NC State quarterback Matt McKay delivers strong performance in first start
NC State quarterback and QBC NC trainee Matt McKay turned in a strong performance in his first college start, passing for 308 yards and a touchdown and rushing for two more in a 34-6 victory over East Carolina. More from the Raleigh News & Observer:
Matt McKay said he was never nervous.
Not last week in NC. State’s practices. Not Friday night, before the season opener with East Carolina. Not Saturday, before the game. Not in the game.
When he took the field for his first snap as the Wolfpack’s starting quarterback, McKay said he paused for a moment: “Took a deep breath and said, ‘OK, we’re playing football.”’
This was what McKay came to N.C. State to do — play football, play quarterback, lead his team, win games. The first two years he mostly watched Ryan Finley do that, but Finley has gone to the NFL and it was McKay’s turn Saturday to be the man as the Pack rolled to a 34-6 victory over the Pirates.
McKay passed for 308 yards on a 25-for-37 performance, combining with graduate wide receiver Tabari Hines for a 48-yard touchdown. He ran for two scores, the 6-4, 214-pound redshirt sophomore bulldozing in for the first in the second quarter, then fooling ECU on a well-designed 21-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
“I feel like I did a pretty solid job,” McKay said after the game.
That’s McKay. He’s not a big talker. Expressive, but not a big talker.