NC State’s second-year offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tim Beck returns a lot of pieces on his side of the ball from last season, but perhaps the most significant is redshirt sophomore QB Devin Leary.
Leary went 3-0 as NC State’s starter in 2020 and completed 66 of 110 passes for 890 yards and eight touchdowns with two picks. His game-winning TD drive at then-ranked Pittsburgh was featured on ESPN this week while it has broadcasted the best games from last season.
But Leary is returning from a broken leg that required surgery. Beck is “really pleased” with how Leary has bounced back.
“He seems very confident, very calm in the pocket right now,” Beck noted. “He’s seeing defenses well. He’s making really good decisions. I see a lot of growth in him … not only as a player but off the field as a leader.”
Beck is not one to buy the notion that watching while rehabbing might have helped Leary.
“Actually going out there and seeing Cover-2 or Cover-3 or the blitz and having to react to it, you can’t replace experience,” Beck noted. “That’s why I’m very impressed with Devin. I’m very pleased with where he’s at. … To be able to transition to where he’s at with the calmness and decision-making that he’s doing right now, that’s really good.”
Quarterback though is just a piece, albeit an outsized one, of the offense. Beck called the offensive line a “good group.”
He specifically has been pleased with the development of junior college import tackle Anthony Belton, a redshirt sophomore going through his first preseason practices. Belton signed with NC State last December over Kentucky.
“Anthony Belton has had a really good fall camp, so far,” Beck noted.
Belton is competing for playing time on the right side of the offensive line with redshirt junior Bryson Speas, redshirt sophomore Derrick Eason Jr. and others.
Depth at tight end has been a question mark facing the offense entering fall camp. The cross-training of redshirt sophomore running back Trent Pennix at H-back has excited Beck, but he also noted two others showing potential to land on the depth chart behind sixth-year senior and likely starter Dylan Parham.
“[Redshirt freshman] Chris Toudle has really had a good fall camp at that position,” Beck noted. “[Freshman] Andrew Jayne, I think those guys have had opportunities to get in there and make some plays, and they’ve made them.
"I’ve been really impressed with them.”
Pennix’s upside, though, offers intriguing possibilities for Beck’s offense.
“He’s very athletic, very fast. He’s big,” Beck noted of the 6-foot-3, 236-pounder. “…He’s made some mistakes. It’s not his natural position. He’s still learning some of it, but … he’s an electrifying player, that’s for sure. He makes a lot of things happen, and he creates a lot of nightmare mismatches.”
A pair of true freshmen have also raised eyebrows in camp.
“Julian Gray at wide receiver has really done some nice things for us,” Beck said. “He brings a different element to us on the perimeter as a young player. He’s still learning everything, but there’s a different gear with him. I really like what he’s doing.
“Our running backs, we’ve got a crew back there that have all gotten better. Our young guy, Demie Sumo, he’s impressive. He’s a really good young prospect who has a bright future here.”
Overall, Beck sees his unit going in the right direction.
“We’re just trying to get better every day,” Beck said. “If we can get better every day, by the time it matters we are going to be a good football team.”
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