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NC State 2018 Football Position Preview: Quarterbacks

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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.

 

 

 

 

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Does the Addition of the UVA Series Equal the Elimination of NC State’s Series with App St.?

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Earlier this week it was announced that NC State and Virginia would play one another in a home-and-home series, with the Wolfpack hosting in 2025, and the Cavaliers hosting in 2026.

Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.

As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.

It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.

I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.

This situation brings to mind the bill that has been proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play App St., ECU and UNC Charlotte in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball.

If the addition of UVA means the elimination of App St. on NC State’s schedule, what are your thoughts? Share in the comments.

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CBS Sports Ranks Dave Doeren as 1 of the Top-20 Coaches in College Football

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CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.

16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)

Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.

ACC Coaches that made the Top-25

3. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

8. Mike Norvell (FSU)

16. Dave Doeren (NC State)

19. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

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NC State vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

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Kickoff time and TV Channel details have been revealed for NC State and Tennessee’s game in the Duke Mayo Classic in Week 2 of next season.

The game will be a primetime game on Saturday 7th, at 7:30pm on ABC.

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This game has the makings to be a Top-25 matchup.

Here’s a look at some of the Way-Too-Early Preseason rankings for the Wolfpack and the Volunteers:

Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17

ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15

247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11

ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15

DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.

Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.

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NC State and UVA Agree to Home-and-Home Non-Conference Games

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NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.

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To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.

Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.

It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.

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