WATCH: McKay Confident Heading Into First Start

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Matthew McKay discusses his thoughts on heading into the 2019 season as the starter behind center.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

“It did sink in a little bit. It’ll probably sink in some more on Saturday when the game comes, but competition is everyday. I still have to go out, compete, and prove myself.”

“Really confident. I just put in my mind that I wanted to be the starter and put myself in position to put my head down and work.”

“Definitely a lot, not only on the field but also off the field. Just understanding their background and where they come from, once you know that, it makes you play harder for them on the field.”

“I was really excited. There was a lot of joy for me and my family. I couldn’t tell anybody until the next day, so it was definitely exciting.”

“Definitely last spring, my redshirt freshman year. My redshirt year, I just had to learn a lot: understanding the offense and what the defense was doing. That redshirt-freshman spring, I felt like I stepped my game up to really play at this level.”

“I definitely wanted to play college and be a college quarterback at Wakefield. Even when I was younger, I always did.”

“It definitely helped understanding when you go out on the field, just put your blinders on, go out, and play football which you’ve been doing for your whole life.”

“It was definitely exciting for me. He still has a lot of work to do, but I’m really excited to see his improvement and how much he’s grown.”

“Probably just the speed of the game. I feel like it’s faster every year, so I’m just trying to slow it down in my mind and on the field.”

“When I first got here, I’d seen how Ryan Finley and Jalan McClendon studied the game. I thought, ‘Okay, they’re really students of the game. They spend hours in here and in the Murph.’ So I just followed their footsteps and started being a student of the game. As time went, I felt like I got smarter, and once I got smarter, I felt like I could start teaching people the game."