1/6/2021 football Edit

NC State quarterback Bailey Hockman enters transfer portal

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

The question looming about what the quarterback position competition will look like at NC State going forward became clearer Wednesday morning when redshirt junior Bailey Hockman announced that he was entering the transfer portal.

Content Loading

Embed content not available
Manage privacy settings

PGRpdiBjbGFzcz0nc3RfX2NvbnRlbnQtYmxvY2sgc3RfX2NvbnRlbnQtYmxv Y2stLXR3ZWV0Jz4KPGRpdiBjbGFzcz0nY2VudGVyX3R3ZWV0Jz48YmxvY2tx dW90ZSBjbGFzcz0idHdpdHRlci10d2VldCI+PHAgbGFuZz0iZW4iIGRpcj0i bHRyIj5CYWlsZXkgSG9ja21hbiBnb2luZyBpbnRvIHRoZSB0cmFuc2ZlciBw b3J0YWwuIDxhIGhyZWY9Imh0dHBzOi8vdC5jby9mNnlPQ3J5b3NzIj5odHRw czovL3QuY28vZjZ5T0NyeW9zczwvYT48L3A+Jm1kYXNoOyBUaGUgV29sZnBh Y2tlciAoQFRoZVdvbGZwYWNrZXIpIDxhIGhyZWY9Imh0dHBzOi8vdHdpdHRl ci5jb20vVGhlV29sZnBhY2tlci9zdGF0dXMvMTM0Njg0NTE5MzM0MTk1MjAw MD9yZWZfc3JjPXR3c3JjJTVFdGZ3Ij5KYW51YXJ5IDYsIDIwMjE8L2E+PC9i bG9ja3F1b3RlPgo8c2NyaXB0IGFzeW5jIHNyYz0iaHR0cHM6Ly9wbGF0Zm9y bS50d2l0dGVyLmNvbS93aWRnZXRzLmpzIiBjaGFyc2V0PSJ1dGYtOCI+PC9z Y3JpcHQ+CjwvZGl2Pgo8L2Rpdj4KCg==

Hockman started the first two games of the 2020 season after the originally projected starter, redshirt sophomore Devin Leary, had to catch up following an extended quarantine for contact tracing with COVID-19 in the preseason.

Hockman helped lead NC State to a season-opening win over Wake Forest, earning a second start against Virginia Tech. After Hockman struggled in Blacksburg, completing 7 of 16 passes for 82 yards and two interceptions, he was benched in favor of Leary.

Leary started the next three games, all Wolfpack wins, but broke his leg during the second half of the victory over Duke Nov. 17. Hockman would start the final seven contests of the year, leading NC State to a 4-3 record in that span.

His best performances included completing 70.6 percent of his pass attempts for 265 yards and three scores in a win against his former team, Florida State, and a 313-yard, four-touchdown effort in a victory at Syracuse.

Overall, Hockman finished the year completing 171 of 266 passes for 2,088 yards and 13 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. That should make Hockman a fairly popular quarterback in the portal for teams seeking an established signal-caller.

NC State Wolfpack football quarterback Bailey Hockman — Hockman had a 6-5 record as NC State's starter over two seasons in Raleigh. (Ethan Hyman/News & Observer)

Hockman arrived at NC State after redshirting in 2017 at Florida State. He left Tallahassee during preseason camp in 2018 and spent time at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College before arriving at NC State.

The 6-2, 200-pound lefty was a touted prospect coming out of McEachern High in Powder Springs, Ga. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 15 pro-style quarterback in the 2017 class nationally, and he was once committed to Georgia before a coaching change in Athens led him to flip to FSU.

His transfer means, barring an addition elsewhere, that Leary has reclaimed his position as the likely starter. He completed 66 of 110 passes for 890 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions in 2020 prior to getting hurt.

NC State will also have rising redshirt freshman Ben Finley and incoming freshman Aaron McLaughlin from Denmark High in Alpharetta, Ga., available. Redshirt freshman Ty Evans announced earlier this week that he was transferring to Texas State.

Finley completed 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions in a loss at UNC this year.

McLaughlin is listed by Rivals.com as the No. 19 pro-style quarterback in the country and the No. 39 prospect in Georgia for the 2021 class. He completed 107 of 184 passes this past fall for 1,505 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven picks while rushing 131 times for 652 yards and six scores in nine games.