CJ Bailey: "I Expect A Lot From Myself"
NC State quarterback C.J. Bailey met with the media at the 2025 ACC Football Kickoff. Check out what all he had to say about his development, the Wolfpack's weapons, and more!
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
How much does he help you grow from a comfort level and knowing I got Justin Joly down there somewhere.
Yeah, Justin helped me grow a lot. He's my go-to guy. Right now, I'm getting a ball with Justin because he's gonna make a play for me. And it made me feel comfortable that I've got a guy I can trust out there with a lot of confidence.
CJ, who are some of the underrated guys you've seen throughout the offseason that maybe y'all know about, that we'll know about once the season starts?
Yeah, number one is Duke Scott, a running back. He's a bowling ball, a tremendous player, a big athlete, Teddy Hoffmann from Florida. He's just really good, he's gonna get a chance to shine. Terrell Anderson, Keenan Jackson, those guys are gonna play good. And I think I got against a few of those two players last year, and they're gonna be really good pitchers. Jonathan Paylor as well, y'all didn't see him though. He's a really good gadget guy, he can play running back, he can slot receiver, anything you want.
Dealing with Adversity...
Yeah, I learned that, like I said before, I was depletion somewhere, but I also learned that things don't always go your way. You gotta know how to bounce back from it. Yeah, I actually did when I first got in, that was LA Tech. I had a struggle, I threw like an interception, that was my second round. I was comfortable on the sideline, cuz I know how good I am, and I can't make mistakes
like that. Me and my team had my back, as the season progressed, the mistakes wasn't a problem for me, I got over it quick, so that was great for me.
So when was the last time you truly experienced something like that? Because obviously being in showmanship for so many years, you guys had great receivers, you had a great team as a whole. How difficult was that to go through it? What, the adversity part?
Yeah, it was difficult for me, it wasn't a problem for me, like period of high school or coming up. But it was just one instance of a LA Tech, and everybody had to remind me who I was for a second right there. And during out the season, it was great.
CJ, obviously North Carolina, NC State's big no matter what, but how does that ratchet up with Bill Belichick over there on the sideline?
Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, that's a question for Coach Doeren, him and the coaches right there.
How much of an impact did you have on helping Teddy flip and signing him?
Yeah, I feel like I had a big impact, you can ask someone, I was on him. I wanted him to come because I know what kind of player he was, and he was a great player. And the coaches knew it, but I had to really push them even further for him. Cuz I know how good he was.
CJ, what can NC State fans expect from the offense this season?
Yeah, the NC State fans are gonna expect way more points. We're gonna score way more points and get more wins for our team. Even if push comes to shove, God forbid, another team scores 62 points. We're gonna score 63, that's our job. If we don't score 63, we are never gonna point fingers at the defense or anything. Cuz that's our job to score points.
CJ, you're a high school teammate with Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State. What are some things that you think you've learned from him, and maybe some things that he's learned from you?
Yeah, I learned that from JJ. It's like, with a guy like him, you gotta give him the ball. That's the same thing with a guy like Justin. I gotta give him the ball cuz he's a playmaker. You gotta ask somebody, learn from me. But I just know that if I just put in this vicinity, he's gonna make a play for me.
Football is a sport of attrition, obviously you got to have depth to be successful. You were in a position last year where you didn't start the season, and then you ended up playing. How can you make the quarterback room better? What can you take to the quarterback room this year from your experience last year?
Yeah, I can take a lot to the quarterback room, especially with learning from what happened with Grayson and learning how Grayson led. I'm doing the same thing with the quarterbacks in our room. And they're helping me out as well. Like Lex Thomas, he's an experienced guy as well. And me and him, we have a good bond. Him and Will Wilson, all those guys, we all on the same mission. We all think the same.
We all want to win no matter what. What has that relationship been like for you guys as well, being able to grow?
Yes, that relationship has been great with Justin. It was really a trust factor at the beginning. When I first stepped in the huddle, it was about getting to gain everybody's trust. But most importantly, a playmaker like Justin's trust. And once I did that, everything started clicking. We became best buddies, you know what I mean? So yeah, Justin's a great guy.
You mentioned Jonathan Paylor. I think we all thought, what have you seen from him back in the spring? I know he's still playing a little bit of wide receiver running back and going into this fall. Where do you expect him to play more running back?
Yeah, you expect a lot from JP. Paylor, he's a freaky, he's an athlete, he's a speedy guy. He can do anything about anything we ask him to do. He can play slot, he can play running back, he can be a turner, primary turner, we can put him anywhere. So I feel like I expect to see a lot from him. He's a great player.
CJ, working with Bozeman and Coach J at Chaminade, who are some of those guys you look up to for their advice?
Yeah, like you just said, Coach Bozeman, I look for his advice a lot. He's a great coach. When I come down there, he's the first coach I come to see him come out, work out with, and have a little fun with it sometimes. But he's a good teacher as well. He's gonna make sure you understand before we move on to the next thing.
I don't know if you've been asked this yet, but obviously you got to go to Miami down the road. How geeked were you when you saw the schedule?
Yeah, I was pretty happy. I'm ready to go back to Miami, beat up on the hurricanes one time. , yeah.
What's something we're not talking about enough with him these days?
We're not talking about how much, I feel like y'all are talking about, I feel like defense, really. I know y'all are not talking about our front. We have a crazy, good front for it. We got Travali, we got Brandon Cleveland, we got a new guy, Sebastian. We got a lot of guys that's gonna push the pocket for us, create negative setbacks for our team.
How different does that defense look, so you got to see the entire defense from a 3-3-5 standpoint, but now it's multiple.
Yeah, I actually love that I got a chance to experience this four down defense that they have, because it's better than me as a player. I was used to that 3-3 stack that Gibby was running, I know how to pick that. Now once I got to the four down front, it's like, now I'm learning how to do this, because he can go to four down front to our front. He can do both, so it's like, I'm glad that he's our defensive coordinator and he's implementing both of that, because it's helping me grow as well.
You said Coach Warren talked about the fact that his focus is gonna be getting after the quarterback. I'm glad you didn't get to wear a green jersey and not worry about a guy like Brandon Cleveland or Caden Fordham.
Yeah, I'm happy, yeah. I can't wait to see them on game day, creating major setbacks, making it second and 15 or third and 15, because it's gonna be harder for all of us. I know personally it's harder to overcome a third and 15 conversion there, second and 15, so I can't wait for them to see them grow.
What's your growth potential between now and the season? Obviously, you're gonna start prepping soon. What is the growth potential for you now?
I expect a lot from myself, I always expect a lot from myself. I don't settle for none of that, so when the season comes, I feel like I should be where I wanna be, which is the best quarterback in the ACC.
Preps tend to be drudgery, do you look at it that way, or does it excite you?
It excites me, I'm ready to get all the reps I can because it's gonna better me. I learned that from the last year that I played, the last season. The more reps I took, the more games I played, it bettered me as a player.