On Saturday, Oct. 15, No. 15 NC State football announced via Twitter redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.
Leary’s season ends with 1,265 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns and four interceptions over six games. The Preseason ACC Player of the Year led the Pack to a 5-1 record, including a win over Florida State Oct. 8 which saw him suffer the injury on a hit in the third quarter that was flagged for roughing the passer.
Head coach Dave Doeren said in his weekly press conference Oct. 10 that Leary was “day-to-day,” and that his timetable for return was one to six weeks.
On Oct. 15, hours before kickoff of the team’s game at Syracuse, Leary was listed as out for the game, and shortly after, the team announced he is out for the season.
In 2020, Leary also suffered a season-ending injury with a broken fibula. Similar to the injury sustained against Florida State, Leary exited in the second half of the Pack’s game against Duke at Carter-Finley Stadium. The following season, he received the Ken McNeil award for comeback from injury.
With Leary being draft-eligible, Wolfpack fans may have seen the last of him donning the red-and-white. While he didn’t go out the way many, including himself, would have wanted, Leary leaves behind a career for the record books regardless if he suits up for NC State again.
For the time being, graduate quarterback Jack Chambers is expected to fill in as the starter under center. In four seasons with Charleston Southern before walking-on at NC State, Chambers posted 5,761 yards, 40 touchdowns and 29 interceptions through the air with 1,318 yards and 15 touchdowns with his legs.
