What NC State QB CJ Bailey learned from his first-career start
CLEMSON, S.C. — NC State freshman quarterback CJ Bailey walked into the hallway near the Wolfpack’s locker room at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium with a smile on his face as he donned an all black travel sweatsuit. Although his squad lost 59-35 against the 21st-ranked Tigers, Bailey had quite a learning experience in his first collegiate start.
The Miami, Fla., native’s grin only grew as he talked about his experience playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 81,500 on the road in a hostile environment.
“It was a fun experience,” said Bailey, who went 16-of-25 passing for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception. “I rate it a 10 out of 10. I love how many hits I took and how I adjusted mid-game. It was actually a great experience.”
Bailey opened the game completing his first seven passes for 106 yards, which included five first downs and five passes of 12 yards or longer. He did not need any time to settle into the game, it seemed, and the former high school standout impressed early on — even as NC State’s rushing attack sputtered in the early going.
He was able to hit graduate running back Jordan Waters for a 5-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter — the Pack’s first score of the contest. And before he had multiple incompletions in a row, Bailey completed 10 of his first 11 throws.
Afterwards, NC State coach Dave Doeren did not blame his young signal-caller for the loss — the defense seemed to wear that — even though he had a fumble and interception.
“I’m proud of CJ,” Doeren said. “I thought he prepared well, he did some good things. … CJ’s not to blame for the loss, I can tell you that. He did some good things. That’s a tough environment for a first start and he was not intimidated one bit.”
Bailey was able to stay levelheaded after both turnovers that he committed and the quarterback rebounded well from each.
But while he made his first start as the Wolfpack’s quarterback, Bailey learned more about himself than he thought he would. Yes, he was able to move on from the bad plays quickly, but he was also able to command the Pack’s offense at a high clip.
“I learned I had more fight than I thought I had,” Bailey said. “I’m really a good leader. I didn’t see it before, but I’m a good leader. I’ve got a lot of fight in me. I noticed that the team went off my energy. The offense today, they had my back.”
Bailey did acknowledge the Wolfpack’s inability to finish drives early in the game was an issue — and it did not help NC State’s defense in the long run. The Pack punted on its first possession before the next two drives were stalled by fumbles. Its fourth ended in a field goal attempt — a missed 53-yarder — before the touchdown pass to Waters.
“We had to finish drives,” Bailey said. “Those drives at the beginning are important in starting fast. We had to put it behind us and just keep going. We still had way more plays to make out there and way more things we could have done, but most importantly we had to finish those drives early to give our defense some momentum.”
While the offense struggled to keep pace with Clemson’s prolific unit that racked up 523 yards (the Pack had 440), Bailey sees the team has a lot of runway in front of it to accomplish its preseason goals.
That is what the first-year signal-caller wanted to take away from the loss at the Tigers — and even the Pack’s 41-point loss to current No. 6 Tennessee two weeks ago.
“We still have a goal to finish,” Bailey said. “Finish the season out, make a bowl game, maybe the championship. I feel like Tennessee and Clemson showed us where we’re at and where we can go.”
NC State has nine games to go, including a home contest with a likely-ranked Northern Illinois team next weekend. In the meantime, it seems like Bailey will be able to grow immensely from his experience at Clemson’s Death Valley.
