NC State’s defense comes together in fall camp, answers several questions heading into season

As NC State coach Dave Doeren watched fall camp, he was looking to solve a major unknown that he entered the month with: What do all the pieces on defense look like together on the same field? The Wolfpack, which hired defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot in January, used spring practice to diagnose what it needed for the new aggressive scheme. Once that was over, NC State was busy in the second transfer portal window as it signed four players — all of which were on the defensive side of the ball. That left Doeren and the coaching staff wondering how it would look with all the new faces added to what the Wolfpack went through spring practice with.