Devin Leary focusing on rehab, mentoring NC State's QBs

When Devin Leary took a hard hit from a Florida State defensive lineman that knocked him out of the game, the NC State star quarterback did not think his season was over. In fact, he was first worried about the pass he just threw.

The initial X-Rays came back negative after trainers helped Leary off the field, but he could tell something was off.

“My first initial thought was actually what happened to the pass through,” Leary said. “I didn’t know if it was complete or incomplete. That was my first question, and then my second question was if there was anything wrong with my shoulder when they went in and gave me X-rays, and they came back clean, so I started to get a little bit more positive hope.

“But, as the doctors kind of continued to move my arm around, I just knew something wasn’t right when I couldn’t really lift my arm above my head.”

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Leary later found out he had a torn pectoral muscle and underwent surgery with Dr. James Andrews, who has also done surgery on Payton Wilson and Drake Thomas, in Florida. The surgery went well, with a tentative recovery timeline of 4-6 months, Leary said. He is not focused on his future with the Wolfpack, instead locking in on rehab and his opportunity to help NC State’s quarterback room.

“Obviously, this isn’t ideal,” Leary said. “Obviously, this isn’t what I wanted to happen. But, at this point, the priority for me is to get healthy. The priority for me is to help this team, help MJ [Morris], help Jack [Chambers], be around the guys as much as I can. But really, for me, I mean, I can’t make any type of decision without being healthy, without knowing when I’m going to throw again.”

Dr. Andrews, who is in constant communication with Leary during the rehab process, told the quarterback that the standard recovery time for an athlete’s pectoral tear is 3-4 months. With that said, Leary obviously has to rotate constantly to play quarterback and needs the full range of motion in his upper body. Because of that, there is an extra 1-2 month throwing protocol added to the rehab process.

“The biggest thing is making sure the stitches and everything heal correctly back to the bone,” Leary said. “This isn’t like a no pain, no gain type of rehab. Dr. Andrew said it’s more so just taking it easy, making sure everything feels right.”

This is Leary’s second season cut short due to injuries during his time at NC State, which helps him mentally get ready for the rehab process.

“I’ve been through something like this before, so I could kind of prepare myself a little bit better mentally,” Leary said. “But sometimes you have those days. Sometimes, you’re in that long term injured group, and a little bit of extra rehab, and then you go out to practice and you’re kind of bummed that you can’t be out there with your teammates but, at the same time, you just need to figure out other ways that you can help.”

Leary is taking a mentorship role with NC State’s quarterback room

Leading is not anything new for the star NC State signal-caller. He led the Wolfpack on the field for the past few seasons and came into this year prepared to do the same. His role is different now that his injury could keep him sidelined until spring practice, but he has embraced it.

He is happy to help the rest of the Wolfpack quarterback room prepare for the rest of the fall. Leary’s playing career started during a game where he was the third-string option, so he knows the importance of staying ready at all times.

“I’ve been telling Jack and MJ all year, and even Ben [Finley], any given play, be ready, because that has happened to me,” Leary said. “When I got here, two guys were ahead of me. I remember Bailey [Hockman] went in, his helmet popped off, next thing I know, I’m in the game.”

Leary had some words of encouragement for Chambers, Finley and Morris as they prepared to lead the team for the rest of the year.

“I just told Jack, specifically being a veteran guy, lead the team,” Leary said. “These guys believe in you, we understand why you came to this school, we understand that you’re experienced and you’ve played at the highest level, just go out and play your game. And then I kind of told MJ and Ben, once they get their shot, just go out there and have fun.”

The preseason All-ACC quarterback said that he could tell Morris was going to be a great player for the Pack as soon as he arrived on campus, and he was happy to see the freshman bring NC State back from its 18-point deficit to Virginia Tech.

“I was super proud of MJ,” Leary said. “I think, as soon as he got here, we all knew how special he was going to be. It was really just only a matter of time until he really got his shot and got an opportunity.”

When Leary looks at Morris leading the Wolfpack through practice and onto the field of Carter-Finley Stadium, it is a familiar image.

“To be honest with you, MJ reminded me a lot of myself growing up, especially when I got here,” Leary said. “Super confident, just wants to learn football, wants to understand the ins and outs of the game, and that’s how I was when I got in here. Obviously, being able to sit behind Ryan [Finley], and Ryan was able to play in the NFL. I want to be that type of standard for MJ.

“I know how much he loves football, I know how much this team loves him as a quarterback and loves him as a young guy coming in as a freshman, just embracing everything and wanting to get better. I just kind of took it upon myself to really show him the ropes and really just show him where I went wrong, show him the mistakes that I made throughout my career and how he can kind of prosper off of that and learn from me, as well as the success that I had and know how to handle success too.”