Devin Leary: "I'm Super Excited"
After his 2020 season ended prematurely due to a broken fibula, NC State quarterback Devin Leary is ready to lead the Wolfpack’s offense in 2021.
Leary spoke to the media at ACC Kickoff, and here’s some highlights of what he had to say.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview session.
What excites you most about the offense coming together for this season?
I’m super excited. The communication with our offensive system has grown so much, and the recent developments of using different guys into the offensive system is going to be amazing for us. The biggest thing was Coach [Tim] Beck had a difficult task of teaching the offense and having us understand the offense through Zoom and not necessarily being able to be out there physically and show us. Now, everybody’s around, being able to get extra film time whether it’s with me or different players at different positions. We’re all very hungry and eager to expand our offense.
What do you mean when you say that Clemson doesn’t have a target on its back?
I would just say that each opponent we face in the conference, we take the same approach. Each week, we need to go 1-0 and prepare for them the right way.
What are some of the details you noticed in yourself that you were able to correct in film?
Once you get to the college level, compared to high school, there’s so much more film study. The most important thing is to know what you’re studying. It’s easy to turn on a game and watch when you do something wrong, but being able to digest and understand the different tells and references and being able to anticipate and to be one step ahead all comes from film study. My injury last year allowed me to get a lot more film study which will help my game so much more.”
Would you say that helped you more on offensive adjustments or defensive reading?
Honestly, I think it’s all of the football. Offense, defense, self-critique, and just everything… I’m really digesting and learning the game. I can help our offensive line. I can help our receivers by telling them what I see. I can help our running backs understand what I see on film and take it off of film as well as helping our defense, too. Whether I see certain tells on a certain offense running a play or what they need to improve, I see it from an offensive perspective. It all goes hand in hand, and we help each other a lot.
How much does it help to have Emeka Emezie, Thayer Thomas, Devin Carter, and Porter Rooks returning in terms of chemistry and each having a unique skill set?
It’s huge. It makes my job so much easier. Being around those guys, there’s so many guys that are hungry to play, but they understand their role, their position, and the system. Each different receiver brings something new and different to the table that can help us out a lot, but as long as our offense continues to roll and everyone knows their role in the system, we can be very exciting.