How does MJ Morris' showing against VT compare to the rest of NC State's passing performances?
MJ Morris arrived on campus just a few months ago. On Thursday, he ran onto the field for the first major playing time of his collegiate career and put together one of the most impressive passing performances of the season, measuring up against any other showing by an NC State quarterback this year.
He completed 20 of 29 passes for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns, with the majority of those stats coming in the second half. After splitting time with Jack Chambers, who started the game, in the first half, Morris took over for the second half and beautifully engineered the 18-point comeback.
“I feel like a kid in a candy store,” Morris said after the game “I’ve never had this feeling before, first college time. I feel like I got hit by a freight train out there, my body hurts so bad, but I do feel great. I feel happy for this team, I feel happy for myself. We put a lot of work in to get here.”
With the Wolfpack still poised to make a run at a 10-win season, Morris now has a chance to build on that success as he will likely burn his redshirt against Wake Forest next week. Looking back at the first 8 games of the season, the true freshman put up numbers Thursday that are comparable and, in some cases, better than the rest of the NC State quarterback room.
Coming into the season with All-ACC expectations surrounding Devin Leary, the Wolfpack passing attack struggled at times early on in the year. Against East Carolina, the veteran signal caller completed 17 of 33 passes for 211 yards, 1 touchdown and an interception during the 21-20 win.
Leary got back into a rhythm against FCS opponent Charleston Southern one week later, dicing up the opposing defense for 238 yards and 4 touchdowns in a little more than a half of football. The following matchup was a win over Texas Tech dominated by the ground game, as the Wolfpack focussed on controlling the time of possession. Leary finished with an efficient 15-23 day.
In the Wolfpack’s final non-conference matchup before the top-10 matchup against Clemson, Leary played the statistically-best game by an NC State quarterback this season, throwing for 320 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.
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His following performance against the Tigers came in a loss, but his 245 passing yards were still very impressive when lined up against one of the nation’s top defenses in Death Valley’s raucous environment. Leary made multiple NFL caliber throws into extremely tight windows during the game. Prior to his season-ending injury against Florida State, Leary threw for 130 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
Jack Chambers came into the game against the Seminoles and helped lead the Pack to a 19-17 win without completing a pass and rushing for 39 yards. In a loss to Syracuse, the graduate transfer completed 60 percent of his passes for 160 yards, but NC State did not score a touchdown during the contest.
Morris put up impressive stats in just a little more than a half of football against Virginia Tech and looked great doing it. His composure against a solid Hokie defense was solid, and the Pack was able to find ways to pick up yards through the air against an inexperienced secondary.
While NC State does not have the same ceiling as it did with Leary under center, Morris showed he can put up the numbers necessary to win an ACC showdown. If he can keep that up for the rest of the year, then the Wolfpack coaching staff might have found its next star signal caller.
