Devin Leary: "I Was Just Really Honored"

NC State redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Leary met with the media today to discuss being named the Wolfpack's starter and much more.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

What helped you get to this point?
I would just say film study, first and foremost... identifying defenses and really just mastering our system. Growing pains are going to happen, and I completely understood that, so I just think over time finding it, getting everything down was big for me. 

Do you feel like it clicked more recently?
I’m not really sure. For me personally, it was just to do my job every single day. I knew I was going to go out there and make mistakes. Everyone does, but just being able to chop at it every single day, I think that’s really what helped me get to where I’m at right now.

It had to be nice to hear coach Doeren tell you that you’d be the starter.
Absolutely. 

Being able to hear that from your head coach is an honor. Naming me the starter, I was just really honored and excited for the opportunity.

How much did it help with the off week?
Yes, I think that’s with any bye week. Being able to prepare an extra week, being able to get some time off to rest our legs, and kind of just recover for everyone, I think as a team that helped benefit us a lot. 

On receiving the first-team reps...
Being able to get the chemistry down with all the receivers and the offensive line and have them get a feel for how I lead, and how I manage a game.  That was pretty much it... just getting really good chemistry with all those guys. 

What did you take away from the game experience at Boston College...
Really just my first time getting significant snaps, I would say just taking it one snap at a time... being able to have a plan and execute my plan before I catch the ball every single snap. 

Did you think this would happen this fast?
For me personally, I wasn’t really concerned, I was just focused on myself.  Being able to work harder for this team, no matter where they put me on the depth chart, just being able to make myself better every single day and just continue to work hard. 

So there were never any thoughts of leaving?
No, sir. 

When coach says you have to work on the mental things, what is he talking about?
Me being a redshirt freshman, just being able to break down film more, understand what we’re doing offensively, and really just defensive ID.

Being able to understand everything and seeing it happen before it happens when I catch the snap.

Has the game slowed down for you?
Yeah, I think so. Being able to get reps with the first team has helped a ton. All of my teammates have helped me tremendously, and just being able to adjust feels really good right now. 

How has your approach changed as the starter?
One thing that I always like to take is just win the day, one day at a time. As long as we continue to win the day, we’re going to continue to progress. Like I said, competition is everything, so going hard every single day, managing everything like it’s a game is only going to make us better. 

There is a lot of talk about how strong your arm is... do you look forward to show that arm strength on some deep balls?
Whatever I can do to help this team, just do my job. If it’s with my arm, with my legs, I’m going to do whatever I can. 

How important were the three touchdowns in the second half with confidence?
That’s for any offense. I believe any offense, their job is to score the ball.

Boston College, it helped us going in the fourth quarter. Obviously, we wish we would have got it going earlier, but being able to keep fighting and finish the game and score those last three touchdowns kind of helped us out a lot. 

You and Thayer Thomas seem to have really good chemistry.
I would say me and Thayer have a really good connection, but really that’s with all my wide receivers. I have a really good connection with all my receivers, it’s just whether or not we are going to one or the other.

We just have to be able to trust each other.  I think that’s really big for us. 

Should we start calling you Mr. Fourth Down?
[Laughing] I don’t know about that one, but we’ll see.

What element do you bring to the field compared to the other two quarterbacks in the rotation?
Me personally, I think the other two guys did a really good job. This is just my turn. Next guy up, like we always say. Just being able to trust the coaches and hopefully be able to make plays with my arms and legs, like I said. 

What’s it like in the quarterback room with all three getting shots?
Honestly, we all benefit from it. Like you said, we each got our own turn. We were all one, two and three on the depth chart. Just being able for each one of us to have a different perspective of where we stand, benefits all of us and helps each one of us to get better no matter where we are at.