Could Kelly Bryant Transfer to NC State?

Yesterday Senior Quarterback Kelly Bryant announced that he would be transferring after Freshman Trevor Lawrence was named Clemson’s starting quarterback heading into the Tigers matchup versus Syracuse this Saturday.

With the new Redshirt rule in place, Bryant played in 4 games in 2018 for Clemson, making him eligible to redshirt this season. Had he played a single snap against Syracuse this Saturday, being a graduate transfer would not have been a possibility.

Could NC State be a landing spot for Bryant?

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report thinks that NC State is the most likely destination for Bryant.

How good is Bailey Hockman?

The answer to that question may well be the biggest factor in Bryant’s decision.

Fifth-year senior Ryan Finley will be gone after this season, and the Wolfpack doesn’t appear to have much of a succession plan in place. True freshman Devin Leary is arguably the next-most talented option on the roster, but Finley is the only quarterback Dave Doeren has trusted to attempt a pass thus far this season—even though the Wolfpack have won all three games by a double-digit margin and could have given some garbage time to a backup.

However, Hockman—who signed with Florida State in 2017 and redshirted last year before transferring—committed to NC State a little over a week ago and figures to be the top candidate for the job in the long term.

But in 2019, is Doeren seriously going to bank on having both a starter and a primary backup who have yet to attempt a pass in college?

With that looming as NC State’s QB situation, it would be nothing short of reckless to not at least give Bryant a call.

And heaven knows Doeren loves his transfer quarterbacks with experience. Finley originally played at Boise State before transferring to Raleigh. Before Finley, Doeren got two solid years out of Florida transfer Jacoby Brissett. (Finley doesn’t run much, but Brissett is proof that Doeren can work well with a mobile QB.) And the year before Brissett—Doeren’s first with the Wolfpack—Colorado State transfer Pete Thomas got the lion’s share of the snaps at signal-caller.

Bryant would fit well in that long line of guys who were given second chances.

NC State also offers the vengeance factor for Bryant, but it would keep him much closer to home than Syracuse would. Plus, the roster situation for next season is looking nice. Each of the five members of the Wolfpack with at least 10 receptions this season has at least one season of eligibility remaining.

As long as Clemson doesn’t try to block Bryant from transferring to a conference foe, NC State is his most logical destination. (BR)

Miller thinks the next most likely schools for Bryant are FAU, Penn State, Syracuse and Ole Miss in that order.

CBSSports’ Barton Simmons thinks that NC State is one of 4 schools along with Arkansas, Missouri, and Missouri that are likely candidates to land Bryant.

247Sports Chris Hummer lists NC State along with Arkansas, Auburn, East Carolina, Colorado, UNC, UCLA and Florida as possibilities.

Dave Doeren’s staff recruited Kelly Bryant out of high school, and they’ve never been shy about recruiting transfers at quarterback. They took Ryan Finley from Boise State as a transfer, and with Finley’s impending graduation, the Wolfpack could again look at the transfer market. If so, Bryant would be an ideal one-year bridge for the program. True freshman Devin Leary and redshirt freshman Matt McKay are the only scholarship QBs on the roster other than Finley to be ranked by 247Sports out of high school, but FSU transfer Bailey Hockman is committed to join the mix in January. (247)

Bryant was a 3-star prospect that was a member of the 2015 recruiting class, and NC State originally offered him a scholarship back on June 14th, 2013. On April 12th, 2014, Bryant revealed his Top-5, and the Wolfpack made the cut along with Clemson, Florida, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He was NC State’s top quarterback prospect in the 2015 class, and after missing on him, the Wolfpack didn’t end up taking a QB that year. NC State was the runner-up for Bryant coming out of high school.

The addition of Bryant would make for a crowded quarterback room in 2019. Devin Leary will most likely be a Redshirt Freshman, Matt McKay will be a Redshirt Sophomore, as will Bailey Hockman. The addition of Bryant would give NC State an experienced quarterback that led Clemson to a 12-2 record in 2017, a trip to the College Football Playoff, and a final ranking of #4 in the AP Poll. It would give the three young quarterbacks a chance to get one more year of maturation and development before taking the reins. Whether or not Leary and McKay would stick around with the possible addition of Bryant would remain to be seen.