Last year during spring football practice, NC State football coach Dave Doeren could only tell his team what might happen if the players worked hard during their offseason workouts.
This year, after a turnaround season that began with a rededication to the coach’s principles last spring, he can tell them what will happen if they buy into the coaching staff’s plan for the 2015 season.
That’s because last year, following a 3-9 record during Doeren’s inaugural campaign, the team had one of the best improvements of the 2014 college football season, winning four of its final five games to finish with an 8-5 mark, including a 34-27 victory over Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bitcoin Bowl.
Doeren believes that momentum carried into grueling offseason workouts in January, February and March and has been a blessing during the team’s 15 spring practices.
“I think the guys had a good balance to them,” Doeren says. “It’s almost the exact opposite of what we had last year at this time.
“The problem is it’s … not the same team that won four of its last five,” Doeren says. “We lost some good seniors. We had some transfers. The players that are back have to play better and you hope that the development and recruiting fill in the spots that are open.”
Doeren and his team will show off what they have learned during spring practice on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium during the Kay Yow Spring Football Game. Kickoff for the intrasquad contest is slated for 1 p.m. Admission is free, though a minimum $1 donation to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the Wolfpack Club’s Kay Yow Scholarship Endowment is requested from each person who goes through the gates.
“Where we are at now is that we are building new chemistry with the team,” says the coach. “The best thing we have is that a lot of guys who played last year are back and are confident.”
Stadium gates open at 10:30 a.m. Free parking is available in the following lots: Stadium East, Stadium Southeast, Stadium West, Stadium North and Fairgrounds. Fans can enter through Gates A, B, C and Westchase. All other gates will be closed.
Saturday’s activities will include a FanZone on the southeast concourse and the second-annual Wolfpack Football Classic Alumni Game, which begins at 10:45 a.m. and features more than 60 former players. Current NFL players Jerricho Cotchery and Earl Wolff will serve as the honorary coaches of the two teams.
- Categories:
