Now what? NC State football faces offseason reckoning, needs growth from young players
CJ Bailey sat in the postgame interview room, his head held low. Coach Dave Doeren’s eyes and face were rimmed, showing hints of potential tears. It was the most disappointed and least energetic the duo, especially Bailey, had been in a news conference all year.
N.C. State’s 26-21 loss to ECU in the Military Bowl — with a brawl taking place in the final seconds — seemed like a microcosm of the season. The team played complementary football in spurts but not long enough to stave off the Pirates. The offense played well but didn’t capitalize. Its defense couldn’t pick up stops consistently and gave up far too many explosive plays. Bailey threw an interception on what could’ve been a drive that ate clock. Key players were unavailable.
And they capped things off with a bench-clearing fight.
The Wolfpack had opportunities, but it wasted those chances.
N.C. State finished the regular season with three one-possession losses to Wake Forest (34-30), Syracuse (24-17) and Georgia Tech (30-29). It lost to Duke, 29-19.
“I mean, down to the last minute and a half, gut-wrenching,” Doeren said. “It’s hard when you lose a game like that.”
The Wolfpack ended the season 6-7 overall and 3-5 in the ACC, its first losing season since 2019, and Doeren is 0-5 in bowl games since 2018.
It’s been an arduous season, but it’s finally over.
So, now what?
“We played a lot of young guys, this being one of them,” Doeren said, motioning to Bailey. “A lot of growing to do. That’s what this offseason is going to be about. It’s going to be about learning how to finish and put ourselves in position to win those one-possession games. … You want to be a great team? You’ve got to win those games. And we’re not good enough to do that right now. We’re not.”
Doeren said it doesn’t matter where you look on the roster. Every single area needs to improve.
When asked how the team plans to move forward, Bailey said N.C. State is already there.
“It’s over now. We already flipped the page. We already (have) that mindset,” the rookie said. “Let’s go get ready for next year. We’ve got a lot of things to work on in the offseason. Everything is in the past now.”
There’s going to be a lot of focus on the minutiae and fundamental improvements. N.C. State and ECU face each other next fall in the season opener, but Doeren said the team won’t think about the Pirates for a long time. The next several months are going to be all about Wolfpack football and embodying the program’s mantra: Hard, tough, together.
It showed spurts, but it didn’t define the team. It needs to get back to that.
Where does it start?
One, it needs to hire a defensive coordinator. Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay hoped to get the promotion, but the Wolfpack defense gave up 473 yards and 326 rushing with him as the interim defensive coordinator and play caller. Doeren said prior to the game that he was going to take his time finding the right coach for the job.
Two, it needs to cultivate the positives it already has. Despite the lackluster season, there’s plenty to use as a foundation.
Take Bailey, for example.
He entered the game ranked No. 2 in program history for the most passing yards by a freshman (2,183), surpassing Russell Wilson’s 1,955 passing yards in 2008, and is behind only Philip Rivers, who threw for 3,054 yards as a freshman in 2000. Bailey finished the season with 2,413.
The rookie ranks No. 2 for pass attempts (302), completions (196) and total offense (2,692) by a freshman, behind Rivers. He tied Wilson for the number of touchdown passes by a freshman (17).
Bailey remains No. 1 in completion percentage by a freshman (64.9%), surpassing MJ Morris’ 61.1% in 2022.
He also finished with a QB rating of 143.97, which ranks No. 7 for a single season in program history. Bailey’s numbers puts him among the Wolfpack greats, including Rivers, Wilson, Devin Leary, Dave Buckey and Ryan Finley.
N.C. State is set to return two dozen key players, including Hollywood Smothers, Noah Rogers, Wesley Grimes, Justin Joly, Kamal Bonner, Sean Brown and Tamarcus Cooley.
Smothers led the team in rushing this season with 571 yards and six touchdowns.
Rogers, Grimes and Joly combined for 1,458 receiving yards and six scores.
Cooley, Bonner and Brown combined for 24 tackles in the bowl game alone. They finished with 191 tackles on the season. Cooley defended nine passes, including two interceptions in the loss to ECU.
Under a new NCAA ruling, certain junior college players maintain all four years of eligibility. Bishop Fitzgerald announced his return for one more season. He earned All-ACC honorable mention for his seven pass breakups, three interceptions, 51 tackles and a forced fumble in the regular season. He added four tackles, including a tackle for loss, and a breakup in the bowl loss.
“Guys are young, the redshirt freshmen are making plays,” Doeren said. “There’s a lot to build on. We look forward to doing that.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
