NC State quarterback Devin Leary won’t return during 2020 regular season

It’s been three-and-a-half weeks since Devin Leary suffered a broken fibula against Duke, which puts Leary close to the earliest part of the four-to-eight week window for his expected recovery. Dave Doeren was asked for an update on Monday afternoon and quickly dispelled any notion that Leary might return before the end of the regular season:

Yeah, nothing’s changed. He’s doing really well, everything’s on time, but it’s not going to speed up. It’s four to eight weeks, and we’re still letting him heal. He’s doing a great job, he’s around practice. He’s encouraging his teammates, but we’re not going to see him until postseason play, if he could play again then.

It’d be silly for State to approach the situation any other way, because for one thing, nobody is losing a year of eligibility this season. For another, it’s not like State is competing down the stretch for a shot at the ACC title game. If they’re comfortable with bringing him back for a bowl game, great, but getting Leary back on the field this year doesn’t need to be a priority.

Still it’s disappointing we won’t see him again, but it’s the right call. And if Bailey Hockman continues to play the way he did on Friday night, we shouldn’t feel Leary’s absence quite as acutely as we have in games previously.