The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1523120
22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY ETHAN MCDOWELL C State has returned to the national spotlight. After embracing an underdog mentality last year and rattling off five consecu- tive victories to end the regular season, the Wolf- pack will not go overlooked in 2024. The Pack tied its highest prep recruit- ing class ranking under Dave Doeren at No. 28 nationally and brought in the No. 7 transfer portal class in the country this offseason. In its May preseason rank- ings, On3 slotted the Pack at No. 16. The challenge now is to blend all that fresh talent with the returning roster and build on last season's accomplish- ments. "When you're winning games on a consistent basis over time, then you earn respect. It's just about putting that same product on the field year-in and year- out, not being that team that's up and down," head coach Dave Doeren told The Wolfpacker. Externally, the Pack is expected to win now. Internally, Doeren likes that mental- ity. The head coach is preparing for season No. 12 in Raleigh. For the second time in three years, he came one victory short of the elusive 10-win mark in 2023. After going 4-8 in 2019, the team has won eight games or more in each of the past four seasons. Success has affected how the program is perceived nationally, and Doeren understands that it comes with a new set of challenges. "We expect to be expected to win," he said. "We've done enough of that. We won two out of three against Clemson, we've won three in a row against Florida State, three in a row against Carolina. This team expects to win games. And that's what you do — you ride that expectation." Tuning Out The Noise Athlon puts the Pack at No. 25 in its rankings, while Pro Football Focus has it at No. 26. Phil Steele rates NC State lower than the other preseason media outlets, with the Pack at No. 31 in the magazine's rankings. ESPN is much more optimistic, ranking NC State 13th in the nation. Doeren doesn't care about any of that. To him, it's just outside noise. But when there's this much positive talk about the Pack — the ACC Network's Roddy Jones mentioned the team as a potential con- tender for the expanded College Football Playoff — Doeren knows his players see it. The team has to avoid getting caught up in the hype. "You've just got to go win games," Do- eren said. "That's it. All of the preseason hoopla, whether it's one way or the other, is what it is." This is not NC State's first time deal- ing with national attention. Going into the 2022 season, the team returned nearly all of its starters from the previous year's 9-3 squad and finished second in the pre- season ACC poll. The Pack then dealt with a barrage of injuries, including a torn pectoral muscle that ended quarterback Devin Leary's season. NC State gutted out eight wins in a campaign that ended with former fourth-string quarterback Ben Finley under center. Before the 2022 season, Doeren said he wanted his team to embrace the hype but also to understand that preseason expec- tations do not win games. Two years later, that sentiment still rings true. "We know what we have to do here, so it's just a matter of getting it done," Doeren said. NC State is in the middle of summer workouts. The university's second sum- mer session began June 24. Doeren can only spend limited time around the team before fall camp begins in August, but continuity on the roster and in the coach- ing staff helps ensure that his message remains clear. Every position coach from the 2023 season has returned. The defensive assis- tants have all worked together since 2020. FOCUS GROUP N NC State Football Schedule Date Opponent Time (TV) Aug. 29 WESTERN CAROLINA 7 p.m. (ACCN) Sept. 7 vs. Tennessee* 7:30 p.m. (ABC) Sept. 14 LOUISIANA TECH Noon (ACCN) Sept. 21 at Clemson TBA Sept. 28 NORTHERN ILLINOIS TBA Oct. 5 WAKE FOREST TBA Oct. 12 SYRACUSE TBA Oct. 19 at California TBA Nov. 2 STANFORD TBA Nov. 9 DUKE TBA Nov. 21 at Georgia Tech 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Nov. 30 at North Carolina TBA * at Charlotte, N.C. Dave Doeren Urges His Team To Disregard The Hype And Concentrate On The Task At Hand