NC State QB Devin Leary, ACC preseason player of the year, entering transfer portal

Devin Leary might play another year of college football but it reportedly will not be at N.C. State.

According to reports that surfaced Monday morning, and sources close to the team, the Wolfpack quarterback, who missed much of the 2022 season with a pectoral injury, plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the news.

Leary, 23, was selected the ACC preseason player of the year, but played six games before his injury against Florida State on Oct. 8. He finished with 1,265 yards passing, with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.

The emergence of freshman quarterback MJ Morris, then a strong effort by Ben Finley in the season finale against North Carolina likely influenced Leary’s decision to enter the portal. Those two should go into the Pack’s spring practice fighting for the No. 1 job.

Leary will join a influx of quarterbacks who reportedly have entered the portal, including Notre Dame’s Drew Pyne, Haynes King of Texas A&M, Oklahoma’s Nick Evers, Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong and Phil Jurkovec of Boston College.

Leary, in a Nov. 2 media interview, said he was not sure what his future plans would be — return to NCSU for another season or look to enter the 2023 NFL draft. He said his surgery for a pectoral tear would have recovery time of three to four months, plus another month or two before he could start throwing a football.

When asked how long he might wait until making a decision on next season, Leary said: “It’s hard to say. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure it out when that time comes. I truly have taken this day by day. I truly don’t know what’s in store for me with my future, what’s to come.”

Leary’s NFL prospects spiked after the 2021 season, when the New Jersey native threw for 3,433 yards – 9.1 yards per attempt – with 35 TDs versus five interceptions as the Wolfpack went 9-3.

But the Wolfpack offense sputtered at times early in the 2022 season as Leary tried to get in sync with a receiving corps that had lost star receiver Emeka Emezie. Thayer Thomas was a reliable slot receiver for Leary but it was hit-and-miss with most of the others.

Leary was injured when he was sacked in the pocket by the Seminoles and the initial fear was a shoulder injury. But an MRI revealed the pectoral tear and surgery soon was performed by Dr. James Andrews in Florida.

Jack Chambers, a graduate transfer from Charleston Southern, rallied the Pack for a 19-17 win over FSU. Chambers started the Syracuse and Virginia Tech games before Morris came on to spur victories over the Hokies and Wake Forest, only to be injured in the Pack’s loss to Boston College.

Finley, something of a forgotten man in the quarterback mix, got a chance to play in the Pack’s loss at Louisville and then made his first college start against UNC. The redshirt freshman, who said he will graduate from NCSU this month, passed for 271 yards and two TDs in the 30-27 double-overtime win.

Leary suffered a broken leg in the 2020 season that limited him to four games. In four season with the Wolfpack, he had 6,807 yards, 62 TDs and 16 picks, with a 60.2% completion percentage.