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 downgrade or an upgrade.

KaTron Evans is suing the NCAA after his waiver was denied a day before camp. Harvey Dyson arrives from Tulane to carry a pass rush that generated only 20 sacks last season — and Ethan digs into why that number should have been much higher. Josiah Victor has 96 career snaps and might be the most important player on the roster.

By the end, the two of us flatly disagree on how good this defense can be.

Part 2 of our 2026 preview series. Full season predictions coming next.

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Transcript

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Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:41

What's going on, Wolf Factor Nation? Welcome to another edition here as we are previewing the 2026 DC State football season. This week we are focusing on the defensive side of the ball. You know, what is it uh from from remember uh uh remember the tight end seasons? Left side, strong side. You know, we're gonna be breaking all down here today. Uh so with that being said, you got myself, Wayne Smith, you got Ethan, and we are so, so excited to break it down position by position and give you Wolf Pag Nation all the information you need uh when it comes to what to expect

The number that defines this defense

SPEAKER_00 1:12

here on the defensive side of the ball. One of the things that really stood out to me when preparing for this is that the NC State offense is returning about 62% of their production, while the defense is only returning about 46% of its production, which obviously makes sense losing Brandon Cleveland, Sebastian Hart, CN Salone, Sean Brown, Caden 46, Caden Fordham. I mean, you lost a lot, you lost a lot of big pieces from last year's team. Uh, you know, so you you know, so would you say, Ethan, that's a red flag? Or, you know, would you say that with what we've done in the portal, that you know, like kind of what's your feel here? Like, do you feel like that, you know, we're kind of leaning on the side of concern, or do you feel like that we were able to supplement enough in the portal where you're feeling a little bit better, maybe than than last year's defense?

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Well, to me, 46% feels high. Um yeah. Like that's more than I would have expected um in terms of returning because I mean you rattle off those names. Feels like most of your sacks went out the door. Caden Fordham obviously led you in tackles. Um, Devon Marshall was excellent in the secondary for you. So um I like that number's better than I would have expected. I you talked about I do like what they did in the portal. I do. I I I we've talked about a playmaker on each level of the defense. Um now, you know, on the flip side, like looking back at last year, I did think they really hit their stride down the stretch. And I think that's one of the things that in this new era of college sports that has changed is like it a lot of times you can see one season bleed into the next where it's like, okay, you can hit your stride down the stretch. And we've seen NC State do that many, many times, where they're playing their their best football in November, but now you're starting over, you know, and so you you you may have to take some lumps early as we saw them do last year, right? Like we saw them, I thought they were much better in November than they were in September. And so I expect the same thing to happen again where the defense you see in September, they're gonna be much better in November. And so I guess the downside is you have to take the lumps a little bit to get there, but I do like the personnel. And yeah, you hope that uh, you know, they can they can take a step forward from from where they were last year.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Yeah, no, absolutely. Well, and I mean, you know, kind of starting to break down this defense here. I want to really want to start off with a defensive line. Why?

The KaTron Evans NCAA lawsuit

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Because I feel like that honestly, you have one of the biggest pieces of recent news affecting this defensive line with uh Catron Evans. Uh, the story coming out that the NCAA denied his uh extra year of eligibility waiver. Um, and basically NC State's actually going through the process of actually suing the NCAA for that year back here. Uh, how big of news is this? And how big of a swing do you feel like it is as we start to break down this defensive line, talking about you know what other options we have in those tackle, if we're able to get Evans back for another year or not?

SPEAKER_01 4:10

I think it hurts you from a depth perspective. I I don't know if Katron Evans was gonna start or not. Um, I do think, and and we'll get to him, probably like my biggest my biggest, well, biggest player isn't the the the phrase I'm looking for, but the most amount of stock I'm looking to buy is actually on Josiah Victor. Um, who you know, Katron Evans, theoretically, those would have been your two guys in that middle spot. Um, so I I think from a depth perspective, it it does hurt. Again, Victor's still very young, you know. He's uh he played last year as a true freshman, uh, and so as a sophomore, like now he's your guy. How many snaps can you realistically expect him to play? He, like you said, he hasn't played a ton. He got hurt, missed a few games last year. Um, and so I think you like Evans from that perspective as like, okay, it's another body he's played before he knows what to do, because after that, you're playing even two even younger guys in uh in a Melo McKenzie and O'Marian Abrahams. So yeah, like it does feel like you're thin there. It does. Um and so you definitely would rather have him than not. I don't think this is like a make or break injury. Like, I don't think this is like a I don't even want to put another name out there, so I won't do that. But I you know, I I don't think it's like I mean you you've you lose significant players to injury every year. I I don't know that I would personally that I would put Catron Evans in that category.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously with his experience and uh, you know, definitely his his ability. I mean, a guy that's you know 6'3, 336 definitely fits the perfect mold, I feel like, from a build perspective, what you want at a nose tackle.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

