NC State football started spring practices Wednesday morning and will culminate with the scrimmage in Carter-Finley Stadium on April 8. Between now and then, many fans will be seeking clues about who may be the starting quarterback for the Wolfpack in 2023.



Virginia transfer <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/brennan-armstrong-13846/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brennan Armstrong</a> may be the perceived favorite over fourth-year redshirt sophomore <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/ben-finley-9730/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ben Finley</a> and redshirt freshman <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/mj-morris-90053/">MJ Morris</a>, but both head coach Dave Doeren and offensive coordinator Robert Anae insist there is a competition.



“Every position deserves a competition,” Doeren stated. “I think that’s what brings out the best, and … as we saw last year, it’s not just about the starting job. It’s about the development of everybody because any of them could end up being our starter at any point in time.



“This could go on for a while, referring to the quarterback job or any others. I told the team this spring is a chance for us to grow, learn, get better. It positions you to be a starter going into fall camp, not going into the first game. … There’s a long time ahead of this thing, and I look forward to all the guys on the team competing this spring.”



And based on what Anae has seen thus far, there are reasons to be excited. Anae comes to NC State after a season at Syracuse, but before that he was Armstrong’s coordinator at Virginia when the quarterback set many passing records for the Cavaliers.



Anae noted that the group was already strong with the experience Finley and Morris gained in 2022. Morris led the Pack to wins over Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, while Finley quarterbacked a rivalry triumph for NC State football over North Carolina on the road.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://nationalcoatingsinc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="400" height="100" src="https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/02/23143709/National-Coatings-POW-Digital-Ad.jpg" alt="National Coatings" class="wp-image-1336272" srcset="https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/02/23143709/National-Coatings-POW-Digital-Ad.jpg 400w, https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/02/23143709/National-Coatings-POW-Digital-Ad-300x75.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a></figure>



“Everybody stays healthy, this should be one of the top position groups in the conference, in terms of production, in terms of experience,” Anae noted. “I think the group now, that room, has a chance to really make a statement in the conference.”



Doeren is more familiar with Finley and Morris, but he has noticed a strong competitive streak in Armstrong, even if the newcomer to NC State is quiet in nature.



“He’s tough, small-town guy, very blue collar, hard work and ultra-competitive,” Doeren noted. “In the team runs, all the competitions we do, he thrived. He loves to compete, you see that. He’s quiet, how he goes about his business, but he’s not quiet in how he works. He’s a really hardworking guy that’s got a very consistent way about himself.”



Anae noted that Armstrong has a lot of grit in his game.



“My work in training and development with Brennan, we started with his legs, what he can do on the ground running the football,” Anae noted. “And that was the starting point with his recruiting. Once he got to campus, I was like, ‘Whoa, dang, this guy could really throw the football.’



“Coming from a little, country high school to a college offense was not easy, but to his credit, he’s very [gritty], a lot of determination and learned stuff on the run.”



Anae noted that all three of the quarterbacks will receive reps “in a rotational fashion” during NC State’s spring practices.



“We don’t have a starter,” Anae clarified.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="New offensive coordinator Robert Anae aims to make NC State elite" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/szQdrf-FnfI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Dave Doeren is ready to roll with NC State Wolfpack spring practice 2023 | Details plan for spring" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bRhKBGwGR0Q?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>

GettyImages-1439610824 (1)

The Wolfpacker Football

The Wolfpacker

NC State football quarterback battle looms over spring

team image

Atlantic Coast Conference

NC State

Organization Logo

The Wolves’ Den

News

Lobby

The State of Basketball

Forums

News Feed

Roster

Schedule

Transfer Portal Ranking

Transfer Portal

NC State Draft History

[site-team] Draft History

Football

Search

Commitments

Transfers

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Offers

Visits

Recruiting Prediction Machine

FB Recruiting

Basketball

BB Recruiting

About

Staff

The Wolfpacker On3+ Subscription

[site-name] On3+ Subscription

Contact

Podcasts and Shows

Team Store

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Message Boards

Rivals300 {{ hot }}

MegaBoard

Team Recruiting Rankings

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Winback

Bailey and friends back together at NC State

Reunited

How Jimmy V's influence helped Terry Gannon

'Why not?'

Where Pack's portal adds would have ranked in HS

Rankings

Where NC State FB stands now

Roster update

Projecting the Pack's two-deep

Depth chart: offense

Enters hospice care

Lou Holtz

New court date set

Charles Bediako case

Confusion on who pays

Player Buyouts

Power struggle over CFP format

B1G-SEC

Calls out coaches for Bediako

Jay Bilas