Doeren Talks In-Depth On Matt McKay's Performance... An Evolving Offense

NC State head coach Dave Doeren was asked on Monday if after watching Matt McKay’s play at West Virginia is there a need to re-evaluate the quarterback position. 

“There are always things you have to re-evaluate,” Doren said.  “There are certain things he's doing really well.  What is he doing well? He's not turning the football over.  He's getting guys lined up, outside of the first play of the game, [and] he's managing the clock well.  He's doing some good things.

“There were situational things on 3rd-and-1 where we had RPOs called... that's on us. We shouldn't have him even thinking about throwing the ball there. That's not on Matt, that's on us.  There were a couple of third downs where he threw a good ball and the ball was dropped; obviously you’re going to say the receiver should catch it.

“There is a lot that goes into him playing better, and he needs to play better. He was mad at some things he could do better.  It's his third college game.  It’s his first road game in a loud environment.  Did he play great?  No, he didn't.  Can he play better? Yes, he can.”

It sounds as if Doeren and his staff plan to not only make changes offensively but to do so around McKay’s skillset, because he believes the offense has room to grow, not just McKay. 

“As far as changing things, yes, we’re going to grow,” he stated.  “We are going to evolve offensively. We have a lot of new parts and an injury with CJ Riley being out.  As the season goes on we'll become more and more of who we are going to be, as you see us.

“We have to do a good job of evaluating that. What has he done well? What hasn't he?  Let's get rid of that. Let's focus on the things he's really doing well. Where are we succeeding in the run game?  What can we do off the run game to help with the pass game?

“That's part of being young on offense. You think you know what you want to do, but after you play you really find out what you can do.  That's our job, to change some things based on the information we now have.”

Doeren gave an in-game example of making adjustments to help McKay.  The Wolfpack failed on a pivotal third-and-1 in the third quarter at West Virginia, and the next play was a blocked punt.  NC State had a run-pass option called and McKay didn’t hand the ball off; instead, he dropped back to pass and took a tackle for a loss. 

“It's just a learning curve,” Doeren said. “When you have a more experienced quarterback he'd say, "I don't care there is a throw on, I'm running this thing.

“He's a third-time starter. That's not on Matt, that's on us. Those are things you see. How do you make it easier for him?  Well, we did. We got to the next 3rd and 1, and we handed it off. We had a play-action called, but we took the game management out of it.  

“As quarterbacks grow you can add those things back to their plate.”

Through three games Matt McKay is averaging 238 passing yards per game. He’s completing 58.4% of his passes with five total touchdowns and no interceptions.  However, he did win the job in the fall, and backups Bailey Hockman and Devin Leary were four-star prospects out of high school.

“The other two quarterbacks are practicing well,” Doeren said.  “We have to keep getting them better. Like I tell them, everyone in our program in the two-deep, three-deep has to be ready to play. If they get an opportunity, they do at some point.

“I'm never going to say Matt underperformed to the point where I have to pull him out.   I think there is a lot of things. Look at our running backs, our corners, our offensive line, our tight ends. Across the point as a team we have to play better.”

Hockman has served as the backup and Doeren was asked if the upcoming game against Ball State would provide an opportunity to get Hockman more work.

“You'd love to say that,” Doeren replied.  “But, you just have to see how it goes this week.”