Aaron McLaughlin enters the transfer portal after redshirting in fall
Many NC State football fans were wondering how the quarterback room would shake out after starter and redshirt junior Devin Leary and found out a big piece of the answer Friday when redshirt freshman Aaron McLaughlin entered the transfer portal.
McLaughlin had been expected to compete with fellow redshirt freshman Ben Finley for the backup quarterback position in the spring. (Finley is technically a redshirt freshman due to the NCAA freezing eligibility in 2020, but Finley has been on campus a year longer than McLaughlin.)
McLaughlin was a four-star on the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all the major recruiting media companies, in the 2021 recruiting class. The one-time Auburn commit hailed from Denmark High in Alpharetta, Ga.
As a senior in high school, McLaughlin completed 107 of 184 passes (58.4 percent) for 1,505 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions and rushed 131 times for 652 yards and six more scores in nine games. He led Denmark High to its first-ever state playoffs appearance.
He was one of four On3 Consensus four stars in the class, joining receiver-now-running back Micah Crowell, linebacker Jordan Poole and defensive lineman Travali Price.
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He was able to play two games last season while preserving his redshirt — lopsided home wins over Furman and Syracuse. In the latter, he carried once for no gain.
McLaughlin’s pending departure leaves Leary and Finley as the lone scholarship quarterbacks in the spring. They should be joined over the summer by On3 Consensus four-star MJ Morris from Carrollton (Ga.) High. Morris signed with the Wolfpack after choosing NC State over Georgia Tech and Nebraska. He is playing baseball this spring and will try to play both sports in college.
McLaughlin would be the second member of the 2021 recruiting class to enter the portal, joining defensive back Mario Love, who ended up enrolling at North Carolina A&T.
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