Tuffy Talk
Tuffy Talk is the premier NC State Wolfpack sports podcast, no filter, no fluff, just real Pack fans talking real Pack sports.
Every Monday night at 8:30 PM ET, Layton Smith, Greg "The Leg" Haas, and analyst Ethan Barry break down everything happening in NC State football, basketball, baseball, and beyond. Hot takes, stat breakdowns, recruiting updates, transfer portal news, Pack Pro spotlights, and the moments that make Wolfpack Nation what it is.
Founded in December 2020. Now in our 3.0 era, bigger team, better content, same Wolfpack passion.
New episodes every Monday. Additional content dropping throughout the week.
Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@tuffytalknow
Follow on Twitter/X: @tuffytalknow | @ncstatestats | @PackFanInNOVA
Exclusive weekly NC State breakdowns, members-only rumor chat, and more: patreon.com/cw/ncstatestats — $5/month
Tuffy Talk LLC. Raleigh, NC. Go Pack.
Episodes
641 episodes
NC State vs Virginia Preview With Eric Mac Lain - Tuffy Talk
Eric Mac Lain from the ACC Network joined us to preview NC State at Virginia, and he picked the Cavaliers.But the part worth staying for is what he said about Dave Doeren. Asked about the fans who want a change, a national voice with no...
NC State Predictions: Greg Says 9-3 - Tuffy Talk Live
Three of us went on the record before the season and came out with three different numbers. Layton has NC State at 10-2. Greg has them 9-3. Ethan has them 8-4. And Greg is the only one of the three who does not have the Wolfpack losing at Virgi...
NC State Predictions: I Have Them Going 10-2 - Tuffy Talk
Layton has NC State going 10-2 this season. Ethan has them 8-4. And both of them circled the exact same game as the loss, which is not UNC and not Florida State.It is Duke, on November 7th. Ethan's case is that the Blue Devils have been...
NC State Predictions: We Only Split On One Game - Tuffy Talk
Two people went through the first six games of NC State's schedule and disagreed on exactly one of them. It is not Virginia and it is not Louisville.Ethan calls the Louisville game the biggest fifty-fifty on the entire schedule and we b...
The Technician Wants Doeren Gone. We Disagree - Tuffy Talk Live
The Technician ran a piece headlined "don't let the Doeren hit you on the way out," twelve days before the season starts. Sub .500 in conference, no ACC Championship appearances, a losing bowl record.Here is what that argument leaves ou...
NC State Has Not Had A 1,000 Yard Rusher In 8 Years - Tuffy Talk
NC State has not had a 1,000 yard rusher since Reggie Gallaspy went for 1,091 in 2018. Duke Scott takes over the backfield this season, and Ethan and I could not disagree more about whether he gets there.We ran seven season-long over/un...
KaTron Evans Is Eligible... Until August 24 - Tuffy Talk Live
NC State spent two weeks being told its defensive line was the scariest thing on the roster. Then a federal judge handed the Wolfpack its nose guard back, nineteen days before kickoff.KaTron Evans is eligible and practicing. The NCAA de...
Chris Hart's First Interview: What Changes After Avent — Tuffy Talk
Part 2 of this conversation is on Patreon.For 30 years, NC State baseball meant Elliott Avent. Now it's Chris Hart's program — and he just spoke to the media for the first time since taking over.Ethan and Greg break down what he...
My Top 5 NC State Players Got REJECTED (No Philip Rivers) — Tuffy Talk
We got asked to submit our top 5 NC State football players of all time. The list got rejected, because Philip Rivers wasn't on it.Layton stands by it anyway: Ted Brown, Torry Holt, Bradley Chubb, Mario Williams, Adrian Wilson. Greg argu...
NC State Defense Preview: Only 46% of Production Returns — Tuffy Talk
NC State's offense returns 62% of its production. The defense returns 46%. Layton and Ethan go position by position through the 2026 Wolfpack defense — every projected starter, all five defensive transfers, and whether a rebuilt unit is a downg...
NC State's Undisputed GOATs: We Only Agreed on 3 — Tuffy Talk
We said Chris Dunn is the greatest kicker in NC State history, some of you were furious, so we settled a bigger question: at how many positions does NC State actually have an UNDISPUTED GOAT? Ethan, Greg, Macon and Layton go position by positio...
