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NC State Football

The Arrival of MJ Morris

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The plan entering the 2022 season was more than likely to Redshirt True Freshman NC State Quarterback MJ Morris.

Devin Leary was returning at QB, and he was the ACC Preseason Player of the Year.

Entering this season, there wasn’t much of a thought that Leary would be back in 2023. The expectation was that he would be long gone in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Graduate Transfer Jack Chambers was here from Charleston Southern. In Chambers, you had a player with 4 years of football experience, albeit at a lower level.

Not to mention, Morris wasn’t an early enrollee in January, rather he stepped on campus when Fall Camp began.

But when the Depth Chart came out for the 1st game of the season against ECU, Morris was 3rd in line, ahead of Ben Finley, a Redshirt Freshman entering his 3rd year in the program. Finley was also an early enrollee in 2020.

That spoke volumes on how quick Morris was able to pick up the offense, and how well he must have played in camp to instantaneously jump Finley in the Depth Chart.

With a player being able to play in 4 games, and still maintain a redshirt season, it was going to be valuable to get Morris playing time in 2022, with Leary likely in the NFL next year. The expectation was that the minutes would come in blowout victories.

That happened in the Wolfpack’s 55-3 victory over Charleston Southern. Morris was able to come in and play 12 snaps, completing 2 of his 4 passes for 38 yards, and rushed the ball 2 times for 10 yards.

Then Leary went down with torn pec in the Florida State game, and unsurprisingly, Jack Chambers was the next man up. He was 2nd on the Depth Chart, and was brought in for such a time as this.

Both Chambers and Morris saw action in the Wolfpack’s 9-24 loss to Syracuse on the road, but the former saw 67 snaps, and the former only played 4. Morris’ only pass attempt against the Orange was incomplete.

The next game against Virginia Tech saw more of a split between Chambers and Morris in the first half. At the half, Chambers was 6 of 13 for 31 yards, and Morris was 4 of 6 for 36 yards. Morris was more accurate than Chambers in the 1st half, and simply passed the eye test better than the veteran, and the Wolfpack came out of the 2nd half with Morris behind center.

Well, I think you know the rest of the story. Morris went on to lead the Wolfpack back from an 18-point deficit, defeating the Hokies 22-21. The True Freshman was 20 of 29 for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The last time a True Freshman put up these numbers at NC State was in 2000, and his name was Philip Rivers.

Morris became 1 of just 6 True Freshmen since 2014 to complete 20 passes, throw for 260 yards and 3 touchdowns, without throwing an interception.

It wasn’t just his numbers that were impressive. He was poised and looked like he belonged out there.

Morris was a 4-Star prospect (247 & Rivals) out of Carrollton High School (Carrollton, Georgia). Rivals ranked him as the #238 overall player nationally in the 2022 recruiting class, the #25 player in the state of Georgia, and the #3 Dual Threat Quarterback nationally.

As a Senior at Carrollton, he threw for 3,089 yards (63.1%) and 33 touchdowns (9 interceptions), posting a QB Rating of 122.8

Completed 186-of-295 passes for 3,089 yards (a 63.1% completion percentage). Threw for 33 touchdowns and had a QB rating of 122.8. Also rushed 109 times for 602 yards and seven scores. He also had 3 receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown.

Morris came into this season as NC State’s expected starting Quarterback to take Leary’s place after the 2022 season. Morris was to next one up at QBU in 2023.

Sometimes the future breaks its way into the present in ways you don’t expect.

This is now MJ Morris’ offense. I’m not saying that Morris is better than Leary, but he does bring a dynamic to the Wolfpack offense that Leary lacks. Morris is a true Dual Threat Quarterback, which might be just what NC State needs to turn its offense around as they round out the 2022 season.

Tomorrow night, Morris will start at Quarterback for NC State, becoming the first True Freshman to start at NC State since Philip Rivers did it in 2000.

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston Signs with Marshall

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Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston has officially transferred to Marshall for his final year of eligibility. NC State played Marshall this past season, but Houston didn’t play against the Thundering Herd, because he had already opted to redshirt the remainder of the season.

After playing in three games this past season, Houston opted to redshirt the remainder of the season (despite the fact that he was the starter at the time), giving him the ability to transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

Houston played in 51 games for NC State over 5 years on the field, rushing for 1,392 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes for 398 yards and 1 touchdown.

Houston was a 3-Star prospect in NC State’s 2019 recruiting class out of Flint High School in Oakton, Virginia.

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NC State Football

Philip Rivers will Finally be Enshrined in the NC State Hall of Fame in April

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Wolfpack legend Philip Rivers will finally be inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame on April 20th!

Rivers was elected into the Hall of Fame back in 2013 (2nd year of the NC State Hall of Fame), but he has deferred his enshrinement over the years due to time constraints.

 

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Rivers pretty much owns every NC State record for Quarterbacks, and still has the most Career Passing Yards and Passes Completed in ACC history, and he ranks 3rd in Touchdown Passes. Rivers was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and the ACC Player of the Year in 2003.

You can buy your tickets here.

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NC State Football

DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

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When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

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NC State Football

WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

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This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

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