Jakobi Meyers has had his fair share of minor injuries during his short time at NC State, but the redshirt freshman quarterback is now fully healthy and ready to make an impact.
Meyers was sidelined for stretches during his redshirt year due to a pair of sprained knees, but he was healthy for the spring. He then sprained his ankle playing basketball during the summer and missed the beginning of fall camp, but he came back late last week.
NC State’s quarterback race was originally billed to have three contenders — redshirt sophomore Jalan McClendon and redshirt junior Ryan Finley are the other two — but Meyers’ injury has slowed him down. He hopes to change that leading up to the season opener against William & Mary on Sept. 1.
“I just missed being out there, participating and dying with my teammates,” Meyers said. “The only thing that gets me down is seeing my people out there working hard, and not doing anything about it. I can support them, but you want to go through it with them. I missed that bad.”
Meyers could tell his feet felt “heavy” upon his return last week. That is part of shaking off the rust.
“I have to get used to picking them [his feet] up again, and I have to get my drops right,” Meyers said. “Once I get my feet right, my arm will get more accurate.”
He also noticed the difference between playing with the starters and the reserves.
“My arm can get me out of trouble and my feet can get me out of trouble with the threes, but with the twos and ones, I have to use my brain and not just physical ability,” Meyers said.
Meyers played with some of the Wolfpack receivers on the scout team, such as redshirt freshman Vernon Grier, and is learning about new freshmen Kelvin Harmon and Daeshawn Stevens.
“Vernon is a positive guy and I love Vern," Meyers noted. "He is always upbeat and dancing around.
“Kelvin is going to be a dog because he works so hard. His first day here, he texted ‘Can we throw?’ and it was like 10 p.m. Daeshawn is a guy I like. He is coming along. He is catching up and making plays. I’m proud of him.”
The Lithonia (Ga.) Arabia Mountain High standout was originally committed to Kent State, but switched to NC State late in the recruiting process. He went 105-of-192 passing for 1,562 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and he added 481 rushing yards and two scores in eight games his senior year.
Meyers got to showcase his skills at the Kay Yow Spring Game on April 9. He went 12-of-20 passing for 117 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed 10 times for 40 yards and a score. The rushing stats were skewed because he was considered
"tackled” when touched by a Wolfpack defender.
“I was just trying to make plays,” Meyers said. “I realized that it is about being a quarterback and not just being an athlete.”
The 6-foot-2 Meyers also wanted to gain weight this summer, but he knows that is still a work in progress. He reached a high of around 190 pounds last fall, but after injuries fell back down to about 182. Meyers said he felt “small” compared to what he was going against and is now at 186.
“I want to be durable,” he said about the need to add weight. “I also want to get faster. I need to get my arm more accurate because I was just worried about throwing it hard and fitting it in tight places.”
He has a confident and positive attitude. He also got a new tattoo on his left arm, recreating a picture of when he was a baby in his mother’s arms.
“I got it on New Year’s when I went home,” said Meyers, who was born Nov. 9, 1996. “This is why I do everything. It’s my mom and I, and she was kissing me on my forehead.”
