Impact analysis: What QB CJ Bailey’s return means for NC State

By Noah Fleischman

In the transfer portal era, sometimes a team’s biggest win of the cycle is being able to keep a player from departing for another program. And in the case of NC State, its first order of business was to retain rising sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey for the 2025 season. 

The Wolfpack was able to do just that as he signed a one-year NIL agreement with NC State’s collective, 1Pack, to return for his second season in Raleigh. 

Bailey, who started each of the Pack’s last six games of the season after graduate Grayson McCall’s career ended due to head injuries, impressed in his early action of his collegiate career. The first-year quarterback was 177-of-276 passing for 2,183 yards and 14 touchdowns in his 10 total meaningful appearances this fall with the Pack.

As Bailey is set to return for his sophomore campaign, he appears to be prepared for a full 12-game slate as NC State’s starting signal-caller. Here’s a look at what his return to the Wolfpack means for the program moving forward. 

Impact meter

This is a high-impact result for NC State. Bailey would have likely had several power conference teams ready to make a run at him if he hit the open market in the transfer portal, but the Wolfpack was proactive in keeping him in Raleigh.

Not only is this move beneficial for the 2025 season, it signals that the Pack’s offense is Bailey’s for the future as well. He’s happy with the Wolfpack and reaffirmed that by announcing his return for next fall. 

NC State doesn’t have to play the transfer portal starting quarterback game for the first time in a few seasons, while it can continue to build off Bailey’s electric first year with the Wolfpack to keep the trajectory of the offense on an upward trend. 

Continuity for the first time since 2021 

It’s been a while since NC State had any semblance of quarterback continuity under coach Dave Doeren. The Wolfpack has played multiple quarterbacks in five of the last six seasons, mostly due to injury, with nine different signal-callers appearing in a game. 

NC State used Matthew McKay, Devin Leary and Bailey Hockman en route to a 4-8 campaign in 2019. Leary and Hockman split time in an 8-4 season in 2020. Leary was the Pack’s only starting signal-caller in 2021, a 9-3 campaign, before NC State’s spin around the county fair of quarterbacks took it up a notch in 2022. 

The Wolfpack utilized four different starting quarterbacks during that 2022 campaign as Leary, Jack Chambers, MJ Morris and Ben Finley combined to lead NC State to an 8-5 mark. 

And then there was last season, when Brennan Armstrong started the first five games before Morris was inserted as the starter. But after four games, Morris elected to redshirt, which allowed Armstrong return to take the wheel for the final four contests. Morris then transferred after the season.

Now, NC State has its starting quarterback returning, which should bode well for the offense’s continuity moving forward. Not only is Bailey the same starter as the 2024 campaign, but he will also be the youngest returning quarterback with the experience he has under his belt since Doeren took over in 2013. 

Bailey’s time under center this fall proved impactful, even during a season that he thought would be a developmental year to grow and be prepared to push for the QB1 spot next season. Instead, he took the bull by the horns and proved he was ready for the title after being forced into the spot due to McCall’s injuries. 

If recent history is any indicator, quarterback stability is a positive in Raleigh. Leary, who eventually transferred to Kentucky, was able to help the Pack to a nine-win showing after the four-win 2019 season. While NC State was able to qualify for a bowl game this fall, its 6-6 mark was well below what most outside the program expected from the Wolfpack. 

Can Bailey help the Pack make a similar jump moving into next season? That is the biggest question, but his ability to maintain chemistry with NC State’s playmakers through another offseason of being together will pay dividends on the Carter-Finley Stadium natural grass playing surface next fall. 

Traditional development

NC State likes to tout itself as a developmental program. From star linebacker Payton Wilson to defensive end Davin Vann, the Wolfpack has a stellar track record of homegrown players cementing themselves among the best in program history under Doeren. 

And similarly, the Pack’s most productive quarterbacks have been those that the Wolfpack staff has developed itself. Yes, NC State has played the transfer portal game over the past two seasons to pull Virginia’s Armstrong and Coastal Carolina’s McCall as proven collegiate starters to plug into its offense, but it hasn’t been consistent. 

Both signal-callers were able to help NC State win games, including Armstrong’s dominant win over UNC last fall, but their time in Raleigh wasn’t smooth. Armstrong was benched after his first five starts until Morris played the next four games before the former Cavalier closed the season. McCall, meanwhile, struggled to find a gear when he was healthy and battled multiple injuries this past season.

Leary, however, was a homegrown talent who took the reins at quarterback. He was pivotal in 2021 with 3,433 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions through all 12 games. That jump is what NC State is looking to see from Bailey as it implements its development plan with the 6-foot-6 signal-caller. 

Bailey, who is in the running to be a True Freshman All-American, has a solid foundation to build on, including becoming the only first-year signal-caller in FBS with multiple 300-yard passing efforts this fall. He looked the part most of the time, and that will only likely continue to grow as Bailey adds muscle to his frame and continues to log reps on the Wolfpack’s practice field. 

The Miami, Fla., native was also the first NC State true freshman quarterback to beat UNC since Philip Rivers did it in 2000. Bailey did so in impressive fashion, finishing 11-of-12 for 223 yards and 2 scores in the second half to lead the Wolfpack past the Tar Heels for the fourth straight season.

NC State can use its portal resources elsewhere

For the past two transfer portal cycles, NC State has had to focus a lot of attention on the quarterback position. It’s the most important spot on the field, so the Wolfpack didn’t want to rush that signing, while also making it a priority to be an early acquisition to build around in the transfer portal.

But this season, the Wolfpack already knows who its offense will be constructed around: Bailey. 

With that in mind, NC State can market its young offense to transfer portal offensive linemen, knowing who they’ll have to protect, while the Pack can showcase Bailey’s abilities to transfer skill position players since they will know who is set to run the offense. It also helps in the budgeting process of NIL since Bailey has already agreed to his deal, the Wolfpack doesn’t have to worry about outbidding other programs on the open market with a transfer quarterback. 

Bailey is the future of NC State and his decision to return to the Wolfpack only increases the chances of a step forward by the program with continuity at the offense’s most high-profile position for the first time in nearly five years.