The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472609
JULY/AUGUST 2022 ■ 25 BY MATT CARTER evin Leary's first start of the 2020 season came Oct. 3 at No. 23 Pittsburgh. With 1:44 remaining in the game and NC State leading 24-23, Panthers quarter- back Kenny Pickett, a 2021 Heisman Trophy finalist and first-round pick of the hometown Steelers in April this year, barely snuck in for a touchdown on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line. An ensuing 2-point conversion pass was dropped, but Pittsburgh was up 29- 24, and NC State was out of timeouts. Little did NC State fans know at the time, but what they were about to wit- ness was the first glimpse of the devel- opment of Leary into a bona fide elite college quarterback. After a short kickoff return, the Wolf- pack took over at its own 21-yard line with 1:38 to go. On first down, Leary threw a quick dart to receiver Emeka Emezie, who had a few yards of open space ahead of him before stepping out of bounds for a 10-yard gain. Then came a 9-yard pass to wideout Thayer Thomas. On second-and-1 from the 40, Leary struck down the seam with a perfectly placed ball to tight end Cary Angeline for a 22-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 38. NC State was in business with 1:09 left. After a short completion of 6 yards to Thomas, the drive hit a temporary snag. Emezie false-started. Then Leary threw incomplete to receiver Devin Carter, and his third-and-9 pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage. With 43 sec- onds left, Leary needed to get NC State at least past the 28-yard line. Standing strong in the pocket, Leary delivered a strike to Thomas at the 27, and the receiver bounced off a tackle attempt to reach the 23. The chains moved, and now Pittsburgh's heralded defense was on its heels. After a defensive holding penalty moved the ball up 10 yards to the 13, Leary made a perfect back-shoulder pass to Emezie in the front left corner of the end zone. It was a pass impos- sible to defend, one that only Emezie could catch, which he did for the win- ning touchdown with 23 seconds to go. A star was born. When Leary threw 2 touchdown passes in less than two minutes to stun North Carolina in his last start of 2021, completing a 15-game stretch in which he went 12-3 as a starter, a legend may have been born. Clutch Performer NC State head coach Dave Doeren is not shy about his belief in Leary. During an April appearance leading up to the NFL Draft on ESPN's "College Game- Day," Doeren proclaimed, "We have the best quarterback in the country, in my opinion." "He's 'Jersey tough,' as he calls it, but he's clutch," Doeren added. "He's got great poise." Poise and a penchant for clutch per- formances are two qualities that make an excellent quarterback, especially in crunch time. Doeren told The Wolf- packer that it's in the two-minute of- fense that Leary stands out. "I think that's what separates the kid, to be honest," Doeren noted. "He makes the two-minute drill look very simple, and it's not. It's been happening for a while. It started in the Pitt game. "He's really good in those scenarios. He understands how to manage the clock. As we know, he can throw it, doesn't get panicked. He doesn't turn it over." Those are not just Doeren's thoughts. They are backed up in numbers. Last season in drives that began with two minutes or less left in the half, Leary was 33-of-51 passing (64.7 percent) for 548 yards and 7 touchdowns with just 2 picks — one a heave on the final play of the first half at Florida State and the other coming with 25 seconds left at Mississippi State and NC State trailing by two touchdowns. No quarterback in the FBS completed more passes or threw more touchdowns in drives that started in the last two min- utes of the half than Leary did a year ago, and only one other quarterback — Jake Haener of Fresno State — had more than 3 touchdowns in that scenario. Leary threw 12 passes of 20 yards or more in the two-minute offense, four more than any other FBS quarterback. Only two other signal-callers had even half that many. Leary's poise under fire is felt by those in his presence. Diehard NC State fan and Wolfpack Club supporter Tom Livolsi was on the sideline last fall when the Pack hosted Clemson, and he can remember when a missed NC State field goal try meant overtime. "We missed that field goal, and the entire stadium had like this PTSD mo- ment of, 'Oh my God, not again.' I looked over and Devin Leary was maybe 20 yards from me," Livolsi recalled. "He just picked up his helmet, calm as a cucum- ber, tapped somebody on the shoulder pads and said, 'All right, let's do it.' "Just calm, unbelievably calm." Whether natural or developed, Leary's two-minute prowess is unmatched dur- ing Doeren's coaching tenure. "I've never had one that's as good as he is in that situation, I just haven't," Doeren said. "It's nice to see it. Been around some guys that do it every now and then, but not to the degree that he's been able to do it. "To me, that's what separates him from everybody else out there. He's really good at the end of the half, and he has been for multiple years. Pretty special." Leary thrived in pressure situations last year, completing 64.7 percent of his passing attempts in drives that began with less than two minutes remaining in the half. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN PLAYING IT COOL Devin Leary's Unflappable Demeanor Has Helped Turn Him Into One Of The Nation's Top Quarterbacks D