The past 5 years have been a luxurious time for NC State at the Quarterback position.
Both Jacoby Brissett (2 years) and Ryan Finley (3 years) are playing in the NFL now.
Both of them rank in the Top-5 in NC State in Career Completion Percentage.
Career Completion Percentage
Career Passing Efficiency
Finley ranks 3rd in ACC history in career passing yards.
It’s a weird feeling walking into the 2019 football season not knowing who the quarterback is going to be, and what you are going to get out of them.
Well, as of today, we know who the Wolfpack starting signal caller will be on Week 1.
Redshirt Sophomore Matt McKay will be given the first shot at leading the Pack on Saturday against the East Carolina Pirates.
Yes, McKay was the favorite to win the position, with his experience in the program being one of the major factors in that assumption.
While experience was a big factor in this decision, according to Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren, the reasons were much more abundant than that.
“Matt’s accuracy, his leadership, ability to really protect the team with his decision making, and his consistent play really is what prevailed.”
Doeren also referenced that at this point, McKay had the lead when it came to mastery of the offensive system, situational IQ, and the ability to recognize defensive structure.
Though he may come across as quiet and reserved, the leader McKay has become on and off of the field played into the factor as well. Skill and talent matter, but if a Quarterback doesn’t have the locker room, he will have a hard time succeeding on the field.
When Redshirt Freshman Devin Leary committed back in April of 2017, many Wolfpack fans forgot that Matt McKay committed in February of the following year. When Bailey Hockman transferred to NC State back in September of last year, McKay faded even further to the back of NC State fans memory.
Allow me to give you a quick reminder.
Matt McKay is no slouch.
He was a 4-Star prospect coming out of Wakefield High School in Raleigh according to ESPN, and the #14 Dual-Threat Quarterback nationally in the 2017 class, and the #8 overall player in the state of North Carolina.
No, he didn’t have the offer sheet that Hockman and Leary had, nor was he ranked in the Top-250 nationally like them (Hockman – 180/Leary 240).
Leary was ranked as the 9th best Pro-Style Quarterback in 2018, and Hockman was ranked as the 11th best Pro-Style Quarterback in 2017.
Were they ranked a little bit higher than McKay? Sure, but let’s not exaggerate it. He was right on their tails.
McKay isn’t on their tails anymore…he’s passed them.
Will he start all year? Will he finish the game on Saturday? I don’t know.
But in a highly talented Quarterback room, McKay has earned the start, and that should be commended.