NC State DC D.J. Eliot to miss game against Virginia Tech due to family emergency

NC State defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot will not be at the Wolfpack’s game against Virginia Tech on Saturday night due to a family emergency.

Eliot, the Wolfpack’s first-year defensive coordinator, is currently away from the program, a source told TheWolfpacker.com. Eliot’s daughter, Drue, died after a five-year battle with cancer.

Please join us in praying for DJ Eliot and his family during this time of tremendous loss. pic.twitter.com/10sTl8CGDA

— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 27, 2025

“I don’t even know how to explain the emotions or the thoughts that go through your mind,” Eliot told The Jayhawker podcast after Drue’s diagnosis in 2020. “It’s nothing that you ever expect to hear and you don’t really have a plan for it. So when we got the news that Drue had cancer, we were devastated, all of us. And you really become a lot closer. Our family is definitely a lot closer now than we were because we’re all going through this together.”

With Eliot not with the team, co-defensive coordinator Charlton Warren will assume play-calling duties against the Hokies. Also in his first season with the Pack, Warren previously served as co-defensive coordinator at North Carolina (2022-24) and Air Force, his alma mater, (2008-11).

Eliot is also NC State’s linebackers coach, and assistant linebackers coach Isaiah Moore, the former-All ACC defender for the Wolfpack, is expected to assume the position coaching duties against Virginia Tech.

Through the first four weeks, NC State’s unit ranks eighth against the run (121.8 yards), 14th in scoring (29.3), 15th against the pass (290.3) and 15th in total defense (414).

Update: The Eliot family started a fundraiser to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Drue’s honor. You can learn more and donate HERE.