Bailey Hockman’s trials before NC State helped him adapt, overcome with Wolfpack
Bailey Hockman was feeling it.
He hit his first pass to Thayer Thomas, a 17-yard strike to the left side. Boom.
On the next drive he hit Ricky Person for a gain of eight, followed by a 32-yard completion to tight end Dylan Parham and a 21-yard completion to Devin Carter. Bam. Pow.
Hockman completed three straight on the next drive and before it was all said and done, the junior quarterback connected on 12 consecutive passes to start the game versus Wake Forest last Saturday night.
He had no idea until after the 45-42 win, when offensive coordinator Tim Beck brought it to his attention in the locker room. Well, he had some idea.
“I will tell you this, at one point he (PA announcer) kept saying ‘Bailey Hockman for the completion’ a lot,” Hockman confessed during a recent interview. “It was good to get off to a hot start.”
Hockman finished the game with 191 yards passing and one touchdown through the air and another one on the ground. He wasn’t perfect, throwing a pick-six in the second half, but he was able to lead N.C. State on two scoring drives in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.
The interception could have been a back breaker, but Hockman was able to shake it off. It was one play and he had plenty of time to make up for it. He knew he wouldn’t get yanked and there’s a different type of confidence you play with when you’re not looking over your shoulder.
Hockman was a late change into the starting lineup. Since last spring Wolfpack fans have anticipated the Devin Leary era. Head coach Dave Doeren named Leary the starter in the spring and said Leary would be the No. 1 guy in fall camp, no question about it.
Hockman, the Florida State transfer, had his chances a year ago. After Matt McKay started the 2019 season under center, he was pulled in favor of Hockman entering the sixth game of the year. Hockman led the Wolfpack to a win over Syracuse, the only ACC victory last season. Hockman got benched in favor of Leary after the next game.
The Powder Springs, Ga. native finished the season with one touchdown and four interceptions.
He saw spot duty against Boston College and North Carolina, and finished the season with 546 yards in seven games. After the season ended Hockman met with Doeren to discuss his future. For the second time in his college career it was fight or flight.
Not the right fit
No quarterback in school history won more games at McEachern High School than Hockman. After his last season, only seven quarterbacks in Georgia prep history had passed for more yards or thrown more touchdowns.
Hockman was a MaxPrep All-American and a four-star recruit. He was considered one of the top pro-style quarterbacks in the nation and committed to Florida State.
He soon found himself in a three-man battle with James Blackman and Deondre Francois for the No. 1 spot. Hockman felt like he won the job, he said, and so did some of his teammates. The coaches saw it another way.
“Eventually it didn’t play out that way and they played another guy,” Hockman said. “I just felt like it wasn’t the right place for me. In my heart I just needed to get to somewhere else. I prayed about it a lot and I just had so many signs, I felt like it was time to go.”
That time, Hockman chose to flee. It’s because of that previous experience that when Hockman sat down with Doeren, he decided he wasn’t going to run this time. The coach and the quarterback discussed what he needed to work on to become a better player. Hockman felt like if he put in the work, he would give himself a chance to be the starter, despite Leary being anointed the guy.
Besides, his journey after leaving Florida State had really helped put things in perspective.
Hockman landed at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas. Located on the Arkansas River, Hutchinson is home to 42,080 residents and is called “Salt City” for the salt mines. The world’s largest grain elevator was built in Hutchinson in 1961, in case it ever comes up in trivia.
Junior colleges like Hutchinson serve as a brief layover for players trying to get back to Division I universities. Hockam spent six forgettable months there. Football was his escape, but the environment almost broke him.
“Every day was a struggle, really,” Hockman said. “Being that far away from your family, having no money, no car. No real places to eat but the cafe and they are serving food that’s barely edible. It’s tough. I remember having conversations with mom talking about ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore, I don’t know if I can play ball. This is too hard.’”
But he toughed it out, stayed the course and landed at N.C. State. He didn’t know it at the time, but the lessons at Hutchinson helped him in the long run. So what Doeren named Leary the starter? Big deal. That didn’t mean things had to stay that way. He could push through and fight. He had been through much worse, in his opinion.
