urgency involved in that.”
They plan to take that philosophy of staying committed to the needs of now, going into next week’s game against Notre Dame.
The Pack didn’t meet its personal standards, falling short in multiple areas, so it plans to get back to work for next Saturday and next Saturday alone.
“We talk about our goals and our football team and it’s really about becoming a better version of ourselves daily. All I asked them to do today was to be as good as they could be. That’s it,” Doeren said. “When we watch this film, we’re going to see a lot of things we need to be better at. The goal of this team is just to be better each week and not look ahead too far and turn around and hopefully see a string of victories.
“There’s a ton we’ve got to fix before we play Notre Dame, but it’s a good win.”
The Wolfpack hosts the Fighting Irish for its home opener. Kickoff is set for noon on Sept. 9 at Carter-Finley Stadium.
This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 1:10 PM.
