‘That relationship is important’: Why Kurt Roper as OC is expected to help NC State QB CJ Bailey in 2025

Kurt Roper’s voice inside the helmet was a calming reassurance that everything was going to be OK. Any time he seemed like he needed a pointer or a simple piece of advice, Roper was there to provide it just after the play-call was relayed in by the quarterbacks coach via a walkie-talkie on the sideline.  While Roper wasn’t the one deciding which play to go with on a given down last season, he was a key part of NC State quarterback CJ Bailey’s development last fall. The then-freshman signal-caller was thrown into the fire after graduate quarterback Grayson McCall’s career-ending concussions, and the veteran assistant was there to guide him along his first nine collegiate starts.  Despite not being molded as the starter in the months leading up to the season, Bailey still threw for 2,413 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on a 64.9-percent completion rate with Roper serving as a hands-on teacher between every series with the tablet on the bench and in his ear piece in the huddle. Roper’s ability to teach young quarterbacks is what he has done for much of his coaching career, dating back to tutoring Eli Manning at Ole Miss. There have been plenty of quarterbacks since, but Roper's connection with Bailey was different. He identified the former Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna quarterback as a high school sophomore, before in-state programs like Florida State and Miami paid Bailey any attention. The early bond forged between the two helped the Wolfpack stave off the Hurricanes attempt to flip Bailey on signing day 2023. It’s also what led to NC State’s promising quarterback of the future to not depart through the transfer portal after a 6-7 campaign last fall.  Now, Roper has been able to grow that relationship with Bailey even further this offseason