The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/846301
60 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2017 QUARTERBACKS "You have to correct it and move on and give him the courage to go out there and make that correction on the next play." Freshman Matthew McKay enrolled early at NC State and joined the quarterbacks room in the spring, while former quarterback Dylan Parham, a redshirt freshman, moved to tight end in the summer. Walk- on redshirt junior Woody Cornwell also remains on the roster. Drinkwitz has a word for his offensive philosophy that he believes relates well to his position group: Ubuntu. "I am what I am because of who we all are," Drinkwitz described. "That really describes our quarterback room. It is one person on the field, but it represents the quarterback room — past traditions and past quarter- backs that have played here. It represents everybody that is in that room. "If you are the backup quarterback or the third-string quarterback, your job is to push the starter and make him better and make him compete. Then give him information during the game that can help us all be successful. That is everybody's goal and job. I think they are all doing a good job of pushing each other." ■ NC State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Eli Drinkwitz notes that freshman quarterback Matthew McKay should have just gotten out of high school in June rather than already have a round of spring practices under his belt after enrolling early. Truthfully, it could be that McKay should be getting ready for his senior season in high school. He will not turn 18 until October. "I have to remind myself that he is only 17," Drinkwitz said. The physical maturation ahead for McKay, who currently checks in at 6-3 and 200 pounds, is obvious, a point that head coach Dave Doeren drove home during his National Signing Day press conference in February to announce the rest of the class of 2017. "Watching him run this morning, I'm very excited about his skill set," Doeren said. "… He's in college at 17 years old, graduated early, he's still growing. Watching him run today, he has tremendous upside from a growth standpoint. He'll only get bigger." McKay pulled off the 2,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard rushing milestone as a junior at Wakefield High in Raleigh, throwing for 2,486 yards and rushing for 1,186. He nearly did it again as a senior (1,956 passing yards and 895 rushing yards). Drinkwitz, though, is not about to call McKay a dual-threat quarterback. "I think he is just a quarterback," Drinkwitz said. "I don't get into dual threat, one threat, single threat. [Former NFL quarterback] Payton Manning ran a couple of touchdowns in and nobody considers him a dual threat. "[Former NFL head coach] Bill Walsh said the objective of the quarterback is to get two first downs a game with his feet. That is what we are looking for with the athleticism of our position. If he can do more than that, great. That isn't what he has to do to be successful." One of the advantages McKay gained by enrolling early was getting a jumpstart on learning the offense. Drinkwitz noticed that, like the vast majority of freshmen, McKay hit a bit of a wall midway through the spring. "He hit it and fought through," Drinkwitz noted. "I thought he really came on that last week. He has pushed himself hard in the weight room. I'm excited to see what the first three weeks of fall camp will look like for him." One routine that McKay should quickly get accustomed to: learning the playbook. He will find that the start of fall camp will seem similar to when he arrived in January. "With everything we do, we start from the ground up, whether it is Ryan [Finley] in that first meeting or Matt McKay," Drinkwitz said. "We start with the DNA of our of - fense and we teach it like it has never been taught before. We expect everybody to be taking copious notes and to make sure they understand the foundation of our offense. "We re-install in fall camp, re-install in the summer and then in the spring. In fall camp, he'll be hearing it for the third time." — Matt Carter Getting To Know: Matthew McKay At Wakefield High in Raleigh, McKay threw for 5,932 career yards and 58 touchdowns while also rushing for 2,386 yards and 39 scores. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Quick Facts Position Coach: Eli Drinkwitz (second season) Returning Starter: Ryan Finley (13 starts at NC State/16 total) Starter Lost: None FYI: Phil Steele's College Football Preview rated NCSU as the 29th-best quar - terback roster in the country and third in the ACC … Athlon had NC State listed No. 5 in the ACC at the quarterback position … Lindy's named redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Finley the "most accurate passer" in the ACC and preseason third-team all-conference … Phil Steele's also had Finley third-team All-ACC … Redshirt junior Jalan McClendon represented North Carolina in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and also played in the International Bowl in Arlington, Texas, following his final prep season … Finley thrived at Phoenix Paradise Valley High, where he was the No. 10 overall player in the state of Arizona's class of 2013 … Rivals.com ranked freshman Matthew McKay as a three-star recruit and the No. 41 player in North Carolina in the class of 2016.