NC State QB coach Kurt Roper: 'You have to build confidence to play this game'

From Eli Manning to Arian Foster, NC State quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper has decades of experience mentoring Power Five athletes. The Wolfpack assistant coach is the program’s quarterback coach once again heading into spring practice, and he will be tasked with evaluating a tightly contested quarterback battle. 

Roper arrived in Raleigh coaching the signal-callers in 2019 before working the past few years with the running backs, but the shift in coaching responsibilities was not a massive change for the Wolfpack assistant. 

He elaborated on what he enjoys about coaching quarterbacks. 

“It’s fun to be back out there this spring,” Roper said Tuesday morning. “And for me personally, obviously I’ve coached quarterbacks a long time, and I enjoy that part of the game.

“It’s a challenge, guys have a lot to manage each play. They have to have a good plan and be able to process their plan based on down and distance, situational football, what the defense is doing. It’s a good challenge, and I’m having a good time with those guys out there.”

Following Devin Leary’s pectoral injury during the 2022 season, both MJ Morris and Ben Finley started games for the Pack under center, and they will compete for the starting job this year with UVA graduate transfer Brennan Armstrong. 

Roper said the game reps from Morris and Finley will help during the evaluation process. For one quarterback to separate himself from the rest of the room, Roper is looking for a consistent signal-caller who limits turnovers.

“You’re looking for a guy that does a great job of taking care of the ball and taking advantage of the opportunities the defense gives us when they’re there,” Roper said. 

He then elaborated on the importance of the emotional aspect of running an offense under center.

“This game is really tough mentally,” Roper said. “It’s a challenge, and it has a way of breaking you down if you let it. So to me, one of the first places you start with a quarterback is you have to support the decisions they make if they do a good job of taking care of the ball. And you have to build the confidence to play this game.”

When specifically talking about Armstrong, who set records with NC State offensive coordinator Robert Anae in 2021 during an All-ACC season at UVA, he noted the quarterback’s experience while also discussing what he is looking for out of his athletes under center. 

“For a quarterback, to me, there’s three steps in learning how to play, and you have to master the first two to play,” Roper said. “The third one is always a work in progress, but the first one is know the system, second one is understand situational football, third one is apply the defensive plan to help you.

“[Armstrong] has played so long now [that] defensive football is making sense to him. He’s able to get into the third area of that and have really good pre-snap plans.”

In a previous interview, Finley referred to Roper as the “grandfather” of football IQ for the quarterbacks last fall. 

“They had a coach in Tim [Beck], and coach [Kriss] Proctor coached them, and it was my job to get the running backs ready to play,” Roper said. “And, if they ever had a question on the sideline when Tim was in the box, then I was glad to help them.”

On the recruiting trail, Roper shared that he is still in charge of recruiting eastern North Carolina, and, obviously, he is responsible for recruiting quarterbacks now as well. He said he appreciates that part of coaching.

“I enjoy the process of going out and watching quarterbacks throw, getting to know them, who they are, what makes them tick, just all the things that I think are important when you recruit a quarterback,” Roper said. 

Roper has 18 years of quarterback coaching experience and, when evaluating future signal-callers, he is looking for accuracy, athleticism, an ability to communicate offensive schemes and an overall competitive and trustworthy attitude.