NC State moves to CJ Bailey, Pack has experience with multiple starting quarterbacks

By Noah Fleischman

It is not clear why NC State graduate quarterback Grayson McCall departed the Pack’s Week 3 win over Louisiana Tech early, but his absence provided an opportunity for freshman CJ Bailey to give a glimpse into the future Saturday afternoon. 

And, well, he delivered. 

Bailey was 13-of-20 passing for 156 yards with an additional 27 and a touchdown on the ground in the Wolfpack’s 30-20 win over the Bulldogs. Now, Bailey will be NC State’s starting quarterback for the foreseeable future as McCall, who is listed “day-to-day,” recovers on the sideline.

“It’s his team,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said Monday of Bailey, who will be the Pack’s first true freshman to start at Clemson since Philip Rivers did it in 2000. “It’s all hands on deck.”

Bailey’s first career collegiate start will come this weekend against the Tigers in enemy territory, where NC State will begin its ACC schedule. While Bailey has just 50 total snaps under his belt at the collegiate level, he will be thrown into the fire against one of the league’s top defenses on the road. 

The Wolfpack, however, has a week to prepare Bailey for the Tigers’ havoc-inducing defense. For Doeren and his staff, that means helping to give Bailey the looks that he will see from Clemson, while also preparing for the 81,500-person crowd awaiting the Pack at Memorial Stadium. 

Although it is likely not the venue that the Pack staff envisioned their prized quarterback recruit to make his starting debut at, it’s the hand NC State was dealt. And they like the poker face that Bailey brings to the offense. 

The biggest key for the Wolfpack with handling Bailey this week? “Letting him play ball,” Doeren said. 

That’s the approach Bailey used when his number was called off the bench against the Bulldogs. It took the signal-caller three snaps, which included an interception, to settle in. But once he did, Bailey seemed confident and comfortable in the Wolfpack offense. 

“After that bad mistake I made, I just said, ‘Let’s play ball,’” Bailey said postgame. “’Just go do what you’ve been doing all this time you’ve been playing football. Just go play ball in that second half.’ And that’s what I did.”

Bailey strung together seven straight completions, including three throws that moved the chains, following his up-and-down start to the game. He eventually logged three passes that went for more than 20 yards, including a 34-yard gain to junior tight end Justin Joly in the third quarter. 

For Doeren, letting Bailey go out onto the field and play without putting too much pressure on the quarterback’s plate, is the way to go.

“There’s one thing about him — he is a football player,” Doeren said. “That kid understands the game. He’s a winner and he’s excited. That’s a kid that’s excited to play the game and I’m excited for him.”

Bailey has experience on the big stage after leading Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna Prep to back-to-back state titles, including an undefeated season as a junior. Bailey finished his high school career with 9,005 total passing yards and 116 touchdowns through the air.

NC State will scheme its game plan around what Bailey is best at, Doeren said, which likely means intermediate passes with some quarterback runs are going to be a key part of the Wolfpack’s approach. 

Bailey was 4-of-6 passing for 90 yards and an interception on passes 10 to 19 yards from the line of scrimmage against Louisiana Tech, while he completed 8-of-10 at or behind the line for 38 yards in the victory. That quick passing will be necessary against Clemson’s defensive line, which has logged 10 tackles for a loss through two games this season.

Doeren, NC State’s 12th-year coach, said he was happy to see what Bailey has done since he arrived on campus translated into his first taste of real game action. 

“It’s what he’s done in practice, so it’s great to know that the stuff he does in practice carries into the game,” Doeren said. “Obviously, you’re not getting hit in practice as a quarterback. He’s a tough kid, he’s competitive. … But he’s been like that since he got here.”

Now, Bailey will have full control of NC State’s offense at Clemson with redshirt freshman Lex Thomas serving as his primary backup. 

Not NC State’s first time

While a midseason quarterback change, especially one due to injury, is not what any program wants to imagine, NC State is well-versed in this department. Throughout the past six seasons, including this fall, the Wolfpack has used multiple starters under center in five of them with nine different quarterbacks. 

But before it ran into a revolving door under center, NC State had consistent quarterback play for Doeren’s first six seasons. His first season saw two signal-callers play significant snaps, but Doeren quickly found a groove at quarterback after that. He leaned on Jacoby Brissett for the next two years before Ryan Finley was the Pack’s go-to quarterback for the following three seasons. 

Then the carousel started to spin as if the carnival was in midsummer form in Raleigh. 

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 2020, 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 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, where 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. 

For Doeren, it is not the accolade he would like as a coach, but he and his staff have consistently found ways to win with the consistent turnover at the position.

“It’s an unfortunate thing to be used to,” Doeren said. “I don’t know if that helps or not helps, but I do think there’s a history with the next man playing really good ball for us. That’s what we expect.”

NC State’s second — and third or fourth — quarterbacks have all excelled within Doeren’s program each time around. And the wins have not come through luck, even though the Wolfpack’s quarterback room could use some of that. 

It’s been through having the next player ready to go. That, in the end, has been the biggest learning lesson for Doeren over the past six seasons at the quarterback spot.

“Well you’ve got to have depth, for one, because you’re always one play away from the next guy being in,” Doeren said. “You’ve got to recruit well at that spot and you’ve got to coach them all like they could play. … And we’ve been able to do that. We’ve had success over the years.”

The Wolfpack hopes that Bailey can join the long list of backup quarterbacks that have been able to lead NC State to wins when their number is called as a starter. He already has helped command a come-from-behind victory off the bench, but now it’s his turn to do it for a full 60 minutes. 

And Doeren is excited to see how Bailey can execute this weekend at Clemson. 

“I think all of our kids believe in CJ,” Doeren said, “and know he’ll go in and play his butt off.”