In addition to the seniors lost from last year’s team, NC State football also saw a pair of players with a year of eligibility left in right tackle Will Richardson and running back Nyheim Hines leave a year early for the NFL draft. One player that flirted with that decision but elected to come back? Graduate quarterback Ryan Finley.
Finley could be preparing to start an NFL season right now, but instead is gearing up to lead the Wolfpack against James Madison at Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday, as he could not pass up a chance to play one more season in the college ranks.
“I think college football is just such a special opportunity, and I wasn’t ready to let it go,” Finley said. “So many relationships and friendships I’ve made in Raleigh and on our team that were just too special to me. I just wanted to enjoy it one last time. I think that’s what college football is all about. I had somebody close to me tell me that they’d give their right arm to play another college football game, so I took that to heart, and that was one of the big things for coming back.”
Finley’s been through more than most players in college football. He played his first two years at Boise State, suffering a pair of injuries during his time there. As a graduate transfer, he followed offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz to NC State, and those injuries caused the NCAA to grant him a sixth year of eligibility.
For Finley, taking the chance to play at a Power Five school and strong program was a no-brainer.
“I’ve really had two opportunities to do college football, which a lot of people don’t get,” Finley said.” So I wasn’t going to take my second chance for granted, and when I was blessed enough to have the opportunity to come to NC State because of Coach Doeren and Coach Drinkwitz, I wasn’t going to take that opportunity lightly at all. And I was excited for the opportunity to play, excited for the opportunity to just meet new teammates and win an ACC Championship, and that’s what our goal is.”
If NC State does reach that goal of an ACC Championship this season, Finley will be the top reason why. Coming off a season in which he finished second in the ACC with a 65.1 completion percentage, second with 3,518 passing yards and threw 17 touchdowns to just six interceptions, Finley, aided by a stellar trio of receivers, has a chance to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and hear his name called in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Aiding that cause is the fact that he used another offseason to continue improving weaknesses and add new facets to his game.
“For me I think just staying mentally sharp is the main thing,” Finley said. “Just continuing to find ways to better my knowledge in certain situations, decision-making in certain situations. As far as physically, I think a big emphasis for me this offseason was just showing my athleticism when plays break down and not being so quick to eat it or to check it down but maybe make something happen. Not scramble around and make dumb decisions, but just show some athleticism and make plays.”
The person on NC State’s coaching staff who knows Finley better than anyone is Drinkwitz, who was Boise State’s OC before joining the Pack and is entering his fifth year working with the Phoenix native.
For Drinkwitz, that constant drive for improvement is the main factor that makes Finley one of the top quarterbacks in college football.
“What makes him a good quarterback is he’s got a growth mindset; he’s always trying to find ways to get better,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s never satisfied with his performance; he’s his own biggest critic. He’s constantly trying to find ways to make himself a better player.”
That drive to improve himself has definitely brought Finley a long way from his first season with the Pack, a mixed bag that featured a couple game-killing interceptions.
“I remember thinking I was ready,” Finley said. “And now looking back, I wasn’t. It’s fun looking back. I think in three years, if I’m still fortunate enough to be playing, I’ll probably look back and be like, ‘you thought you were ready then too’. So I think it’s just like, you can always be improving and there’s really no replacement for experience.”
Drinkwitz has seen Finley’s journey not just at NC State, but all throughout his college career starting at Boise State.
“It’s watching an 18-year-old young man grow into a 23-year-old man,” Drinkwitz said. “To watch five years of maturity on and off the field, watch him develop into his body, grow into his toughness, grow into his leadership, find his identity. It’s been a remarkable journey, and we’re very proud of who he’s become. He’s even a better person than he is a player on the field, and that’s really a good thing.”
With the Pack losing so many upperclassmen from last year, that growth going into this year will include a climb to the top of NC State’s leadership group.
“Leadership-wise, I think he just provides influence and he provides what’s needed at the time,” Drinkwitz said. “When he first got here, he didn’t need to be a large presence. He just needed to be a good quarterback. We had other guys who were large presences in that locker room. Now, it’s got to the point where he’s a good quarterback and needs to provide presence and leadership to the younger guys, and he’s doing that. To me, that’s what a true leader does. He finds what’s needed in the unit and provides it.”
Also helping Finley’s case this season will be the fact that NC State’s top three wideouts in junior Kelvin Harmon, redshirt junior Jakobi Meyers and graduate Stephen Louis are one of the best groups in the country, and all have had at least a year to build chemistry with Finley. He’s earned their respect and trust as their quarterback and team leader.
“I think Ryan’s done a great job building chemistry with the entire team,” Louis said. “Him being that glue for all of us has been really good. He came in from Boise State a few years ago and he’s the new guy. He didn’t really want to take command immediately, but over time he’s done a great job in doing team bonding stuff. Recently we had a dodgeball tournament; we went paintballing. He’s done a lot of things off the field to help us build a great bond so on the field you can see it.”
A player that’s as driven as Finley doesn’t really need any more motivation, but he has a little extra anyway in trying to uphold the legacy of NC State quarterbacks, with four Wolfpack alums in Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson, Jacoby Brissett and Mike Glennon currently plying their trade in the NFL.
“Yeah, it’s a pretty impressive lineage of quarterbacks, and I don’t take it lightly to be considered among that group at all,” Finley said. “I think there’s a standard that needs to be upheld when it comes to the quarterback position at North Carolina State. Just in our quarterback room, we’ve got this table, and all four or five of them are on that table, just kind of a reminder of who came before you in the history of this position at North Carolina State. That’s something you shouldn’t forget.”
When all is said and done, and Finley’s played his last game as a member of the Wolfpack, he hopes to be a part of those discussions fans have about the great quarterbacks, on and off the field, that have come through Raleigh.
“I think I want them to say I was a good player; I was good for the community,” Finley said. “I represented myself the right way. I hope to have a successful career in the NFL, and I hope to just live up to the standard that we preach here. More importantly than fans, I hope my teammates know that I cared about them and was willing to do anything for the team.”
