NC State nickel Tamarcus Cooley to enter transfer portal
NC State redshirt freshman nickel Tamarcus Cooley is set to enter the transfer portal, his NIL representation told On3 Thursday night. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Cooley became the second Wolfpack defensive back to have intention of entering the portal on the last day he was able to during the winter window, joining sophomore cornerback Brandon Cisse.
Like Cisse, Cooley had announced he re-signed with One Pack NIL, the team’s collective, in December. The contracts that One Pack and Savage Wolves have players sign are not binding agreements, therefore allowing players to depart the program at their own will during the transfer portal windows.
The Maryland transfer appeared in 12 games for the Pack this fall as he emerged as the team’s starting nickel by Week 5. Cooley logged 39 total tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, with a sack and three interceptions and six pass breakups. He was the team’s highest-rated defender with an 80.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus this fall.
Cooley posted a career-best nine total tackles with two interceptions in the Wolfpack’s 26-21 Military Bowl loss to East Carolina on Dec. 28. His season-defining performance nearly allowed the Pack to pull off the comeback victory, but the Pirates scored on an 86-yard rushing touchdown with 1:33 to play to end that bid.
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The defensive back allowed 57.1% of his targets to be caught this season with 140 yards after the catch conceded. Cooley only allowed one touchdown, which came in the regular season finale at North Carolina.
Cooley’s departure leaves another spot in the secondary for NC State to fill before the 2025 season. Rising redshirt junior Isaiah Crowell, who logged eight total tackles with 2.5 for a loss in a reserve role this season, and redshirt freshman Asaad Brown Jr. are the Pack’s next two options behind Cooley at nickel on the current roster.
The Wolfpack is now down both starting cornerbacks, as well as its nickel, moving into the first campaign with defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot at the helm of the unit.