You know, like he's like you mentioned he's 336, these other guys are still putting that weight on, right? I think they're still in the 300 to 310 range. It doesn't sound like a lot, but you know, 20-25 pounds, like and and being able to maintain your athleticism, like it's easier to do at 22-23 than it is at 18-19.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Do you feel like NC State is handling this any way different because this is coming off of piggybacking off of the Hampton news? Like, so now it's like, okay, now we're really like putting our foot down here and saying, mm-mm, we're gonna we're we're gonna try and fight this one.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Yeah, that's a good question. Um if you're jailing Hampton, I mean you you hope that you're getting treated the same way. I think that they knew and they knew with both of these guys that this was a possibility. And I think with Hampton they probably understood that it was unlikely. Um and I think Dave talked about that in his press conference. Let me see if I can find the quotes real quick. But I I I think this is one where they feel like they have a strong case, and that's why you go through the hassle and the expenses of pursuing. You know, like I I don't think you do this if you feel like you don't have a chance. I think that to me, that's probably the um the biggest difference. Uh he's so he said it's not a surprise, but it is disappointing. He said we made plans with him and we've made plans without him. So we knew when we signed him, we needed a waiver. So um, and then he said, Okay, so then the next question was Jalen Hampton. He said every every case is different. His case was more of a long shot, in our opinion. So they knew going in, like, okay, Jalen Hampton is it's gonna be tough getting him eligible, and that was the way it played out. And so uh Catron Evans, I think they feel better, and that's why you take the approach on that one and not Hampton.

Is Josiah Victor a top-3 most important player?

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Yeah, well, now kind of switching over though, Ethan, to Josiah Victor, who you said you would definitely buy a lot of stock in. A guy who uh you know is only a sophomore. Uh he la well, sorry, his he came into NC State as a three-star recruit. Uh played not a significant amount, which obviously you expect with a guy like Brandon Cleveland on the roster, but definitely played, you know, a handful for sure here. And in my opinion, he's going into a season, especially if Evans can't play. I could argue one of the top two, uh maybe top two, top three most important players on this football roster going into next year if Evans can't play.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Um most important. Yeah. I I mean it's hard to argue just because, you know, again, Abraham and McKenzie behind him, like you really don't know. Um, and so yeah, like I don't know. That that feels aggressive, but at the same time, I I don't know that I have a rebuttal, to be honest. Um exactly.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

It's just it's it's it's just it's just crazy to think about, you know, and and you know, especially putting all that weight, all that, you know, burden too on a sophomore to not only stay stay productive, but stay healthy as well, too. Gosh forbid, he goes down, then you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel arrow down the middle. Yeah, and you know offenses will take advantage of that.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

Yeah, so Victor played um he played 96 snaps last year. So obviously you had Cleveland, they also had Chaz Wallace. Um, who again, like Victor's probably better than Chaz Wallace, but Wallace played more because he was in year year five, I think, and Victor's in year one, you know. And Vic, you know, again, Victor missed some time, but um yeah, he missed four games. He didn't play in four games, only played four snaps against you. Like he only played 11% of the snaps there. So look, the NC State can think he's really good, you know, but it does feel like it's probably a year too early to be going all in on him. That's why you land Evans. That's why I think you can sit here and wonder why why didn't you

The rest of the defensive line

SPEAKER_01 9:59

take another guy?

SPEAKER_00 9:59

I think that's a valid question to a looking at the rest of the defensive line here. Uh, you know, I think uh Isaiah Shirley, your presumptive starter there on the defensive tackle spot. Uh let's see, Joseph uh Adadire is well, probably presumptive edge starter. Uh who would you peg on the other side?

