RALEIGH, N.C. — It was moments after N.C. State’s 19-17 win Saturday over Florida State and Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren was being interviewed on the field by Kelsey Riggs of the ACC Network.
As Doeren glanced about Carter-Finley Stadium and a celebration in full flight among the players, students and fans, he spoke of his pride in his team’s comeback in the second half and broke into a smile when asked about quarterback Jack Chambers.
“How about Jack Chambers?” Doeren said. “I mean, unbelievable. He’ll be a fan favorite forever now, right? Nobody knew him. They’re going to know him now.”
It was Chambers, the graduate transfer from Charleston Southern, who came in Saturday after starter Devin Leary was leveled and injured in the third quarter trying to pass. Leary, his arm in a sling, would later return to the sideline as Chambers led three scoring drives — all ending in Christopher Dunn field goals — as the Pack squeezed out the ACC win.
While most of Doeren’s update on Leary was positive Monday, the coach saying no surgery would be needed and Leary should return this season, it could be Chambers at QB this week as the No. 15 Wolfpack travels to No. 18 Syracuse for another Atlantic Division game. That would make freshman MJ Morris the backup quarterback and Ben Finley the No. 3 QB.
As for the offensive game plan ...
Chambers attempted just one pass Saturday and it was incomplete — the only Wolfpack completion after Leary went out was from slotback Thayer Thomas to Chambers on a trick play that lost yardage. Chambers is 6-of-14 passing for 48 yards this season, nearly all against Charleston Southern in the Pack’s second game.
But Doeren said Monday he had confidence in Chambers’ passing ability, saying the Pack stuck to what was working — running and eating up minutes in time of possession — after Leary went out.
“Jack’s had 400-yard passing games before, if you go back in his career,” Doeren said. “He can throw the football. Our run game was playing really good in that (FSU) game. We felt like we were doing the right things, matchup wise.
“If we’re going to have to get in a game and chuck it around, we feel great about (Chambers). And MJ will have to be ready to go, Ben Finley will have to be ready to go. Everybody’s on deck as we get Devin ready to play.”
‘One of those players everyone pulls for’
Those who follow the Pack know of Chambers. Few may know a lot about his background.
Chambers, 25, was a multi-sport athlete at Parkview High in Lilburn, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta in Gwinnett County, a standout in football and baseball. He passed for more than 5,000 yards and ran for 2,500 at Parkview, accounting for 67 TDs.
“Jack is one of those players everyone pulls for because of his work ethic and attitude,” Parkview head coach Eric Godfree told The News & Observer on Monday. “He makes players around him better and is an incredible teammate. To go along with his great athleticism, he knows how to lead and also how to listen.”
Recruited as a 5-9, 165-pound quarterback, Chambers went to Charleston Southern to play for coach Jamey Chadwell, only to have Chadwell soon leave to coach at Coastal Carolina.
Under Chadwell and his replacement, Mark Tucker, Chambers operated a triple-option offense. When Tucker left, in came Autry Denson as head coach, letting Chambers open things up and throw the ball more in his faster-paced air raid attack.
His passing numbers tell much of the rest: 2,029 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2019, then 2,490 yards and 17 TDs in 2021 after the 2020 season was limited to four games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Against East Carolina in 2021, Chambers had 459 yards in total offense in a 31-28 loss. He threw for 405 yards and two scores, completing 38 of 61 passes against the Pirates, and ran for a third.
Always a dangerous runner, Chambers rushed for more than 1,300 yards in his 32 games with Charleston Southern.
“Jack’s biggest attribute is that he does not want to fail,” Denson told the Charleston Post & Courier in 2021. “He refuses to fail. He just plays his game and he goes out and has fun playing.”
With a year of eligibility remaining, Chambers decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal after the 2021 season. While aware Leary was returning at N.C. State, the Pack program seemed his best fit and he joined the program in May.
Listed at 5-10 and 190 pounds, Chambers’ last start came in Charleston Southern’s game at Georgia on Nov. 11, 2021. Talk about a tough environment and opponent. A crowd of almost 93,000 watched the Bulldogs roll 56-7.
Georgia went on to win the national championship. Chambers went to N.C. State, where he was needed Saturday.
After the FSU win, Chambers said, “I’ve got to step up and do my job and do what I came here to do.” That job continues.
