NC State football 2022 superlatives: Offense

Four different NC State football signal-callers started multiple games this year, partially due to injuries to fifth-year redshirt junior Devin Leary and true freshman MJ Morris. That led to walk-on transfer Jack Chambers and third-year redshirt freshman Ben Finley joining Leary and Morris as starters this season.

In a statistic that is a testament to the resiliency of the Wolfpack, according to ESPN’s David Hale, of the 14 teams in the College Football Playoff era that started four quarterbacks in a single season, only the 2020 Army squad that went 9-3 and the 2014 Utah State team that finished 10-4 had better records than NC State’s 8-5 (which included a 4-4 mark in the ACC).

Only South Carolina, which went 7-6 in 2021, joined those three in even having a winning record. Nine of the 14 teams had three wins or fewer, including the other two squads in 2022 that went through four starting quarterbacks: Northern Illinois (3-9) and Colorado (1-11).

Here are some of the best moments from the season for the offense.

NC State Football Offense MVP

This was a tough season for the NC State offense. Overall, the Wolfpack finished 105th out of 131 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in yards per game. Only Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Boston College in the ACC averaged fewer yards per contest than NC State. None of those teams made bowl games.

Making plays was a challenge, especially when the Wolfpack had to rotate through quarterbacks.

But a mainstay for 10 weeks before he was injured was super senior center Grant Gibson. Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded Gibson as the top offensive player on the team at 78.9. He was also the top run blocker at 79.7. In pass protection, Gibson was credited by PFF as allowing just 2 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries and 5 pressures.

Among centers with at least 100 snaps, Gibson ranked 10th nationally, according to PFF, and proved to be a no-brainer choice for first-team All-ACC.

Offense Rookie Of The Year

For a brief moment in the middle of the season, Morris looked like he had revived hopes of a big year for the Wolfpack. He came off the sidelines and helped NC State rally from down 21-3 in the third quarter to defeat Virginia Tech at home by a one-point margin by completing 20 of 29 passes for 25 yards and 3 touchdowns.

One week later, he quarterbacked the Pack to a win over in-state rival Wake Forest in his first career start by going 18-of-28 passing for 210 yards and 3 scores while also rushing for 43 yards.

Morris was named ACC Rookie of the Week after each of those two victories. He is the first true freshman since Philip Rivers in 2000 to start a game at quarterback for NC State football.

Offense Breakout Player Of The Year

Prior to this season, fourth-year redshirt sophomore tackle Timothy McKay had never started a game. He briefly continued his role from 2021 as a top reserve for the first three weeks of the season before he was inserted into the starting lineup for the final 10 games at right tackle. He played every snap in the bowl game against Maryland.

McKay went on to lead the NC State offensive line in pancake blocks and was named honorable mention All-ACC. He shared the team award for offensive lineman of the year with Gibson.

Individual Offense Performance Of The Year

Morris had back-to-back sterling efforts in wins over Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He threw for 3 touchdowns in both games, becoming the first true freshman to accomplish that since Wolfpack legend and potential future NFL Hall of Famer Philip Rivers did so.

However, the edge goes to Finley, who delivered in the rivalry game, arguably the most important contest on the schedule. Finley completed 27 of 40 passes for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns without turning it over against the Tar Heels. He also outdueled his North Carolina counterpart, ACC Player of the Year Drake Maye (29-of-49 passing for 233 yards, with a TD pass and an interception).

The result of Finley’s efforts was the Wolfpack prevailing in double overtime over the Tar Heels.

Top Three NC State Football Offensive Plays Of The Year

1. Super senior receiver Thayer Thomas’ 35-yard score versus Virginia Tech. On a play that might have saved the NC State football season, Thomas hauled in a perfectly thrown pass from Morris in stride inside the 5-yard line and did the little that was left for the score. That play would spark the comeback from down 21-3 to a 22-21 victory.

2. Thomas’ 75-yard touchdown catch versus Connecticut. On the game’s first play, Thomas, who was on the outside, cut inside the UConn cornerback and leaped up to make the catch at the Huskies’ 40-yard line. He then sprinted away from four defenders for the touchdown.

3. Sophomore running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye’s 22-yard run versus East Carolina. The play did not result in a touchdown, but Sumo-Karngbaye was touched nine times by Pirates defenders attempting to tackle him before finally going down at the 1-yard line.