Everything NC State QB CJ Bailey had to Say After Practice Today

True Freshman Quarterback CJ Bailey will be starting for NC State this weekend at #21 Clemson. Here’s everything he had to say after practice today.

What was your reaction when Coach Doeren told you that you would be starting this Saturday?

I was excited. I’m ready to play, man.

I’ve got a big one coming up and I’m ready to step out and have fun on that field.

What was Grayson McCall’s message to you?

Grayson just told me to play my game and, you know, play smart and take care of the ball. That’s the main thing. You know, he’s behind me every step of the way, so that’s a good thing.

How much different is this week of preparation compared to what you’ve done in the past?

It’s pretty much the same. You know, we keep it the same. Of course, we’ve got to train and, you know, work hard every day, but it’s pretty much the same as any other week.

We’re training at the same thing.

When did you find out that you were starting this week?

Um, I’ll say a couple days after the game.

Preparing to play in Death Valley

I’m expecting to go into Death Valley hearing a crowd and hearing everybody, like, screaming, trying to get into our heads, but I’m expecting it. We’re practicing for it, so I’ll be prepared and ready for it when I get there.

How much did your high school career at Chaminade prepare you for this moment?

Yeah, that helped a lot, especially playing at Chaminade.

We’ve had a couple games like this, and I know how to handle it and, you know, stay level-headed throughout the game and finish the game strong. So, Death Valley is just another one of those games that’s a big crowd, and it’s the same as what I used to do in high school.

When you went back and looked at the film from the Louisiana Tech game, how did you kind of assess the way that you played?

I feel like I did a great job.

The main thing was to forget about the past and just keep moving forward, and I love the way I did, the way I handled myself with the pressure and everything in the second half. I’m looking forward to a whole four quarters at Clemson the same way.

Coach talked about your poise. How do you think your confidence grew throughout the game?

Yeah, it grew a lot. I’ve actually seen those guys on the defense making plays, so once I made a play, my confidence just kept growing, and I kept making more and more plays. So, no, it was just like a domino effect with those guys, and we just kept making plays.

That’s all I’ve got to say.

As far as the experienced guys around you, how much did they help you kind of rally for this game?

Yeah, yeah. Those guys, our leaders, our seniors, they’re doing a great job of letting me know it’s just a normal game.

Just play your game and stay focused and take everything serious. It’s about the detail this week, and every little thing matters. That’s what it’s done in my head.

How much do you think getting some reps in in the Tennessee game, seeing kind of the size, the speed that they play with, maybe prepped you for this weekend?

Yeah, it actually prepped me for last week. Tennessee game, when I got a couple reps, I got to feel the game. I didn’t get talked with in a while since high school, so I got to feel it out in the Louisiana Tech and Tennessee game.

So it’s really prepped me for this week as well.

How has the in-helmet communication helped kind of this transition, just having Coach Roper in your ear a little bit out there?

Yeah, it helps a lot. We don’t have to mainly focus on those signals on the sidelines.

Coach Roper’s in our ear letting us know the play, and it’s better. Hopefully, when we get to Death Valley, the mic’s still working perfectly fine, but if not, we’ll just go over there and get the signal. It’s fine.

I saw you looking at the tablets with Coach Roper there on the bench. How does that change to really help a quarterback like you?

Yeah, actually, when we get those tablets and seeing those couple plays in our whole drive, it helps a lot because now we can see where we can adjust to and the plays we can make going into the next drive. So it’s really helpful to have those tablets on the sideline.

There’s a lot of experience on this team, especially in front of you with the offensive line. What is it like at the same time to know that you’re playing with teammates who are four or five years older than you? I mean, I know age is just a number, but does that kind of ever hit you that you’re so much younger than them?

No, not really. I just think that with those guys, especially the O-line, I feel like I’m way more protected because those guys know what they’re doing.

They’re really advanced. Those guys on defense, it’s great to have those guys because they’re leaders and they go tell me what I should do and what I should not do and how to stay focused and detailed and keep everything orientated. So I think the best thing to do for me is just to keep listening to those guys so everything goes right for the rest of the season because they know what they’re doing in their events.

Coach said that you were super excited when you found out at halftime that you were going to be playing the rest of the game. Is there a moment in the second half where you feel like everything kind of clicked, where maybe you finally felt 100 percent comfortable? Not to say you didn’t going on, but is there a moment where you were like, ‘okay, I can do this?’

Yeah, after that first dig route to Dacari (Collins) in the middle of the field, on that first drive coming out of the half, that solidified it. Just keep making plays because it feels good to make that first play.

I just want to make many more plays like that.

Did you have any family at the game?

Yes, I did.

Are they coming down to Clemson?

Yes, they’re coming to Clemson as well.

Do you know how many are going to be there?

Probably five, six.

Does seeing yourself score a touchdown, you know, watching, I guess, experience throwing some of those explosives, does that take the pressure off? You know, you did it once. You’re going into a tough environment, but you feel like, ‘okay, I know I can for sure.’

Yeah, definitely scoring a touchdown and, like, throwing passes and completing passes, it definitely took some steam off of me. And I want to do that same thing going into Clemson. That first play, I feel like that first good completion I have is going to keep rolling after that.

So it’s great to have those completions, and hopefully I’ll score again this week.