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Well, I I think it's probably those two guys. Um, like if if I had to guess, your first three man set is those three, Shirley, Adadere, uh, and Victor. Um and again, I I I think state uh, you know, is kind of looking for the same approach out of these three guys. Like you're not necessarily going to see huge sack totals or TFLs. I think that's more from your from your edge rushers and Harvey Dyson and Sterling Dixon, who obviously will get to. Um, I think you're looking for these guys to take up space, to occupy blockers, to, you know, hold double teams, to keep the linebackers free. Um, and I think that's what you're that's what you're looking for from you know this group. Again, Adadere, you know, has flashed a little bit last year, has produced at Texas Tech. So maybe, you know, maybe expect a little more production out of him. I think those are the three guys though. Um and then again, after that, it's guys who haven't really played. I mean, Chase Bond played a little bit last year. I think he had a sack or two. Um, but Colby Kronk hasn't played, AJ Prim didn't play last year. I mean, those are the names you're you're talking about.

Colby Cronk broke the power clean record

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, I mean, and one guy though, which uh, you know, obviously uh kind of broke the broke the internet a little bit with uh breaking the uh NC State football uh power clean record and Colby Cronk here too as well. I mean, he's a guy coming out of high school that NC State was very, very high on. And, you know, definitely I think breaking a power clean record, Ethan. Uh, when you think about some of the the beasts that have come through NC State football, I mean Catavius Streets, one name I think of, who uh squatted 700 pounds here. Uh, but you know, does that maybe kind of signify that okay, maybe it's time to see a little bit more about what Colby Cronk has? Because obviously, from a weight room perspective, he's he's giving you what you need.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

And he did that as a sophomore, too, as like a young sophomore, like early sophomore year. Yeah. Um, yeah, like he's definitely another name. I mean, States can like we're talking names here, and we're kind of like, oh well, I don't know who the fourth guy, the fifth guy is. All these guys are gonna play, you know, we're gonna know who they are. Oh, yeah, you know, by the end of October. And so, yeah, Kronk's in the mix for sure. Um, you know, you athletically you hope he stands out. And and I would think like a couple of these guys are gonna break out and you're gonna feel pretty good about them head into next season. You are pretty young at this group. Um, Shirley, I believe, is out of eligibility. No, Shirley still has one more year after this. Um more year, yeah. And AJ Prim still has another year. So Adaturay out of this group is the only guy that uh that's out of eligibility. It kind of reminds me of the safety position last year where you were like, okay, we're playing a bunch of young guys and they're kind of taking their lumps, but you know, a year later you look at it and you're like, hey, we're we've got three or four guys that we feel good about who have played. So again, it feels like you're a year early on the defensive line. But like you said, if you can get if you can feel really good about Victor, feel good about Kronk, feel good about a couple other guys here headed into next season, then I think you know, you you hope to see that progression over the course of the season, and then you again feel good about that group going into next year.

The D-line verdict

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Yeah, so I mean, just kind of wrapping the defensive line up in terms of talking kind of overall here. I mean, looking at this defensive line, it it it's it definitely raises a lot of eyebrows and concern, especially if Evans turns out to not be eligible, which obviously with how suing the NCAA has gone recently, it has a pretty good percentage chance of actually winning sometimes, but you know, to be determined there. So, but I think that's definitely going to be a big swing either way, if Evans is able to play or not. Um, but looking at the rest of it here, it's definitely looking like Isaiah Shirley, who keep in mind, you know, coming in his freshman year, actually uh stepped in and played a lot on the tight end side as a blocking. I forgot about that. Yeah, and now here, yeah, and now here he is, you know, looking at him saying, All right, Isaiah, like we need you to be a pretty big producer here on the defensive line here, especially when you look at what last year's defensive line was with Sion Salone, with Brandon Cleveland, with Sebastian Harsh. So, you know, definitely on the concern meter here for me is pretty high, especially because I feel like the NC State defense when it's producing, when it's producing its best, is when we're able to get pressure on the quarterback. And obviously, we'll talk about the linebackers here. There's a lot of options that can help with pass rush, but to me, looking at Josiah Victor, could Katron Evans uh there in the middle, we need some strong player there up and up the middle specifically.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

