Beck Likes Where NC State Is At
Tim Beck has seen some terrific college football over the years. With stints as offensive coordinator at Nebraska, Texas, and Ohio State, along with a stint at Kansas when the Jayhawks reached the Orange Bowl, the longtime assistant who began his college coaching career in 1990 has guided top offenses across the country.
How does Beck feel about NC State in 2022?
“There’s been a lot of development from a lot of players," Beck said. "You look at Anthony Belton. He’s a left tackle who didn’t play for us much last year, but his improvement from the end of last year to now is very impressive. Jalen Coit is having a good fall camp. [Julian] Gray is having a good fall camp. I don’t want to miss anybody, but our running backs are very consistent. I have a lot of confidence in all those guys.”
Entering his third year in charge of the Wolfpack on the offensive side of the ball, Beck has seen the dynamic change.
It differs in several aspects but mainly in how NC State's personnel has grown and matured in Beck's tenure.
"I am pleased with where we are offensively," Beck said. "We have a good mix. We have a good mix of veteran players that have played a lot of games and a good mix of young, rising, talented players that are hungry and fit in our culture. I really like where we are at, but we still have work to do."
Offensively, it all starts with NC State quarterback Devin Leary. His growth mirrors that of the Wolfpack team.
"It is hard to put it into words," Beck said." [Leary] was shy and still learning how to be a quarterback. Right now, this is his team. He does a really great job in everything that he does."
Beck has been nominated three times (2012, 2013, and 2020) for the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the nation. In 2012 and 2013, he was a finalist for the honor while at Nebraska.
The path to coaching success is often as simple as not trying to put square pegs in round holes.
“I’ve tried to pride myself on that," Beck said. "I have a systematic approach, but the bottom line is players win games. You hear coaches say that all the time: it’s not the play call; it’s the players. Give them the ball, and let them do their thing. That’s kind of what I do.
"It’s those types of things. At the different places I’ve been, I’ve had unique [situations]. Curtis Samuel was a little bit that way in how we used him. We had Ameer [Abdullah] at Nebraska and Devin Duvernay at Texas. We had different guys that we used, backfield, wide receivers, or whatever, just to use them and get them the ball in different ways so they couldn’t take the ball out of their hands."
But what does Beck expect from himself in fall camp and game preparation week?
"My goal is to make sure our guys are ready for game one and put the things in that we have to have to be successful through the course of the year," Beck said.
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A lifelong native of the Triangle area in North Carolina, Rob McLamb has covered NC State Athletics since 2010, as well as writing about each of the five major sports leagues in North America (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS) for various newspapers and outlets. As a journalist who has also served as a high school and college coach, McLamb provides an educated, unfiltered, and analytical perspective on the Wolfpack and the ACC.