NC State Football: Quarterbacks – Upgrade or Downgrade?

After the loss of Ryan Finley to the draft, are the N.C. State quarterbacks better or worse in 2019?

Dave Doeren is no stranger to uncertainty at the quarterback position. The 2019 season will be Doeren’s seventh at the helm of the N.C. State Wolfpack and he will have his fifth different starting quarterback. He’s had to replace future NFL starters in Jacoby Brissett and now Ryan Finley, and yet through it all, he’s managed to find stars at the position.

In his first season at Northern Illinois, Doeren inherited future NFL quarterback Chandler Harnish, who would throw 28 touchdowns and lead the Huskies to 11 wins. After Harnish graduated, NIU took a step forward instead of back, as Jordan Lynch stepped in and threw for 3,318 yards and 25 touchdowns. The Huskies went to the Orange Bowl and Doeren got hired by N.C. State.

During his career as a head coach, he’s only had one-season of sub-par quarterback play. Fittingly, his 2013 N.C. State team went 3-9 behind the arms of Pete Thomas and Brandon Mitchell.

His first season in Raleigh was disastrous, as Thomas and Mitchell combined for 11 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Doeren found Brissett, who won 15 games and threw for 43 touchdowns in two seasons in Raleigh. He completely turned the team’s culture around and left Raleigh in much better shape than he found it.

True to form, upon Brissett’s graduation, Doeren once again hit the ground running. Instead of lamenting the loss of Brissett, he turned around and produced Finley, who finished his career second on the team’s all-time leading passers list.

Can Doeren pull magic out of his hat again and find a four-year starter that will make fans forget about Finley? 2019 will be a pivotal year in the team’s future at the quarterback position and fans certainly wouldn’t mind seeing one of the three quarterbacks emerge from the pack as star.