Doeren on playing ECU in opener: ‘We have a lot to prove in that football game’

NC State football coach Dave Doeren was embarrassed by the way the Wolfpack’s season ended in 2024 with on-field fights in the final minute as the lasting memory of the team’s 26-21 loss to East Carolina in the Military Bowl.

Months later — and with a game against those same Pirates to open the 2025 season — Doeren’s opinion hasn’t changed. The Wolfpack will host East Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. (ACC Network).

“The way we finished the season, like I said in our press conference at the end, I was embarrassed by that, the way our guys behaved on the field after the game,” he told WRAL last month. 

“So we have a lot to prove in that football game.”

NC State is 3-3 against East Carolina under Doeren, who begins his 13th season in Raleigh this fall and is the school’s all-time leader in coaching wins. It’ll be the third time since 2019 that the in-state foes open the season against each other.

NC State closed spring practice to fans and media as they implemented new looks on offense and defense under new coordinators Kurt Roper (offense) and D.J. Eliot (defense).

“We’re not going to show what we’re doing until the fall,” Doeren said. “Two new coordinators so an opportunity to teach our systems and do so privately where you can do things and not hold back on the install and worry about what’s on film for our opponents.”

Eliot replaced longtime defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, who left to be the head coach at Marshall. 

“New ideas are great and sometimes evolving is something that’s needed,” Doeren said. “We’ve been in the same system for a while and so change can sometimes inspire the guys to learn because they knew what was going on in the old scheme. It pushes them a little bit mentally and it allows us to do some things schematically that may help our guys.”

One thing that isn’t changing is at quarterback where CJ Bailey returns for his sophomore season. Bailey was pressed into action last season due to multiple injuries to starter Grayson McCall. Bailey threw for 2,413 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Wolfpack (6-7).

“It helps me as a head coach because when you’re planning spring ball, planning fall camp and there’s a quarterback competition going on, everything’s about that. And when you have a returning starter, it’s not,” Doeren said. “You’re working on the other pieces. And with CJ, we’re working on different things. It’s his leadership and upper-level learning. Instead of learning an offense, he knows the offense, right? So how can we help him identify defenses better and improve himself with his football IQ that way.”

Bailey will be surrounded by familiar weapons. NC State kept most of its top skill position players, but did have to seek transfer help along the offensive line. Left tackle Anthony Belton was drafted in the second round by the Green Bay Packers. Center Zeke Correll (Minnesota Vikings) and guard Timothy McKay (Washington Commanders) signed as undrafted free agents.

“Offensively, we were young so we didn’t have to go into the portal. We feel really good about the guys that we signed out of high school that played as freshmen: [wide receivers] Keenan Jackson, Terrell Anderson,” Doeren said. “We have a backfield that we’re really excited about with Hollywood Smothers. And then [wide receivers] Noah Rogers, Wesley Grimes return that were portal guys a year ago. But we had three starters that all signed NFL contracts on the offensive line so that was an area we needed to go find some older players and we were able to do that. We had a bigger need on defense in recruiting and so that’s been a huge part of what we’ve been doing.”

Doeren said tight end Cody Hardy, a 6-foot-4, 268-pound Elon transfer, could play a big role on offense alongside fellow tight end Justin Joly (43 catches, 661 yards last season).

“Excited about what he can do in our offense,” he said. “Obviously, Justin Joly gets a lot of attention at that position and deservedly so. But Cody brings another element to that room that we haven’t had. So we’re excited to see our tight ends and how those guys can play together.”

The Wolfpack plan to play 10 games against ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Notre Dame or SEC opponents each season with regional opponents often filling in the other two spots. NC State has games scheduled with in-state FBS programs East Carolina, Appalachian State and Charlotte as well as FCS schools Campbell and North Carolina A&T between now and 2031.

The ACC will distribute some of its television revenue based on television viewership, which could prod teams to find more marquee non-conference opponents. The Wolfpack has tried, adding Georgia, South Carolina and Kansas State to future schedules., A planned series with Florida was canceled. 

If the SEC moves to nine conference games, the series with Georgia and South Carolina could be in jeopardy especially since those teams have in-state rival games with ACC opponents.

“Schedules are really fluid,” Doeren said. “You want to have as many premier games as you can. For us, we also want to have some good regional games because of recruiting if it’s not a conference game.”