Top five transfers during NC State coach Dave Doeren's tenure

NC State has played at least 61 transfers since coach Dave Doeren took over in 2013, and he added 17 new transfers this cycle.

Some have made it to the NFL, or in the process of trying to reach the league. A few others ended up leaving NC State for new schools.

Here is a look at the top five biggest impact transfers from the Doeren era.

1. Jacoby Brissett, QB, Florida, 2013: Would Doeren still be the coach if he didn’t get Brissett? It’s a pretty good debate, and it shows just how important Brissett was at the time. Brissett was a standout quarterback and wing in basketball at Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Dwyer High, and Rivals.com ranked him No. 75 overall and the No. 3 quarterback in the country in the class of 2011. 

Brissett ultimately picked Florida, but Wisconsin battled hard for him, led by then defensive coordinator Doeren. Brissett battled Jeff Driskel for the job at UF, and threw for 455 yards in 13 games played with the Gators.

When Doeren took the NC State job, he inherited a messy quarterback situation, and he went out and got Brissett, but the rules back then meant he would have to wait a year to play.

Brissett helped NC State go to back-to-back bowls, a combined 15-11 record and the program bounced back after a 3-9 2012 season.

Brissett went 458-of-765 passing for 5,268 yards, 43 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and he rushed 264 times for 919 yards and nine scores. Brissett went No. 91 overall in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft to the New England Patriots and then coach Bill Belichick. 

Brissett finished this past season as the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals. He threw for a career-high 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 14 games (12 starts) this season.

2. Ryan Finley, QB, Boise State, 2016: If Brissett helped get NC State up and running again, Finley’s arrival helped cement Doeren’s coaching career.

Finley and the Wolfpack went 25-14 overall and 14-10 in the ACC with three trips to bowl games (2-1 record) in his three years in Raleigh.

The Phoenix (Ariz.) Paradise Valley High predict went to Boise State in the class of 2013. Boise State hired Eli Drinkwitz as tight ends coach in 2014, and then offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2015.

Doeren hired Drinkwitz for 2016, and Finley followed his coach after throwing 646 passing yards and three touchdowns in eight games at Boise State. Finley and Jalan McClendon battled for the starting job during August camp, but Finley showed during the second half of the 2016 season opener that he was ahead of McClendon.

Finley went on to throw for 3,055 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions his redshirt sophomore year. Finley improved to 3,518 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2017 and then exploded for 3,928 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2018.

Finley went No. 104 overall in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft to the Cincinnati Bengals, and he lasted in the league for three years. 

3. Justin Joly, TE, Connecticut, 2024: The 6-3, 261-pound Joly played twice against NC State while playing with Connecticut. He was impressive with the Huskies, catching 74 passes for 828 yards and four touchdowns in 24 games.

Joly quickly established himself at NC State, and was a first-team All-ACC performer his senior year this  past fall.

Joly caught 43 passes for 661 yards and four touchdowns in 2024, and then improved to 49 catches for 489 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Joly had six catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns in a 53-34 loss at Pittsburgh on Oct. 25, 2025, for his best game at NC State. Joly also had four catches for 95 yards in a 24-23 win at California on Oct. 19, 2024.

4. Chandler Zavala, OG, Fairmont State, 2021: The 6-3, 322-pound Zavala played at Fairmont State in West Virginia from 2017-20, before making the move to NC State for two years.

Zavala was essentially a tight end prospect and late bloomer in high school, attending Forest Park High in Woodbridge, Va. He gained 60 pounds and morphed into an offensive lineman in college, but had an uneven career at Fairmont State. 

Zavala played three games his freshman year in 2017, and then started 21 games at left guard in 2018-19, but the team didn’t play any games due to COVID in 2020. 

Zavala was named first-team All-ACC his senior year in 2022 after fighting to get an NCAA waiver. He became the No. 114 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers. Zavala has battled injuries with the Panthers, and has started nine of the 27 games he has played in.

5. Devon Marshall, CB, Villanova, 2024: Maybe it’s recency bias — and former nose tackle Cory Durden (Florida State) and ex-running back Daylan Smothers (Oklahoma) have cases — but Marshall took care of business in his two years at NC State. Marshall had 83 tackles, four interceptions, 23 passes defended and two forced fumbles in 26 games with the Wolfpack.

Marshall was in a cornerback rotation both years, but he finished strong this season in making second-team All-American by The Athletic.

Marshall had 13 tackles in nine games his freshman year at Villanova in 2022, and then had 47 tackles for the 10-3 Wildcats in 2023.