The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532241
MARCH/APRIL 2025 ■ 29 Roper, the Wolfpack's quarterbacks coach for three of the past six seasons, was promoted to be the play-caller in late December after NC State head coach Dave Doeren relieved Robert Anae of his duties following the Military Bowl loss to East Carolina. This is Roper's first stint running an offense in seven years, but despite being away from the controls for a while, his skill set has him primed to lead the Pack's unit. It all comes down to relationships for Roper, who has appeared to build a strong bond with rising sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey. The Wolfpack's young signal-caller ref- erenced his relationship with Roper as a reason he didn't consider looking elsewhere in the transfer portal. Ro p e r 's fa m i ly- f i rs t mindset is evident in his relationship with the Pack's quarterbacks. His house is theirs. His wife, Britt, is known to bring baked goods and meals to the meeting rooms on Thursday nights. Roper is willing to do whatever it takes to help his players. It's how he gets his message across, and in return, the of- fense clicks at a high level. "That's becoming challenging in the world that we're seeing in college foot- ball with the number of players that go in and out of programs. Standards are being lost," Cutcliffe said. "You have to build relationships to get your stan- dards met. You can develop relation- ships where your standards are met consistently. … That's the biggest chal- lenge for a coach, and that's one of Kurt Roper's greatest abilities." With the offseason underway, Roper has been called upon to improve a unit that finished 10th in total offense among the 18 ACC squads last fall. Do- eren said the veteran assistant coach's schematic abilities and talent for build- ing relationships make him the right person for the job. "Kurt has done a great job for us and knows what we need to do to take the next step forward as a program," Doeren said in a prepared statement. "He has a great relationship with our players, a great knowledge of college football and the ACC, and I'm looking forward to seeing him as a play-caller." A Talent For Teaching Who is Kurt Roper on a daily basis? Above all else, he's a teacher When Jake Bentley arrived at South Carolina before the 2016 season, the four-star quarterback recruit felt like he was drinking water from a firehose. He wasn't expected to be the starter, but Roper treated him like one, insist- ing that he grasp all the terminology in the playbook, from plays to defensive identification. It took a month or two for Bentley to feel comfortable, but once he did, Roper's ability to teach him the offense led to early success. Bentley burned his redshirt six games into his freshman campaign with the Gamecocks before he beat No. 18 Tennessee in just his sec- ond career start. Bentley played both the 2016 and '17 seasons with Roper as his offensive co- ordinator and position coach and came away from that experience believing the foundation for his success was laid be- fore his debut season. "It was the investment that he made that really helped me a lot," Bent- ley said. "Once I was able to use those summer months when I got there, it's what propelled me to be able to play as a freshman. I credit a lot of that to those summer meetings and really diving into those details." Roper thrives in meeting rooms as well as on practice fields. His ability to teach at a high level was one of the main reasons why Cutcliffe was impressed with him as a graduate assistant at Ten- nessee before the two moved on to Ole Miss and Duke. Cutcliffe, a 45-year coaching veteran, saw it in Roper's work with Manning at Ole Miss. Details were important, and he made sure that all of his quarter- backs were prepared for anything. The goal was to teach the players everything Roper knew, so that during games they could operate and adjust without need- ing to be told anything. "Teaching is a unique thing, and I thought Kurt had this talent," Cutcliffe said. "One of my [priorities] is teach- ing why you're doing something, not just what and how. Kurt Roper is a really intelligent person, and he grasped that. It was kind of like having a partner for me. I think we thrived together, and I certainly know that Eli benefited from that partnership." For Cutcliffe, an old-school coach with an offensive mindset, Roper's teaching acumen is a key piece of his track record as a successful offensive coordinator. "He's a talented play-caller, but more importantly, he's a talented teacher," Cut- c l i f fe ex p l a i n e d . " T h e magic is not always in the play-calling. There are some fundamental elements to it that he re- ally understood." An Evolving Approach While Roper wants his players to master the game's fine details, his mindset as a play-caller on game day is a simple one: Players, not plays. In key situations, including third downs and in the red zone, Roper isn't thinking about the perfect call. Instead, he's thinking about who will get the ball. "He fully believes that," former Duke quarterback Anthony Boone said. "Let's find a way to get it to the guy that's go- ing to make our offense successfully move the ball." Roper's offenses, especially with the Blue Devils, have reflected that ten- dency. Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis finished as the program's all-time leader in attempts (1,510), completions (877), passing yards (10,065) and pass- ing touchdowns (67). Boone became the team's winningest quarterback with 19 victories while totaling 5,789 career passing yards and 38 touchdowns. In addition, wide receiver Jamison Crowder set the Blue Devils' single- season record for receptions (108) and receiving yards (1,360) in 2013. After six seasons at Duke, Roper moved on to Florida in 2014 and helped the Gators field a balanced offense that averaged 179.9 passing yards and 187.7 rushing yards per game with quarter- back Jeff Driskel at the helm. " Kurt has done a great job for us and knows what we need to do to take the next step forward as a program." Dave Doeren on Roper