Meet NC State's new option at quarterback behind Ryan Finley
Matt McKay needs a minute.
N.C. State’s backup quarterback was one of the last players to leave practice on Thursday morning. His position coach, offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz, was right behind him.
“He’s mad at me today and I’m mad at him,” Drinkwitz said.
“It was not the best practice,” McKay sheepishly added.
Such are the growing pains for a young quarterback and the Wolfpack will need McKay, a redshirt freshman from Raleigh, next season.
The top of the depth chart is set with Ryan Finley, a sixth-year senior and one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC, back for his third year as the starter.
Behind Finley the situation is fluid. Jalan McClendon, the backup and change-of-pace runner for the past two years, is planning to transfer to Baylor.
McClendon, who is still at N.C. State and works out separately from the team, is on track to graduate in May. He has a chance to be Baylor’s starting quarterback this season.
Highly-touted freshman Devin Leary is on his way this summer. Leary, a four-star recruit from New Jersey, is expected to ultimately be Finley’s successor.
It would make sense for Leary to redshirt the 2018 season, which puts McKay, or senior walk-on Woody Cornwell, one snap away from being the starter.
Heck, if Finley had opted to go to the NFL, McKay possibly would have been the designated starter this spring. That’s the mindset McKay has tried to embrace.
He has already impressed the coaching staff with his talent. A shade under 6-4 and 203 pounds, McKay has a mix of Finley’s passing ability and McClendon’s running skill. As a three-year starter at Wakefield High, McKay threw for 58 touchdowns and ran for 39.
McKay was only 17 when he enrolled in Jan. 2017 (he turned 18 in October) and was named scout team player of the year on offense for his practice efforts.
Given he got to practice against N.C. State’s starting defensive line on a daily basis, that only helped his development.
“Just going against the ‘1s’ and developing leadership with all of the other young guys on offense was great,” McKay said.
Usually, the quarterbacks don’t get hit in practice. That’s not always the case with the scout team.
“Ah, they still hit me,” said McKay, who has added 20 pounds to his frame. “It was fun. I made them miss sometimes but they hit me.”
Drinkwitz said McKay’s effort stood out last season as the wiry quarterback got to emulate Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, Clemson’s Kelly Bryant and the other opponents on N.C. State’s schedule.
McKay’s leadership skills and decision-making were positives in practice. McKay has also improved his accuracy this spring.
“Matt’s a really good young player,” Drinkwitz said. “We’re very excited about his future here.”
Consistency and confidence are the two things Drinkwitz wants McKay to get out of this spring.
“He has been a solid performer for us but you can’t be inconsistent,” Drinkwitz said. “You can’t have two good days and a bad day. You can’t have three good games and then a bad game. You’ve got to be the same guy every day.”
That’s where having Finley around has helped. Finley has taken on a mentor role with McKay particularly in the film room.
“Ryan does a really good job of coaching these guys up and teaching them,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s focused on making sure he getting better but he does a really good job mentoring the next group.”
N.C. State’s Kay Yow Spring Game is April 7. There will likely be a heavy dose of McKay on display, since the coaching staff already knows what it has in Finley.
McKay will be in a familiar number. After spending his redshirt season in No. 13, he switched to No. 7. Running back Nyheim Hines, another local product who turned into a star for the Wolfpack, gave McKay one piece of advice with the new number.
“Just try to make it look good,” Hines told McKay.
That’s the goal, even if it takes a few bad practices to get there.
This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Meet NC State's new option at quarterback behind Ryan Finley."