“Now I get faced with a situation getting benched, or something like that and it’s just another opportunity to try and get better,” Hockman said. “I think that changed my mindset and made me such a better person. Now it’s to the point where if I throw an interception or something bad happens, it’s just whatever, next play, things will get better.”
Settling in
Part of things getting better for Hockman was adjusting to his new surroundings once he got to Raleigh.
He was the new guy who arrived midyear and that can be tough, Doeren explained.
“I think for all those guys who transfer, that first semester is hard,” Doeren said. “You don’t know your teammates yet, everything is new to you. You don’t have that familiarity with the coaching staff, you weren’t recruited with anyone on the team so you don’t have a recruiting class that’s your boys, you know.”
Doeren saw the same thing with former quarterback Ryan Finley, who transferred in from Boise State. Doeren noticed that Finley was much more comfortable overall in year two and sees similarities with Hockman.
“Bailey has his circle of friends, guys he hangs out with and he’s a lot more comfortable,” Doeren said. “That’s a natural thing when a kid transfers in and as a coaching staff you have to help them through that.”
As it turns out, settling into Raleigh translates into settling into his role at quarterback.
“It’s good, being established a little bit,” Hockman said. “Knowing where things are, knowing where you have to go, just getting used to everything, is definitely a big part of it.”
Confidence, and always believing you are the man, also helps.
Starters mindset
After the win over Wake Forest, Hockman met with members of the media to talk about the game. After a round of questions, Hockman was asked about his mindset when he found out he would be starting over Leary.
“In my mind,” Hockman told reporters, “I’ve been the starter since day one.”
Every player on the team has to have that mindset, that ‘stay ready because you never know when your time is coming’ approach. Especially if you’re the backup quarterback. Doeren pointed out that they are always one injury or positive COVID-19 test from having to quickly go to the backup at every position.
For Hockman it wasn’t just coach speak, it was real. He prepared every day like he was the starter. It’s one thing to talk about it, but how do you approach every day with that mindset? It’s pretty simple, actually, to Hockman.
“If I didn’t think I was the best player on the field then why am I playing? In my head it doesn’t make sense,” Hockman pondered. “If I’m not going to be the greatest player of all time, or try to be the greatest player of all time, I’m wasting my time. I’m just out here running around, just messing around. So I use to carry myself every day with the same consistency. You’re not the starter right now, but one day you might be. So work like you are the starter and keep working and working and working and getting better.”
When Hockman was named the week one starter over Leary, who missed 20 practices because of contact tracing, senior guard Joe Sculthorpe immediately saw Hockman lock in.
“He had a laser focused throughout the week,” Sculthorpe said. “He did a really good job preparing so when we got to the game on Saturday he was just showing off his skill. That’s not to leave Devin out in the dust. He was locked in, I thought our prep as a team was solid.”
Which brings up another interesting point. Leary isn’t completely out of the picture. Doeren said the team is going to need both quarterbacks to be elite this season.
“Devin is taking reps and getting better,” Doeren said. “Devin deserves to keep getting better in practice, but we have two good quarterbacks and we have to keep getting them better. They both need to be ready to be our guy. We’re happy with what Bailey did with his opportunity and look forward to helping them both this week prepare.”
Leary won’t just hand the spot over to Hockman. He’ll keep working to get his job back, keep making things hard for the coaches at the end of the week.
“Luckily I’m not the quarterback coach and I don’t have to make that call,” Sculthorpe jokes.
When it was Leary’s turn last season, Hockman was supportive. He wanted to be out there, but it was Leary’s time. He said Leary has been equally supportive of him throughout camp. Competitive, but supportive. And Hockman likes that. As long as Leary is there, that’s enough reason to push himself to get better every day. Hockman is glad a former starter is behind him, nipping at his heels each day.
“It’s like a dog chasing you, you can run a little faster,” Hockman said. “Every day you have to come out and have your best day or the other guy might have a better day than you. If he’s consistently having a better day than you, he’s playing better than you. You have to keep building and keep growing. It’s something that pushes me.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Bailey Hockman’s trials before NC State helped him adapt, overcome with Wolfpack."
