NC State QB coach Kurt Roper touts experienced starter, depth of Pack signal-callers

NC State has spent the last month gearing up for the 2024 season as a whole, its offense going at the defense each day. But now, the Wolfpack gets to prepare for a new team with Western Carolina making the trip to Carter-Finley Stadium next Thursday night. 

That means game preparation is well underway inside the Murphy Center. And NC State’s new-look offense is going through its first game week of the year, and for many of the key players, it is their first time doing it with the Wolfpack.

Graduate quarterback Grayson McCall spent the last five years at Coastal Carolina, while Jordan Waters did the same at Duke. Noah Rogers was an Ohio State Buckeye last fall, while Wesley Grimes was just a couple hours away at Wake Forest. 

Now, the challenge is for the offense to get on the same page with a week’s worth of preparation and the meetings are on a faster pace. Luckily for NC State, McCall is a veteran quarterback that is no stranger to the process. 

McCall, who owns more than 10,000 career passing yards with 88 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions, is able to quickly process what Roper is preaching each day in the meeting room.

“That’s why experience is the best teacher,” quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper said Tuesday. “When you talk to a guy like Grayson who’s been around, you say something he can see it in his mind’s eye. I don’t have to spend as much time showing it on tape or things like that. It’s obviously a challenge when you got a set amount of days to get ready for an opponent. We’re into that. Getting ready for a good football team. It’s a challenge.”

While McCall headlines the quarterback room, Roper was very confident in his entire position group — from freshman backup CJ Bailey to redshirt freshman Lex Thomas to walk-on Ethan Rhodes. 

Roper, who has three decades of experience as a college assistant, raved about his signal-callers.

“I really enjoy my room,” Roper said. “I enjoy coaching those guys. They’re a talented group. But you’re always nervous about staying healthy. Staying healthy would be the best of everything.”

Thomas, who had a season-ending injury his senior year of high school, was someone Roper’s eye seemed to perk up when asked about him. Although he did not take a snap last season, Thomas appears to be a key part of the Wolfpack’s depth at quarterback this fall. 

Especially since he’s fully healthy going into his second season in the program.

“I don’t know that anybody works harder than Lex,” Roper said. “He’s here all the time. His arm is stronger than where it was when he was getting recruited. He has a really strong arm. He’s a fast twitch guy. He loves this game. He’s ‘a Thomas’ is the best way to say it. He keeps getting better every day.”

As time moves on, depth in the quarterback position is key since the Wolfpack has used multiple starting quarterbacks over the last two seasons. NC State seems comfortable with its top three signal-callers in the quarterback room. 

And although each player is different — from Thomas’ 5-foot-11 frame to Bailey’s towering 6-foot-6 stature — Roper touted one commonality among every quarterback in his room: they can throw the football.

“In this game you have to be able to throw the football,” Roper said. “That’s the first thing that I’m looking for in a quarterback, is can he functionally throw the football? At some point it’s going to come down to that.” 

“We want the best athlete that we can find,” Roper continued. “If that comes in a guy that’s six-six or six foot then so be it. Every year that’s happened. Those are the things that we’re looking for. Then we’re looking for a competitor that we all can trust. Sometimes that comes in different packages every year.”

While NC State is confident in all three of its scholarship quarterbacks, the Wolfpack is hopeful it can make it through the season with McCall healthy at the helm. That quest begins in eight days with the team’s lone FCS opponent ready to test the Pack before a neutral site game against Tennessee the following weekend.