‘I’m going to miss them.’ Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren losing special group of players
N.C. State coach Dave Doeren walked off the field Friday with defensive lineman Cory Durden close by his side.
“I love you, Coach,” Durden said to Doeren.
“I love you, too,” Doeren replied.
It was not the ending to the season, or in Durden’s case his college football career, that either wanted. Losing to Maryland 16-12 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl left both a bit somber.
“It’s a great group of young men that I got to coach,” Doeren later said. “I’m going to miss them. A lot.
“I’m disappointed in the results, but not disappointed in the opportunity this team created, over and over. They just keep fighting until the end of the game.”
That’s what Doeren will remember most about this team and those players like Durden who overcame the pandemic, injuries and a few excruciating losses to win 25 games the past three seasons. That’s what the players who have ended their eligibility can take pride in as they move on — some to the NFL, some to everyday jobs.
Linebacker Drake Thomas, who is entering the 2023 NFL draft, was asked Thursday what he might reflect on, say, in four or five years, thinking back to this Wolfpack team.
“The perseverance,” he said. “Never quitting, never giving up no matter the circumstances we were faced with. We just kept fighting.”
Thomas had 11 tackles in his last game for the Pack, with four tackles for losses against the Terps. Isaiah Moore also had 11, and Payton Wilson and Tanner Ingle 10 each.
“We fought to the very end,” Thomas said after the game.
Each season is as much about moments as it is games and plays. For N.C. State in 2022:
▪ The glum looks on the Wolfpack players’ faces after the 21-20 win at East Carolina that was as much an escape as a victory in the season opener.
▪ The super-charged atmosphere of the Texas Tech game at Carter-Finley Stadium, with the red tint in the stadium provided by new LED lighting.
▪ The dejection at Clemson after the loss to the Tigers.
▪ The quiet of Carter-Finley when quarterback Devin Leary went down in the Florida State game, injured, done for the season.
▪ MJ Morris leading the comeback win against Virginia Tech, then quarterbacking the big win over Wake Forest, earning a postgame appearance on the ACC Network stage. His smile said it all.
▪ The shocked look on Thomas’ face in the final seconds of the Boston College loss, after a pass-interference call against the linebacker that was questionable at best.
▪ Ben Finley merrily waving the Wolfpack flag at Kenan Stadium and trying to plant it at midfield after beating the Tar Heels in double overtime. Nor was he the only one.
Finley was the fourth quarterback to start in the season, joining Leary, Jack Chambers and Morris. Each had their own styles and strengths. And weaknesses.
Injuries during the season took away Leary, the ACC preseason player of the year, but also All-ACC center Grant Gibson and nickel back Tyler Baker-Williams, two of the team leaders.
What will Doeren remember about this team?
“More than anything, the stuff that (the media) doesn’t get to see, just how these guys battled just to keep us in games,” he said. “And found a way to win, not knowing who the quarterback is going to be week to week. It’s pretty crazy, you know.”
Adding to the craziness was Doeren being stalked and threatened by a former Wolfpack player, who posted threatening messages on social media. Coaches have so much going on during a season, but a stalker?
But the only thing on Doeren’s mind Friday, after the bowl loss to the Terrapins, was a deep gratification for his players and all they gave him. That, and more, had to be on his mind when he walked off the Bank of America Stadium field with Durden, a graduate who transferred to NCSU from Florida State.
“They’ve been through a lot and the coaches have been through a lot,” Doeren said. “This team came to play. This team wanted to win this game and they battled and they hung in there.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 5:30 AM with the headline "‘I’m going to miss them.’ Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren losing special group of players."