Yeah, yeah, I I don't know how much production from a numbers perspective you're gonna get from this group, but I also like I don't view that as a knock. Like I don't I don't think NC State's defense is designed for these for this group. I think I mentioned this earlier, to come away with eight sacks, ten sacks, twelve sacks. Like you're looking for that from your outside linebackers. Now, last year NC State did have Sloan and Harsh listed as defensive ends, I believe. Um and this year, Harvey Dyson and Sterling Dixon are listed as linebackers. So I think that's sort of a hybrid of morphing your roster to fit DJ Elliott's system. There's a little bit of an in-between there. Um, so again, I I I don't necessarily look at it and say, well, if you know Victor and Adatore don't don't combine for eight sacks, then NC State's defense isn't gonna be good. I think these guys can can still be okay to solid, even if the numbers aren't there. Um, but the production's gonna have to come from you know the outside linebackers. And if you want to throw those guys in, obviously we're talking about them separately, but if you are including those guys in the defensive line discussion, then I you know, I think that conversation looks much different.

The JACK spot and Harvey Dyson

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Yeah. Well, I mean, kind of transitioning, uh, you know, it's funny, Ethan. Um it's it seems like uh, you know, every single maybe every couple years, they come up with a new like linebacker name position here, and the the Jack linebacker position is uh is a is a new one here. But Harvey Dyson and Sterling Dixon on the uh roster are kind of fitting those molds here. Obviously, Harvey Dyson, you know, when you look at the defense as a whole, I probably project him to hopefully be the biggest name that we talk about here on the defensive side. I mean, yeah, he definitely is coming in that way. I mean, a guy that played a two-lane, uh, had eight sacks last year, 11.5 tackles for loss last year, a guy that's really, really elite in terms of rushing the passer. Uh and also to a guy that, again, uh played at with the football team that was playing an extremely high level enough to make it to the college ball playoffs here. So, you know, when we talk about the issues that or concerns you have on the defensive line, you look at Harvey Dyson saying that's the guy that could yeah, agree, agree.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

And I again you brought him in out of the portal, like maybe the highest paid guy on the defense, maybe I don't know. Um probably up there. If not, I would guess it's probably him and Brian Nelson. Um, and so yeah, like when you're when I'm sitting here saying, All right, well, you you know, if you don't get production from the defensive line, it's not the end of the world. Well, if you don't get production from RV Dyson, it is probably the end of the world, right? Because then it's like, okay, where is this, where is this gonna come from? You brought him in to produce, to be your guy, to be your star guy, basically. Like, and I don't want to compare him to other players who have had big seasons because I think he's in a different role than a Peyton Wilson or a Drake Thomas or a Jermaine Pratt or a Bradley Chubb. Like, he's not being asked to do the same things that those guys were doing. So I don't want to sit here and and compare those. But again, you rattle off the numbers from last year. 11 and a half sacks, eight, uh, eleven and a half tackles for loss, eight sacks. That's really, really strong production. That's very strong production. And yeah, like in a in a um in a different, you know, setting, like you you need that from him. You need that to be to be replicated because again, you don't know what you're getting from from other pieces. And so um, yeah, like hard Dyson is the guy, and I do think you know, Sterling Dixon um is another guy that state really likes. Like he he came from Alabama, I believe he was banged up most of last season. Um and uh again, like you're not gonna make it through the season with one pass rusher, right? You need multiple, um, and then you need depth as well. So Dixon's gonna factor in there as well. But again, those are the guys you have circled to say this is where our havoc needs to come from. If we're gonna create turnovers, if we're gonna get pressure on the quarterback, those are the guys that you're looking at.

Sterling Dixon

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Yeah, I mean, Sterling Dixon, a guy that came into uh NC State actually out of high school, he was the number 23 overall edge rush uh recruit, four-star recruit. Um, given a 90 rating uh on uh on 24-7 here. So again, very highly recruited, ended up at Alabama, and then spent last year NC State, played a little bit, but like you said, was very banked up, so didn't get really much, if any, playing time last year. Uh, but you know, a guy that's a retrid sophomore compared to Harvey Dyson, who's a retruct senior. So he's a guy that I definitely see as a potential of all right, like this could be one of our guys that spends three years NC State. Because I I I feel like that if you're looking at here, it's it's it definitely makes sense if if things work out properly, if Dixon plays his part this year, that Dixon can be one of the guys for next year's NC State football roster. Do you see that happening?

