Why NC State focused on its defense in the spring transfer portal window

By Noah Fleischman

Just hours after NC State’s closed spring game concluded inside Carter-Finley Stadium in early April, the Wolfpack picked up a trio of defensive transfer portal commitments. Those additions seemed to set a trend for what was to come. 

Now, as it seems the chips have settled, it proved to be right. Of the seven portal pickups since the Pack’s spring practice slate ended, six have come on the defensive side of the ball. 

NC State’s defense was left reeling after the 2024 season with eight of its 11 starters departing, either due to exhausted eligibility or the transfer portal. That left the Wolfpack with several needs, but since it had just eight calendar days between the portal’s winter closing and the university’s first day of second-semester classes, it could only plug so many at that time. 

Instead of forcing those holes to be filled right away, taking any player that the Pack could get, NC State coach Dave Doeren wanted to make sure it was the right addition. Taking the slower approach seemed to pay off in the long run.

“We were able to get a couple guys, but you don’t want to just add to add — you want to add the right guys, the guys that fit your culture and locker room, and fill a need on the roster,” Doeren told TheWolfpacker.com in a recent 1-on-1 conversation. “I also wanted to see in practice, if we didn’t have a guy in the winter portal, how much better the guys coming back could get. 

“Coming out of spring, there were a couple of needs, some because of the defensive changes where we felt like we could use a few more guys, and some because of our depth.”

Speaking of defensive changes with first-year coordinator D.J. Eliot, most of the Wolfpack’s newcomers seem to fit exactly what he is looking for in Raleigh. NC State added three edge rushers, a position that the Wolfpack didn’t utilize in Tony Gibson’s scheme, with Utah State’s Cian Slone, Texas Tech’s Joseph Adedire and Wyoming’s Sabastian Harsh. That trio has combined to post 219 tackles, including 41.5 for a loss, with 16.5 sacks in 80 total Division I games.

It also bolstered the linebacker corps with Northwestern’s Kenny Soares Jr. and Wake Forest’s Bailey Benson, while the Pack found a potential instant-impact corner in North Texas’ Brian Nelson II. 

Although the linebackers and cornerback were pieces that NC State needed, especially Nelson and his 4 career interceptions and 6 passes defended with three years of eligibility remaining, the edge rushers signaled the biggest adjustment in Eliot’s system moving forward. 

Instead of relying on the 3-3-5 scheme that Gibson used to his advantage for five seasons as NC State’s defensive play-caller, Eliot is looking to create havoc in the backfield with multiple defenses. He is expected to use both a 3-4 and a 4-2-5 alignment — with a possible five-man front mixed in — moving into the fall, and strengthening an outside linebacker group with versatile players is exactly what Eliot was looking for. 

“We wanted guys who can be multiple,” Eliot told TheWolfpacker.com. “They can play on their feet, they can rush, they can set edges, they can play in space. We were able to find that with all these guys.”

One of the key reasons NC State looked to add to its front seven is so it can match personnel when opposing offenses go big with two-tight end formations, Doeren said.

In the past, the Wolfpack was undermanned with its defensive backs being tasked with shedding blocks from 250- to 260-pound tight ends or fullbacks. Now, it can insert a similarly-sized defender to avoid teams looking to take advantage of the lighter formations NC State was caught in, at times, with Gibson calling the plays. 

“We just wanted to have the ability to play our nickel like we have over the years,” Doeren said, “but also be able to play a base front where you have more bigger guys in there.”

NC State appears to have accomplished what it wanted to in the spring portal window on the defensive side of the ball. The Pack was able to assess what it had from its younger players in the spring practices, and then built off that base through transfer portal additions. 

Not only did the Wolfpack find veteran talent with the likes of Slone and Harsh, but Adedire and the rest of the additions have multiple years of eligibility remaining. Doeren likes to use the portal to balance the age of certain position groups, and NC State did just that with the middle linebacker and cornerback rooms this offseason.

For Eliot, who is set to call plays for the first time since he did so at Temple in 2022, the portal window went seamlessly. The Wolfpack’s brand helped sell the program to several players who are expected to be in featured roles this fall.

“We got a lot of positive reception from the recruits we were recruiting,” Eliot said. “We wanted some edge rushers, and we were able to fill some of those voids. … We’ve really done well on attracting the type of guys we want to attract and then getting them to sign.”