CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If there was one lesson NC State football learned from the 2022 season, it was to expect the unexpected — a lesson that caused no shortage of stress for Wolfpack fans last fall.
NC State truly battled through it all last season — primarily a freakish injury bug that plagued the Pack’s quarterback room. NC State started four signal-callers by the end of its 2022 campaign, putting fans on a sickening seesaw of emotions game-in, game-out.
But considering those challenges, NC State did the unthinkable by winning eight games with four different starting quarterbacks, which is simply unheard of in college football.
“I look at last year as a huge success with the difficulties we faced,” said head coach Dave Doeren at the ACC Kickoff on Thursday. “Would have loved to have not had those challenges and be in the championship game and all that, but it’s not the reality of sports. You have to compete with what you have to compete with, and I felt like this staff did that. We’re going to do it again. We will have obstacles, we will have adversity, we’ll have things happen that we don’t want.”
As of now, the injury boogeyman is in the squad’s rearview mirror. With a new offensive coordinator in Robert Anae and a new starting quarterback in graduate student Brennan Armstrong, NC State’s added some fresh faces to join its stingy, stalwart defense. While there won’t be any lack of adversity in 2023, the Wolfpack will have some of the best minds, talent and grit in the ACC to give its offense a new sense of conviction, dependability and confidence.
Anae — perhaps the Pack’s most important addition this offseason — is bringing a revamped scheme, demanding attitude and near-unrivaled creativity to breathe life into NC State’s offense.
“It’s been a great match [with Anae],” Doeren said. “He’s very unique. … He’s a fun personality, but he is a tough football coach. He expects guys to do things a certain way — he’s demanding. His creativity, I’m not saying it’s unmatched, but it’s in the top 10% of college football. He does a lot with different things he can do an offense and with players.”
The ex-Virginia and ex-Syracuse coach knows the ins and outs of ACC football and brings in a much-needed burst of innovation to NC State’s offense. His biggest strength? Elevating his players and bringing out the best in everyone’s game. And Armstrong, a Virginia transfer, has seen it in action while playing under Anae with the Cavaliers.
“In Coach Anae’s offense, we get guys to play to a higher potential, we get guys in good positions to be successful,” Armstrong said. “I think getting guys in position to be successful, giving them confidence, that’s the big key — confidence. Letting them lineup quick, play fast, they know what they’re supposed to do quickly. It’s a recipe for success.”
Armstrong’s familiarity with Anae is definitely a benefit for stability’s sake within the unit. Becoming the fifth starting quarterback in under a year for NC State doesn’t roll off the tongue as a smooth transition, but Armstrong’s put his nose to the grindstone and is truly finding his role as a leader of NC State football.
“Obviously I’m a new face,” Armstrong said. “Coming into the team, I just put my head down and worked hard and now I’m certainly being a vocal leader. I’m going to start showing a little more of a fiery side — I’ve been cool, calm and collected. I don’t want to scare some guys on game day if I just get fired up out of nowhere. So I’m going to incorporate that a little bit more into fall camp and just continue to be a voice, trying to instill confidence and determination on the offensive side.”
Even if it means occasionally startling his teammates, Armstrong brings a level of intensity, but most importantly a sense of consistency to Raleigh this fall — something Wolfpack fans are in desperate search of after 2022.
Like Armstrong said, the key is confidence. He and Anae both bring a level of veteran experience, football savvy and confidence that was lacking due to the Pack’s quarterback carousel in 2022. NC State’s reliance on a perennially great defense — and now on Anae and Armstrong — as consistent, dependable and defining traits of NC State football will lower everyone’s blood pressure in Raleigh just a bit this fall.
The red-and-white aren’t content with just treading water, though. Doeren and company believe they can excel this season and, with Anae and Armstrong’s help, become the class of the ACC.
“I think our ceiling is being the best in the league,” said Doeren. “I mean that’s our goal. We can’t control the stats and all the things outside of the ACC. We’ve got to try to win the ACC, and our goal has always been to be the best statistically in the areas that we consider important.”
But like the Woflpack learned firsthand last season, it won’t all go according to plan. Adaptability and the ability to battle through unexpected adversity is paramount in sports, but the Wolfpack might be able to slug its way through it all with the reassurance brought by Anae and Armstrong.