SPEAKER_01 20:20

I think you need Dixon this year, like you know, yeah, for next year, sure. Being the guy, yeah, yeah, yeah like he'll be involved for sure. Right. Um, yeah, and so Dyson is out of eligibility. I don't know. Like, I I you know, I I know I brought up next year, that's my fault. We're focused, we're still focused on 2026. But yeah, like again, last year you had Sloan and Harsh, right? Like you had two guys, and I think you probably feel like you need two. Like you had two who were very impactful, you also had Caden Fordham in the middle. Like, again, when we're talking about other spots where it's like, okay, I I don't know. Like, I do think state, like if you're gonna put, let's say you put Harvey Dyson down for eight sacks, right? Like, let's just go ahead and do that. I still think you need a second guy in the four, five, six range who's consistently creating pressure. Is it Sterling Dixon? Could it be somebody on the defensive line? It could be added array, you know. Um, it's a lot for Josiah Victor. Like, again, uh, you don't expect that from a defensive tackle, you don't expect four, five, six sacks. But could it be those guys? I think Sterling Dixon's as good of a candidate

The 20-sack problem: hurries that never became sacks

SPEAKER_01 21:30

as anybody. And the other thing that I would I would throw out there is I thought last year, Sloan and Harsh, they um they were in the backfield a ton, and their sack numbers didn't necessarily reflect that. Like, I think their pressure rate was much higher than their sack rate, and so that's something I'm gonna be looking at, right? Like, I felt like every play, those two guys, one of those two guys was in the backfield, but state just didn't finish a ton of sacks. So that that's something I'm looking at this year. Can NC State do a better job of finishing tack finishing sacks, finishing TFLs? And you know, again, like last year, I thought that was somewhere where they left a little meat on the bone, um, so to speak. Let me pull up their sack numbers here real quick. Um State had 20 sacks, and as a team Fordham had three and a half. Sebastian Harsh had two and a half. And where did uh Sloan had one and a half? It just felt like they were in the backfield a lot more than that, didn't it?

SPEAKER_00 22:35

A lot. Oh, a hundred percent. No, it's it seemed like they were dominant, especially early in the season. They were really, really popping off for EC Virginia specifically. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Okay, so so here's an example. Sloan had six and a half. This is from State's website. Six and a half TFLs, one and a half sacks, but 16 quarterback hurries, right? Harsh was 13 quarterback hurries, seven and a half TFLs, but only two and a half sacks. Now you compare that to Trey Thomas, who had five quarterback hurries but turned it into four sacks. Travali Price had four quarterback hurries, three and a half sacks. Um Fordham mentioned him, four quarterback hurries, three and a half sacks. So that's something I'm looking at. Can you turn those quarterback hurries into more sacks and and create those negative plays, put teams behind the chains? That's how you create turnovers, too, right? You're you're much more likely to create turnovers getting in the backfield, getting in the face of the quarterback, whether it's a fumble, whether it's an interception. If the quarterback's got a clean pocket, I don't like my chances of forcing a turnover, right?

SPEAKER_00 23:40

100% agree. Yeah, no, definitely. Well, and especially too, I feel like that at times last season, it was almost like the off the offenses we were going against were almost scheming around Harsh and Sloan in terms of really staying away and almost even challenging Cleveland up the middle. Uh, you know, and and the linebackers, just because Harsh and Sloan were at some points last season were playing elite, were playing incredible last season, to say the least. So uh so I mean, and maybe that's part of the reason why they have all these hurries, but not Sacks, is that basically the quarterback almost has like eyes in the back of his head, you know, like you know, once he sees Harsh and Sloan coming around the edge, then he's popping up, and then there's Fordham or Cleveland or or Brown there to finish the job.

