After one of the most disappointing seasons of the Dave Doeren era – the NC State football team had ACC Championship and CFB Playoff aspirations, but ended up finishing with a 6-7 record (3-5 ACC record) – the Pack is looking to get back on track in 2025.
It’ll be a big undertaking for the Wolfpack, but the work to improve is already underway as the Pack held its first of 15 spring practices on Feb. 25.
“It’s been a good winter,” said NC State coach Dave Doeren. “Coming in in January, we started right away. Different edge about this group. I think anytime you go through a tough season, returners have a different mentality, maybe don’t take things for granted, they know how hard it is and how demanding you need to be on each other. There’s a lot to prove for me, for our staff and for the players.”
A big focus for the spring will be getting up to speed with both a new offensive and defensive coordinator, who will each be bringing some much-needed change to the Wolfpack’s game.
“The two new coordinators are obviously installing systems, but also their style of play and teaching the football IQ that they want these guys to have,” Doeren said. “The fundamentals are really a big, big thing. You have to learn new things as a player and I think that’s great.”
NC State lost long-time defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, as he left to take the head coaching job at Marshall, and taking his place is veteran coach D.J. Eliot.
Eliot, a coaching veteran with 27 years of experience, most recently worked at Baylor, but has also coached in the SEC, Big-12, Pac-12 and NFL.
“I’ve known him for 20-something years, followed his career and really have so much respect for what he’s done coaching different position groups,” Doeren said. “When your coordinator’s been a d-line coach, a linebacker coach and a DB coach, he can install and understand stress points in every position. I thought it was the right time to evolve.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Wolfpack decided to move on from OC Robert Anae after two seasons, and in his place, promoted quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper.
“I just felt like, as a group, we needed to be able to score more points and play more unified football,” Doeren said. “I loved coach Anae, I loved working with him, he’s a great man and he did a lot for our program, but it just felt like Kurt is a unifying force over there.”
Roper had been with NC State for six seasons before the promotion, having worked with both the quarterbacks and running backs, but brings 30-years of coaching experience to the table.
“I like the fact that both of my coordinators have chips on their shoulders,” Doeren said. “At one time, they were both guys that were really hot in the business and sometimes things happen and you have to work your way back up and they want to prove themselves just like I do and our players do.”
A big change for NC State, also, is that for the first time, all spring practices, as well as the annual Red vs. White game, will be closed to the public.
NC State joins a growing trend around the league, as many major programs around the NCAA are opting to forego their spring games too.
“Obviously with two new coordinators, our practices are going to be closed to the public and nothing will be televised,” Doeren said. “We’re going to play and we’re going to get better this spring, but for obvious reasons, you don’t want your stuff out there if it doesn’t have to be.”
Despite the changes up top, the Pack was able to return a few key pieces of their roster, and none bigger than quarterback CJ Bailey, who had an impressive season last year as a true freshman.
“He was 170-pounds last year and didn’t know anything about anything,” Doeren said on Bailey. “Now, he’s 200+ pounds, he’s experienced, and he’s learned how to lead. That was a big thing in the offseason with him and I. Using his voice, he’s always used it on the field, but also learning how to use it off the field.
“Experience is one thing you can’t give a player. As good and talented as he is, those reps are precious. So I’m excited to see him at a different body weight and with a different mindset, having experience under his belt, knowing his teammates and understanding the lessons we learned last year and how this team needs to step forward.”
The path to a 10-win season looked easy last season before the team’s eventual collapse, but this year’s schedule is similarly one that the Pack can take advantage of.
The Wolfpack won’t be playing the Clemson Tigers this season, the first time they haven’t been scheduled against one another since 1970, but they will, however, face off against CFB Playoff runner-up Notre Dame at South Bend.
But if NC State wants to be taken seriously, they have to rise up to face these types of challenges.
“I expect to win every game,” Doeren said when asked about his expectations for this year’s team. “There isn’t a coach in college football that doesn’t expect to win every game. So we’re going to go one day at a time and try to become the best team that we can be and our body of work will equal our record at the end.”
