When redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary went down with a broken leg against Duke on Oct. 17, it was natural that the position returned to redshirt junior Bailey Hockman. The former Florida State transfer was 2-2 as a starter at that point in his Wolfpack career, and he led the offense in a shootout win over Wake Forest, 45-42, during the season opener.

Although probably no fault of his own, the offense gained just one first down in Hockman’s first three possessions at UNC. Then came freshman Ben Finley in a pre-planned series of action to get some reps. Finley led two drives, both of which should have been touchdowns, and the spark of energy posed questions over whether or not Finley would be the quarterback going forward.

Ultimately, Finley turned it over three times (not all his fault, either) in Chapel Hill, and Hockman threw it well when he returned into the contest. Head coach Dave Doeren seemed to make it clear on Monday during his weekly press conference that Hockman will continue to lead the offense as it emerges from the bye week and hosts No. 11 Miami on a rare Friday night game at Carter-Finley Stadium.

“We're excited for Bailey,” Doeren said. “I thought he really did a great job coming in the game, and playing at the end of last week's game, and Ben will continue to develop and get reps. I'm glad we were able to get him some game reps.

"But it's Bailey's opportunity and he's been through a lot. I know he's excited to lead the football team, and he'll do a great job for us."

Doeren did not want to tip his hand over whether or not there would be a role for Finley in Friday night’s game regardless of circumstances.

“You saw when he had his package of plays he was … moving the team,” Doeren noted of Finley. "But when things got into a different mode, you could see it was a lot for him, and so we just have to be smart with Ben.

“And at the same time, Bailey operates our offense really well. I thought he threw the ball terrific in the [UNC] game, and I think if you're going to do something like that you just got to be smart about the flow of the game and not let one kid get out of rhythm, because rhythm is a big part of playing that position."

The staff used the bye week to give individual reports to the players, apprising them of their needed area of improvements over the second half of the year. Doeren praised his team for being receptive and willing to work on them.

As a team, Doeren noted turnovers as a major focal point. In its last two games, the Wolfpack had seven turnovers. Doeren noted that the Pack has not lost a game over the past three seasons during which it won the turnover margin.

Defensively, the coach noted that in its two losses the team did not tackle well. He also saw a lot of plays that the coach would categorize as lay-ups that were left on the field.

The good news that Doeren sees is that four of the final five games will be at home.

"You have a chance, for one, to be in a routine,” Doeren said. “Sleep in your own bed, sleep in your own team hotel. Play in your own stadium, your own locker and just all those things that go with it. Not get home like we did after Virginia Tech at four in the morning and not miss as many classes because Fridays you're traveling. All that stuff goes into it.

"I think it gives our guys a chance to finish very strong. Obviously, Miami is going to be a tough opponent coming in, and we're excited about that challenge.”

• Doeren noted that fifth-year senior right tackle Justin Witt should be ready to go after he returned to action at UNC for 14 plays following a stretch of missing three weeks with an injury. Also, junior running back Ricky Person Jr. appears to be out of concussion protocol and will be back for the Miami game.

Person was concussed at UNC.

• This week’s schedule will be disrupted slightly by an off day on Tuesday. NC State athletics is giving all athletes a day off for Election Day. Doeren noted that they began game-week preparations for Miami on Sunday evening, a timeslot designed to match the 7:30 Friday kickoff.

The team returns for another practice Monday before taking Tuesday off. Then it will use Wednesday like it would use a normal Thursday practice for a Saturday contest.

Without a bye, Doeren acknowledged this week would have been a challenge.

“We were able to take the time off that the guys needed to get their bodies better,” he added.

• Miami second-year head coach Manny Diaz is a former NC State defensive assistant coach, getting his start as a full-time assistant when Chuck Amato was the head coach of the Wolfpack.

"I've known Manny for a long time,” Doeren said. “We recruited the same areas in Florida when I was at Wisconsin, and got to know him as a coach.

"I've always respected him. I've gotten to know his wife, they're really good people. I know they love Raleigh. He has a lot of great things to say about his time here.”

• Doeren reiterated his stance from the past that he is not a fan of Friday games.

"If you ask a college coach, Saturdays are meant for college football and Fridays are meant for high school football,” Doeren said. “As you know, that's not always something that we have control over."

——

• Talk about it inside The Wolves' Den

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook