Head Coach Dave Doeren announced today at his weekly press conference that Sophomore MJ Morris would be NC State’s Quarterback going forward, beginning this weekend against Marshall.

Here’s what Doeren had to say about the decision.

“It’s clear that we need a spark on that side of the ball. MJ Morris is going to take over as our starting quarterback. He is ready to lead the offense. As I stated in the past when I was asked, it was my plan, and our plan to redshirt MJ and allow him an opportunity to develop behind Brennan Armstrong, but plans sometimes need to change. The time is now, because it’s what’s best for our team. MJ’s excited for the opportunity to lead the football team. I do believe that he’s ready.

Brennan will be a great teammate to MJ, just as MJ has been to Brennan in his role. Brennan has a role on our team. He’s a very competitive, tough guy. He understands this is what’s best for the team right now and what’s needed. I got tremendous respect for him and what he’s gone through, but for what this team needs right now, it needs a spark. I do believe MJ can be that for our offense.

Ever since MJ’s been here, he’s come to practice with great energy. He’s always done that. Each week since coach Anae’s got here, you can see him growing in the offense. That part is now second thought to him. In the Spring, he was learning it…now he knows it. He’s always been an encourager to guys around him. He’s got a positive outlook. The way he can throw the football, he can do that pretty well. There’s certain things that he brings to the table. I think more than anything right now, he’s in a really good headspace. He’s excited. I think that’s the spark that we need.

He’s got a very calming effect on game day. He’s not a guy where the lights are too big. He jumped in as a Freshman and went and played. Some guys, you’d see them shrink in those scenarios…he doesn’t. He’s the same guy in games as he is in practice. 

The decision to redshirt MJ at the beginning of the year was about development. It wasn’t about ‘he’s not a good player.’ We went with experience and wanted to give him a chance to have an extended period of time to be healthy and develop as a player. I think it served him well. He looks really good right now. We’re bailing on that a little earlier than expected, but he got an entire offseason and all of training camp and the whole month of September here under his belt. He feels good. It’s what the team needs

I came in Saturday. I watched the game a bunch of times and then sat down with the coaches on offense. We watched a bunch of it together and talked about the season so far…talked about where we’re at, and where we need to go. Then Sunday when we came back in and made that decision. I met with those guys individually and let them know what we were doing. They both handled it as good teammates and competitors would.

Like I said, Brennan’s going to be a great teammate. He handled a very tough conversation as well as you possibly can. I think my respect for him has always been high because he’s a super competitive dude, but he is an excellent teammate. He handled it as well as you can hope. You’ll see that. You’ll see him leading. He’ll be on the sideline cheering guys on throughout the game. If he’s needed to play, he’s going to play. He’ll come in and play hard.

Brennan knows the offense well. He’s been through a lot as a player. He’ll be a great sounding board. He’ll have energy down there for guys. He’ll cheer guys on. He’s going to be a good teammate down there…I guarantee that. I know that he’ll do a good job helping MJ and the other guys around him.

It’s hard. We all know why anyone transfers and has 1 year left. They want to finish out and have a great year. Like I said, this is a guy you want on your team. Brennan’s tough. He competes his butt off. He puts his body on the line every week and runs through people. He’s a good guy…He’s a good person.

Whenever you have to have tough conversations with anyone who does everything he can do and works really hard and it’s not going well. That’s not easy for anybody in life. Speak to him from the heart. Tell him you love him. This is what’s best for the organization. He understands that. He’s a great guy. But to answer your question, yeah. Delivering hard news as a leader is never the fun part of the job, but it’s also a necessary thing.