CHAPEL HILL — NC State head coach Dave Doeren mentioned in his weekly press conference that he prefers not to play true freshmen, citing a lack of experience and a lack of physical development in a college weight room. Most coaches feel that way. But with injuries piling up, becoming an obstacle rather than just a nuisance, multiple young players have been forced into action.
At different parts of the year, it’s been different players stepping up: freshman safety Devan Boykin against Virginia Tech, freshman nickel Josh Pierre-Louis against Pittsburgh, redshirt sophomore corner Isaac Duffy against Duke. Most of the casualties came on the defensive side, but now, the offense is hurting.
NC State’s missing the most important piece a football team can have: its quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Devin Leary is done for the season, and the offense looks rough without him. After scoring at least 30 points in each start Leary made, the Wolfpack mustered just 21 points with a late garbage-time touchdown against UNC Saturday.
Redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman started the game and was ineffective, 1-4 in the first quarter with just 7 yards passing. Still, it was surprising to see true freshman quarterback Ben Finley take the field in the second quarter. Hockman wasn’t the reason for NC State’s deficit. Down 14-0, though, Doeren wanted a spark and Finley delivered on that desire.
Working the sidelines, Finley methodically took NC State down the field, into UNC territory and the red zone for the first time. He would’ve gotten his first career touchdown pass had redshirt senior tight end Dylan Parham not dropped an easy pass in the end zone, bobbling it into the air and the waiting arms of UNC’s Don Chapman. Doeren said the plan was for Finley to see a drive in the first half, just for experience, but seeing how well he played, the coaching staff had to keep him in the game.
“Ben went in and sparked us in the first half, [I] was happy to see that,” Doeren said. “We didn’t do much the first two series; he came in and sparked us, so we stayed with him.”
That was the right decision. Finley’s next drive was just as solid as his first, this one finishing as he intended. Beginning at the NC State 20-yard line, he went 6-8 with 78 yards capped off by a 42-yard hookup with senior wide receiver Emeka Emezie on a slant, who broke a tackle running free into the end zone, giving Finley his first career touchdown pass. With Finley playing as well as he was, it was a wonder that Hockman was even ahead of him on the depth chart.
“At that time of the game, [that touchdown] was huge,” said redshirt junior center Grant Gibson. “I thought that [Finley] played well… At that point we were down 14-0, still in the first half, we can still come back and play hard, and I thought we did that. We didn’t flinch.”
The Wolfpack’s resolve was solid in the first half, lucky to still be in the game after two quarters. At halftime, Finley was 9-12 for 128 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, looking less like a true freshman and more like his brother decided to come back and win another rivalry game. After halftime the mojo wore off, and Finley went 4-8 with just 15 yards.
UNC adjusted to the quick passes Finley preferred and shut him down. It was then that Doeren said, “his inexperience showed up.” He turned the ball over twice, one a tip-drill interception and the other a sack/force fumble by Chazz Surratt as Finley tried to do too much.
Down 38-7 at that point, Doeren turned back to Hockman, who filled in his stat sheet in garbage time during a meaningless fourth quarter. Hockman ended up 14-24 for 215 yards, a touchdown and an interception, compared to Finley’s stat line of 13-20 for 143 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Doeren’s given Hockman numerous chances in his time at NC State, and it doesn’t appear he’s ready to move away from him as of yet.
“I was proud of Bailey going back in and playing the way he did,” Doeren said. “He did some really good things towards the end of the game, throwing the football… This wasn’t the plan. The plan was to have him start the game and finish the game.”
Their numbers may be similar, but it’s clear which quarterback played better Saturday. Finley offers more potential, more excitement but also freshman mistakes. With Hockman, though, you know what you’re getting. In some ways, that’s comforting, having a known commodity under center, but with Hockman, that stability also means accepting mind-numbing errors and lessons that will never be learned.
Halfway through the year, NC State has yet another quarterback controversy going into the bye. Though Doeren won’t want to do it, and has given no indication it’s the case, there’s a good chance a true freshman provides the best option for NC State’s offense and should be under center for the rest of this season.
N.C. State quarterback Bailey Hockman (16) is sacked by North Carolina's Chazz Surratt (21) and Khadry Jackson (8) in the fourth quarter at Kenan Stadium on Saturday, October 24, 2020 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
