The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JULY/AUGUST 2021 ■ 25 Leary attempted to slide as he saw Duke safety Lummie Young IV crashing in to blow up the play. He was hit high as he went into his sliding motion, which forced all of his weight onto his left leg while falling awkwardly. After a quick attempt to get up, Leary knew something was wrong and laid back down on the grass. An eerie silence fell over the Carter-Finley Stadium crowd that was already at a reduced capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "I didn't really think much of it," Leary said. "If you go back and watch the video, I actually go to grab Cary Angeline's hands to help me up. I put my right foot down and as I go to put my left foot down, I looked down and saw my foot wasn't even in the right place. From that moment, I went into shock. My leg was all tingly and the trainers were immediately out there." The medical staff instructed him to remain still because they initially feared he may have suffered a head injury. Al- though they quickly learned it wasn't head-related, the injury was devastating nonetheless. Leary had broken his left fibula and was carted off of the field. He would be out for a minimum of four to eight weeks, and the injury ulti- mately ended his season. The Wolfpack went on to defeat Duke 31-20, but lost its starting quarterback in the process. Luckily, his family was in attendance that afternoon and was able to provide him im- mediate comfort in the locker room while he received further evaluation. "Something that my mom always instilled into me is that everything happens for a reason, but it's also about how you respond to what happens to you," Leary said. "There were obviously multiple different routes that I could have taken after this injury, whether it was giving up on myself or just losing hope down the line. "I think this injury changed me, not only as a player, but as a person. Just from a sense of not taking anything for granted. All the little things really do matter because they can be gone at any second." After successful surgery, Leary focused on the rehab process in preparation for the 2021 season. The quarterback noted he's back to 100 percent and was fully cleared to participate in spring practice. On April 10, he was able to return for the Red-White spring game, his first appearance in Carter-Finley Stadium since the injury. Leary threw for 175 yards and two touch- downs before sitting out in the second half. What Wolfpack fans weren't able to see before that contest were the countless hours of physical therapy spent behind the scenes. "The rehab was definitely a long process," Leary admitted. "Every single day, I thanked our training staff just for being able to help me and be there with me. Justin Smith and his whole staff have done a tremendous job with getting me back on my feet. I had to learn how to walk again with my left leg. "The first couple of weeks were literally just laying on a table, being able to pick my leg up in certain directions. Then I would just go back home and lay in bed. I was eventu- ally able to add different weights to my leg to continue building strength around my calf, my ankle mobility, my thigh. Being in a boot and a cast for that long, you lose a lot of your muscles that you've built up over time. "That was my first-ever surgery, the first type of rehab I really had to go through. It can take a toll on you both mentally and physically, but in the end, you start to look back on everything like, 'Wow, it really wasn't as long as it felt like.' The days start really flying by, and you start to see yourself take steps little by little." Now entering his second season as NC State's starting signal-caller, Leary said his understanding of the offense will be the best it's ever been. It will also be his second year under offensive coordinator and quar- terbacks coach Tim Beck. Considering spring practice in 2020 was canceled shortly after it started due to the pandemic, this will be Beck's first complete offseason to install his offense in person. "Having to be able to process a lot of information in a short period of time over Zoom was pretty challenging — not just for me, but for the whole offense," Leary said. "Coach Beck is doing a tremendous job of just breaking it down, day-by-day, to what I think he wanted to do originally. "Being able to hear him in person, see him in person and see him drawing on the board, watching film together in person — it's those little things that make such a big difference compared to being on a laptop or computer." "His command is better," Beck said of Leary. "That happens as you get older, it hap- pens as you gain more confidence within a system. This will be his first year having the same coach two years in a row. He had Eli [Drinkwitz], then Kurt [Roper, who is now coaching NC State's running backs], then me. In three years, he had three different guys. Now there's now some consistency there. "I noticed his presence and his command in the spring. He just seemed a lot more com- fortable, a lot more in control." Getting an entire offseason to work together in person has also helped Leary be- come a vocal leader in the locker room, a trait he was just beginning to develop last season before his injury. "He's started to use his voice a lot more," redshirt junior center and team captain Grant Gibson said in the spring. "Devin is a guy that talks the entire time now, which is good. That's what you want from your quarterback. We've all seen him take a huge step forward, and our offense is really excited to see what he can do now. We all have faith that he's going to lead this team." Returning from an injury that required months of rehab, Leary intends to hit the ground running and has special plans in store for the fall. He'll have plenty of help with a full ar- senal of experienced weapons surrounding him. NC State returns the entirety of its producers in the running back room and receiving corps from 2020 as well as four starters on the offensive line. "This offense is very, very special," Leary said. "We have so many different weapons coming back and so many different guys we can place all over the field and get the ball in their hands. "I'm really confident in how I play, I'm very confident in my ability, and I'm very confident in this team overall. We're a very special team this year, and I think we're go- ing to shock a lot of people." ■ " There were obviously multiple different routes that I could have taken after this injury, whether it was giving up on myself or just losing hope down the line. I think this injury changed me, not only as a player, but as a person. " Leary