NC State 2026 Offense Preview: All In on CJ Bailey — Tuffy Talk
NC State football averaged 30.2 points a game last season. It also scored seven points. Twice. Layton and Ethan break down every position group on the 2026 offense and try to work out which of those numbers is the real team.CJ Bailey en...
NC State Football: Is CJ Bailey a Top 5 Quarterback? — Tuffy Talk Live
Dave Doeren said CJ Bailey could be one of the five best quarterbacks in the country. Ethan isn't buying it, and he brought the numbers.Layton, Greg, and Ethan react to everything out of ACC Kickoff 2026 for NC State football: Doeren's ...
NC State Best Surplus Value Players — Do We Agree? — Tuffy Talk
Greg and Ethan break down the most underrated and slept on NC State players across every sport, the athletes who outperformed their roster billing and gave the Wolfpack more than anyone expected in 2025-26.Football: was the offensive li...
NC State's Historic 2026 MLB Draft — 7 Players Drafted — Tuffy Talk Live
Seven NC State players drafted in the 2026 MLB Draft, Ty Head, Jacob Dudan, Ryan Marohn, Luke Nixon, Sherman Johnson, Cooper Consiglio, and Chris McHugh. Layton, Greg, and Ethan break down every pick, debate whether Ty Head or Jacob Dudan will ...
NC State's Best Moments of 2025-26 — Our Draft Picks — Tuffy Talk
Greg and Ethan draft their top three NC State sports moments of the 2025-2026 season, and debate whether this was a weak year for Wolfpack highlights overall.Ethan takes the men's soccer run to the national championship game behind Dona...
NC State Football: Is This Doeren's Year? — Tuffy Talk Live
Layton and Greg debate whether 2026 is finally Dave Doeren's year to break through in the ACC — then lock in their official NC State football breakout player predictions on record. Greg takes Duke Scott for 1,000 rushing yards, the first NC Sta...
"We Don't Duck Smoke" — NC State's VCU Drama Explained — Tuffy Talk Live
While the rest of the planet is glued to the World Cup, Layton, Greg, and Ethan are locked in on the Wolfpack. This week on Tuffy Talk, the crew breaks down VCU's coach calling out NC State for "ducking smoke" after the Wolfpack bought out thei...
NC State's Win Total Jumped + the New 5-Year Eligibility Rule Explained | Tuffy Talk Live
Tuffy Talk Live finally returns after getting pushed back a night by a brutal storm that knocked out power lines across the Triangle and apparently took Ethan's AC down with it for good measure. Layton, Greg, and Ethan pick up right where they ...
The One Stat That Decides NC State's Entire 2026 Season | Tuffy Talk
There's a number that explains almost every NC State football loss over the past two years, and it has nothing to do with talent, scheme, or who's lining up around him. Ethan Barry pulled it straight from his own Patreon breakdown: CJ Bailey is...
Inside the Stanley Cup Parade — What It Means for NC State Too | Tuffy Talk
The Carolina Hurricanes are about to throw a parade twenty years in the making. Layton and Ethan open with the scale of it — over 100,000 fans expected in downtown Raleigh this Saturday, a city that's been partying nonstop since the Cup came ho...
NC State vs LSU Will Wade Investigation + Chris Hart Report Card — Tuffy Talk Live
It's Monday night and Tuffy Talk Live opens with breaking news before the show even hits its second segment, Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby and the university mutually part ways, ending the gambling injunction saga that had college football holdi...
Chet Lax Interview — NC State's Newest LHP on Dominating Georgia & Tennessee | Tuffy Talk
NC State baseball's first transfer portal pitcher, Wright State LHP Chet Lax, joins Tuffy Talk for his first interview as a Wolfpack. Before Chet Lax ever set foot in Raleigh, he was already making the case for himself, seven shutout innings ag...
Is Gainey's Year 1 Schedule an A+? NC State Basketball Full Non-Conference Breakdown | Tuffy Talk
Justin Gainey is building one of the most interesting non-conference schedules in NC State basketball history, and Layton and Ethan are grading every game we know so far.They start with the marquee matchup. Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena...
Chris Hart's First Portal Moves + NC State Baseball Offseason Breakdown | Tuffy Talk
Chris Hart didn't wait. In his first week as NC State's head coach, he landed two transfer portal commits from the same program — infielder Hunter Warren and left-handed pitcher Chet Lax, both from Wright State. Layton, Greg, and Ethan break do...
