I am going to be doing a preview of each position group leading up to NC State’s season opener against James Madison on September 1st, and I’m kicking it off with the quarterback position.
The Starter
Obviously, Graduate Ryan Finley (6’4″/212) is the starter. Finley is entering his 3rd season as the Wolfpack’s quarterback.
Last season, Finley was the 4th highest graded quarterback in college football according to ProFootballFocus. He is the 2nd highest graded Power 5 quarterback returning in 2018 (#1 was Will Grier of West Virginia). Finley earned 3rd Team All-ACC honors for his body of work in 2017
Finley was named to the 2018 Preseason All-ACC 1st Team, and ranked 3rd in the Preseason All-ACC Player of the Year voting. ESPN’s Todd McShay thinks he’s the best quarterback prospect for next years 2019 NFL Draft.
Top 2 (or 3) QB in NC State history?
I will cover this in a future piece, but if Finley were to simply match his numbers from last season, he will in my opinion solidify himself as one of the top 2 or 3 quarterbacks in NC State history. I don’t think we will see Finley match last seasons numbers. I think we will see him blow them out of the water. Finley returns what is easily the best wide receiver corps in the ACC, and arguably one of the best in the nation in JR Kelvin Harmon, GR Stephen Louis and RS JR Jakobi Meyers, and they have quality depth behind them (RS SO CJ Riley & SO Emeka Emezie). Not to mention beginning in week 4, he will have the luxury of throwing to SO TE Cary Angeline, who stands 6’7″ and weighs 254, yet runs like he’s 50 pound lighter, and has the hands of Jaylen Samuels.
While NC State has run a very balanced offense under Doeren, if they play to their strengths this season, Finley will be chucking the ball around more than he has the past two years.
The Backup “Battle”
While there is no position battle for the starting quarterback position, I guess you could say there is a “battle” for his backup.
While RS FR Matt McKay (6’4″/210) and FR Devin Leary (6’2″/195) are young, Wolfpack fans should feel good about the depth at the quarterback position. McKay often is forgotten, especially after the commitment of Leary, but he is no slouch. He was a 4-star recruit (ESPN) out of Wakefield High school here in Raleigh, and the coaches have spoken highly of him. With that being said, Wolfpack fans have reason to be excited about the arrival of Leary here in Raleigh. Rivals ranked Leary as the #240 player in the 2018 recruiting class, and the #9 pro-style quarterback.
It will be interesting to see how things work out between McKay and Leary this season. With the new redshirt rule, Leary can play in 4 games at any point throughout the season and still redshirt the season, giving him four years of eligibility heading into next season. I expect that to be the goal. With that being said, in a worse case scenario where Finley gets injured, the coaches will put the best quarterback on the field to win games, and they will have to determine if that is McKay or Leary. One might assume that Leary is that guy, but don’t expect McKay to roll over and hand Leary the reins in that situation, or next year for that matter.