Dave Doeren talks QB and PK battles, standout true freshmen, and more

First game-week press conference of 2016 woohoo! Everything’s exciting in week one! Well, I mean, NC State is in game prep mode now, and Dave Doeren met with the media on Friday to talk about the William & Mary matchup as well as what he expects from his team.

GoPack.com has the video of the whole thing, if you’re in to watching pressers. (And who isn’t!)

Notes:

— Doeren reiterated that both Jalan McClendon and Ryan Finley will play against the Tribe, though did not announce which of the two would get the first series. “It’s not a coin toss,” he said about that decision.

— Doeren and his staff are going to make the call based on the 20 or so “regular” drives McClendon and Finley had during camp. That is, the drives that were unscripted as they would be in a game, and not situational.

— Both placekickers will also get opportunities, and to hear Doeren tell it, they’ve been pretty even in camp. A slight edge to Bambard on long-distance kicks, perhaps.

— Four true freshmen will play, and barring injuries, Doeren plans to redshirt the rest of them. Those four: Kelvin Harmon, Thaddeus Moss, Nick McCloud, and Trae Meadows.

— Doeren spent some time talking about the improved roster depth. He pointed out that he’s gotten to a stage in the program’s development where he can redshirt more true freshmen, which was not a luxury he had in the early going. He lamented that he isn’t getting an extra year from some of his upperclassmen leaders like Bradley Chubb.

— Matt Dayes “looked great” throughout camp. Johnny Frasier more mature, playing better than he was last year.

— Along with Bra’Lon Cherry, Kelvin Harmon has been on of the most consistent players at receiver.

— Doeren said he came to NC State because he wanted to be the best coach the school has ever had. That sounds like a plan, coach, let’s do that.