EL PASO, Texas- Even as the season is coming to a close, there’s a lot of new things entering this week for NC State. A new stadium, new city and new state for many players, coaches and staff for the Wolfpack program as the team traveled over 1,800 miles to take on Arizona State for the 86th annual Hyundai Sun Bowl.
Under the direction of six-year head coach Dave Doeren, the program has made a 180-degree turnaround. The Sun Bowl marks Doeren’s fourth bowl in six seasons with the Wolfpack and he’s searching for a 3-1 bowl record in El Paso.
Now the seniors will have one last opportunity for the Wolfpack to win its third bowl game in four seasons and break through the top-25 poll.
“That’s the one thing about the seniors—they picked up this program and left it a lot better than when they got it,” said junior running back Nyheim Hines. “This year it’s really important to get a top-25 finish. We haven’t done that since I’ve been here—9-4 sounds a lot better than 8-5.”
It’s a game that will serve as the last game for some seniors, who will play their last snaps for NC State. For senior wide receiver and athlete Jaylen Samuels, this program’s change has been one he has been proud to have experienced.
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“It’s definitely going forward,” he said. “We have a great group of seniors. We have a lot of guys who helped turn this program around and we’re trying to leave a legacy moving forward.”
Doeren is 33-30 overall at NC State with two bowl wins in 2014 against UCF in the St. Petersburg Bowl and in 2016 against Vanderbilt in the Independence Bowl.
At 41, he became the youngest ACC coach in 2012. His first year’s 3-9 record was Doeren’s lone losing season with the Wolfpack. After that, NC State went 8-5 in 2013, followed by 22 wins over the next three years.
He received a job offer from Tennessee during the post-season. However, Doeren declined the offer to stay true to his current program.
“These guys have played hard for me all year and that’s something that meant a lot to me,” he said.
NC State is comprised of almost three-quarters of North Carolina residents. Fans back in Raleigh understand that the school is no longer just a basketball school. They’ve learned to embrace the team and its surroundings.
Hines, who graduated from Garner High School in N.C., says that the talent in the state is starting to emerge on a nation-wide scale. Back in high school, Hines helped his team reach the semi-finals of the state championship.
“Played against a lot of great people,” he said. “Played against the Heisman runner up (Stanford’s Bryce Love, of Raleigh, N.C.) and a lot of NFL prospects.”
Some players, however, are from Florida, like linebacker Jerod Fernandez. He leads the team with 93 total tackles on defense and carries his Florida pride on his shoulders when he plays.
“We have arguments all the time about how Florida can beat any North Carolina school,” he said. “I’m proud of Florida, I always represent where I’m from. I think NC State is really turning around and becoming a football program, instead of just being known for basketball.”
More familiar to the desert, unlike the others, is junior quarterback Ryan Finley, who grew up and played high school football in Phoenix, AZ.
“It’s exciting we’re playing a great opponent in ASU, which is close to my home,” he said. “Excited for my family driving up—six hour drive—it’s nice to be out in the desert where I grew up. Yeah obviously just 20 minutes away from my house, I got recruited by them but obviously I decided to do other things.”
The group will get to showcase its talents for one last time this season on Friday at 1 p.m. MT.
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