Let's Do Some Fishin'

Chip Alexander wrote a great profile of Dave Doeren on Sunday, which outlined his journey through the coaching ranks and how he once wanted to be a doctor. The gist of it is that Doeren loves him some country music and fishing, which certainly makes it seem as though he'll fit right in down south. He also recruited Florida for Wisconsin, and that doesn't hurt either. His familiarity with that territory is a bonus for NC State and while it may not amount to a lot of results in the early going, I'm just glad he has experience recruiting in the southeast.

He is described as a level-headed guy, and it seems like he has the ability to direct his energy in the right directions, whether that's high-fiving some dudes on the sideline or just clapping a whole lot. The latter works best in maintaining morale, while the level-headed bit is crucial to that whole coaching thing.

"People say teams emulate their coach’s personality and he’s very even-keel," [ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill] said. "He’s mild-mannered, a matter-of-fact, single-minded person. He has a nice attention to detail and great work ethic, which serves him well."

He will be defined by how well he recruits here, and to that end, the staff he assembles is crucial. Debbie Yow believes he has those intangible factors that are necessary in a good recruiter and head coach, and we're about to find out just how well he's able to adapt to new territory.

There is one sad bit of news to relay.

Jacob, Luke and Connor Doeren darted about the third floor of the Murphy Center, checking it out. Luke, 11, settled back into a couch, munched on a cookie and peered out a window overlooking the stadium.

"Do they ever storm the field here?" he said to no one in particular.

Unfortunately, Luke, they don't let NC State fans do that anymore. Storming the field was a highlight of my college years, but I guess there are too many concerns about injury and liability these days. Since you're 11 I assume you know there's no such thing as Santa Claus, but if not, my good man, I'm so sorry to drop these two bombshells on you.