It was at the end of the first quarter against Stanford when it became clear that freshman quarterback CJ Bailey had full control of NC State football’s offense. While NC State was changing sides of the field, Bailey was jumping up and down on the walk over with excitement, hyping up his teammates and encouraging them.
Right before the Wolfpack started the second quarter, Payton Wilson came over to NC State’s sideline to give it a jolt of energy after just being enshrined into the ring of honor. The boost wasn’t necessary, as Bailey already had his team locked in.
While NC State didn’t score a touchdown on that drive, it was the third of five consecutive scoring drives that Bailey led in the first half. When Bailey took his first meaningful snaps this season against Louisiana Tech he proved he had the talent to play quarterback in college. In NC State’s 59-28 win over Stanford, he showed the moxie and confidence it takes to play the position at a high level.
“He’s starting to talk more,” said graduate defensive end Davin Vann. “He’s starting to demand respect through the way he plays. Being that spark for the offense and not just the offense but the defense and the team as a whole.”
Bailey has improved in every start this season and against the Cardinal — he seemed to put everything together. He made decisive throws, stood tall in the pocket, improvised when he needed to and scrambled for positive yards when plays broke down.
He involved everyone in the offense, too. Six different players caught a pass and five of them hauled in multiple catches. It’s impressive how quickly Bailey has built a connection with almost everyone on the offense despite going through the offseason and parts of the regular season as the backup.
And for the first time since he’s taken over as the starter, the pressure wasn’t all on Bailey to move the football. Graduate running back Jordan Waters and redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers combined for 215 rushing yards, becoming the first Wolfpack duo to run for 100 yards each since 2021.
Ever since Bailey has been under center the run game has been almost non-existent, forcing Bailey to play hero ball at times. Defenses were selling out on the pass, leading Bailey to force some throws that led to interceptions.
But against Stanford, it was clear the Wolfpack would be able to establish the run. On the first two drives, the Pack rushed for 65 yards and when Bailey needed to make a play, he did. On fourth-and-1 on the first drive of the game, Bailey fired a 12-yard strike to junior tight end Justin Joly that set up the first of nine straight scoring drives.
“Total confidence,” said head coach Dave Doeren when asked about how much confidence he has in Bailey to run the offense. “There’s nothing we can’t call … and CJ is a worker. You see this smiling young kid running around making plays, but behind the scenes, he’s a grinder.”
While the Wolfpack didn’t have to lean on the arm of Bailey, he was always there to make a play when needed. On the fourth drive of the game, Bailey completed five of six passes for 44 yards, and on the last completion, Bailey put on his cape. On second-and-six from Stanford’s nine-yard line, Bailey’s initial read wasn’t there so he scrambled around the pocket and eventually found Joly in the middle of the endzone to give the Wolfpack a 24-14 lead.
It’s that ability to make plays out of nothing combined with his leadership and command of the offense that makes Bailey a special player. Until this game, Bailey hadn’t put all three of those attributes together and when he did, the Wolfpack scored its most points in a game since 2015.
“It’s getting to that point where everything is going smooth,” Bailey said. “Everything is perfect right now. We’ll just continue to build off of that. But it feels like everything is in control.”
For the second straight game, Bailey didn’t turn the ball over. It’s not like he’s being overly protective of the football either. Bailey averaged 12.9 yards per completion and wasn’t afraid to let it rip down the field the past two weeks.
Against Cal, the freshman racked up eight passing plays of 15 yards or more. Against Stanford, he completed five more. On top of that, he’s been extremely accurate with a 90% completion percentage against the Cardinal and 69.4% against the Golden Bears.
“That’s really great when there’s no mistakes, no turnovers going on for the offense,” Bailey said. “Having games like this really helps the team because now we could do what we want on offense and defense. It really creates some relaxation, some space to just do what we want on offense.”
What makes this type of performance even more promising for the Wolfpack is that Bailey is doing all of this as an 18-year-old. And his primary playmakers are made up mostly of underclassmen.
Bailey, Smothers, sophomore wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, freshman receivers Keenan Jackson and Terrell Anderson and redshirt freshman receiver Noah Rogers are all in their first or second years. If they all stay together, this group is not even close to its maximum potential.
“I think that’s what this program has done in my tenure here is develop players, and it takes reps to get better,” Doeren said. “So it bodes well for the future of the program when your younger guys are able not only just to get in, but to get better and better.”
While NC State’s preseason expectations are long gone, Bailey’s rapid progress as a player and the leader of the Pack doesn’t just offer promise for the future but the present as the Wolfpack looks to end its regular season on a five-game winning streak for the second consecutive year.
Fans of NC State no longer have to dream of the potential of Bailey. He’s shown he has what it takes to not only be a starting quarterback but someone who can put his name next to Payton Wilson’s when it’s all said and done.
“I’m really excited for what the future has for him,” Vann said. “I think he’s going to be a great leader for this program.”
