NC State quarterback CJ Bailey met with the media to discuss his offseason, spring practice, and much more!
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full press conference!
On being back at spring practice...
It was fun being back out there. I've not been on the field since December and since that. So it's been fun practicing with the new guys, getting to know everybody. I feel like we're moving in the right direction right now.
What was the moment when it felt like high school with JoJo and Gus?
Yeah, shoot, the first day of practice, when I was making plays, Chance Robinson, Joshisa Trader, and Davion Gause were all making plays on the first day. I was just like, I can remember this.
I remember this feeling and just seeing this, what happened when I was younger.
You talked about before the bowl game, you weren't sure what you were gonna do after that. What did that decision process look like for you? And how concerned were you with the state?
That decision took a little while for a post to come out and everything like that, but I already had my mindset. I wanted to come back to NC State. Of course, there was more stuff to it with decision-making and stuff like that. But in my heart, I knew I wanted to be at NC State.
You're a loyal guy. Where does that come from? And you gotta feel good about the decision you make with all the people changing.
Yeah, so just growing up, it's always been like that. Love who loves you. They loved me first, since recruiting out of high school. And Coach Roper and Coach Doeren, they took that extra mile to get me. So I'm here now, and I'm staying here. Y'all believe in me, and I believe in y'all, so that's how it is.
And to have a comfort level with you, this is your third year starting. How important is that to you?
Yeah, it's very important because I'm back in the same system. Last year was my first time with the Rope system. And going anywhere else, I had to learn a new system. I had to learn everything like that. So I'm comfortable with just being with Rope and just playing ball with NC State.
CJ, you talked about Davion Gause. Obviously, he was at Carolina. And knowing him and being at NC State, how rewarding was it to get him to come over here from there?
Yeah, it was very rewarding just to get everybody over here. But specifically, Davion, it was very much because he's close to home. He's still at Chapel Hill Rival School. And it took a lot for him to get here. And he didn't wanna go to the rivalry team, rivalry team. So like that. So it was just fulfilling to see him back with me at NC State.
What was the first time you told him, like, yo, you need to be over here? Was it in the handshake line after the UNC game? And where did it start?
I told him I was recruiting. Like when he was in recruiting, he ain't saying like he was going to UNC. I'm like, you need to come with me. And he said, I was telling all of them like that. Like I was telling them, come here and believe me at first. And look where you're at now. So that was good, it was a blessing.
What areas of growth do you wanna make progress on this year that you wanna get to by September?
Yeah, I wanna grow. So as a player, I'm just being consistent. Sometimes, things get off track with what's going on. And just throughout games or whatever the case may be, just the word of the year is just consistency for me. Coach Roper talked about how you can visualize things now.
You guys can just talk about it, you can see it. How much is that kind of helping you in practice right now, where you don't need to see the film right now that you're talking about?
Yeah, yeah, so it's very good. Even in meeting rooms, you can see we're having real conversations and real-life things. I can see what he's seeing, and he can see what I'm seeing. So that's how practice flows so good, because we're both seeing the same thing. We both know what the defense is giving us and where to go or what the checks are. So when we're both on the same page, we're both clicking, it's just gonna go up.
I'm sure you knew a little bit of NC State's quarterback history when you signed. But now, a few years later, what is it like kind of learning about some of the guys that played before you? And have you interacted with anybody that's a quote-unquote act pro?
Yeah, I interacted with a lot of people, former NC State quarterbacks, especially named by Demolier. I spoke to him the other day at a Pro Bowl; it was a great talk with him. Phillip Rivers, Jacoby Bissett, I knew about those guys. Talked to them before the season last year about how to increase my leadership. They were giving me some gems and stuff like that.
But just NC State history is big, and just learning about it and getting those players to come back, they still come to the workout and activities, and everything like that is very good. It just shows the culture of NC State, period. People haven't seen a lot of change, obviously, at the college level.
What should they expect to see from you?
Yeah, they should expect to see the dog. Chance is an amazing player. Remember how I brought up that first day of practice? He was catching one-handed passes, one-handed everywhere. He gives his routes; he's a big body. He can bump through traffic and stuff like that.
So when you see him in that first game, coming out first, second game, you will see a lot of explosive plays coming from him. A lot of great catches, a lot of good routes, everything like that. So he's a good player.