Linebackers: Aguirre, Richardson, Nelson

SPEAKER_00 24:26

So um, but again, I mean, looking at though the rest of this uh linebacking roster here, Ethan, and this is honestly for me what I'm most excited about here for the season. Here is that, you know, we already talked about Dixon and Dyson, what they're able to bring. But I mean, some of these other guys like Popo Guire, uh, you know, AJ Richardson, uh Dakari Nelson, one of our two transfers from Penn State here, uh, all guys that I'm I'm feeling very, very, you know, bullish on for sure. I mean, Popo coming from Miami, uh, you know, senior year, definitely feels like he has a chip on his shoulder this year. And then the guy in Dakari Nelson, who coming out of high school was a four-star recruit, borderline top 100 recruit, uh, a guy that's again been a part of the uh James Franklin system for four years. So, you know, he's you know been developed uh, you know, in a positive manner there. And he's played, been played and been a part of some pretty big ball. And now he's come to NC State uh, you know, as a depth option. And uh, so you know, I'm looking at between Dixon, Popo, AJ, and Dakari Nelson, any of those four guys is, you know, hey, if we're able to get, you know, meaningful production there, then, you know, watch out. Uh, so and a lot of experience there too, as well, that I really, really think is going to be beneficial as the season goes on here. So um, you know, between uh Popo, I mean, I know you from from hearing you talk before about Popo, some a guy you're pretty excited about, but um, you know, AJ Richardson, a guy that uh, you know, came from Norfolk State, showed some signs of positive uh play, but was banged up last season. Uh do you feel like you know AJ Dakari, both Retro Jr. You know, do you see one of those two that you're more more bullish on for this upcoming season?

SPEAKER_01 26:16

Yeah, well, well, just real quick on Dixon. Do you think he like State's listing him as an outside linebacker? So are you throwing him in with the inside guys?

SPEAKER_00 26:25

No, so well, just just basically because Dyson's gonna be the guy. Dyson's gonna be the guy, period. Uh, and now you need Dixon for sure to be involved, but also too as well. I mean, you're like, because basically kind of how I look at it is okay, you got, you know, what is it? Basically, what so so because it's 335, so so you know, you got three other linebacker spots here, so you know which one's gonna play the big piece here. So, no, like you know, I basically I put basically Dyson and and and Dixon as like in in their own jack spot, and then okay, these other guys, Popo, AJ, and Dakari, uh, as your middle outside linebacker.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

That's kind of the way I view it, too.

The best LB duo since Drake Thomas?

SPEAKER_01 27:06

Yeah. Um, I think you know, it's weird. I can't believe I'm saying this. Drake Thomas has been gone for four years now. I get like that, does not feel real to me. But you know, the reason I bring that up is in terms of duo, like States had some unbelievable linebacker seasons. Obviously, Peyton Wilson in 23, um, Caden Fordham last year. Uh, but in terms of a duo, I don't feel like they've had a great duo since Drake Tom when they had all three of those guys. Now, obviously Peyton Wilson was hurt, so in 21 it was mostly just Drake and Isaiah Moore. Um But I kind of want like I think Aguirre and Richardson could be that best duo over the last few years. Like will you have the individual the the single player excellence that you had the like in 23 with Peyton Wills? Obviously, like you know, that's a Mount Rushmore individual season at NC State, but like will one of those guys have that type of season or even like a Caden Fordham type of season last year? I don't necessarily think so, but I think in terms of two guys, I think you could have two guys that are you know as strong as you've had in in recent. Uh I mean again, going back to 21, I guess. And that's been spent five years now. I can't believe that. Um, so yeah, I'm I'm very bullish on Aguire. Richardson, I'm bullish on too. I like I I think that's a guy who, at least for me, headed into last year. Um I kind of thought he could beat out Sean Brown or Caden Fordham down the stretch. Uh, and obviously he didn't play out that way. AJ Richardson got hurt, so did Sean Brown, and Caden Fordham was awesome. I think he's a guy who kind of came in under the radar, was really, really good at Norfolk State, still has two years left. State made a concerted effort to get him on the field. Before he got hurt, he was playing. They brought him back from injury late in the year. I think that's a guy people are sleeping on. I think he's a guy who could put together a big season. We've talked about Aguire as well. I think the two of those guys, I think you're in if it again, they have to stay healthy, but I think between the two of those guys, I think State's probably gonna be in pretty good shape there.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

Yeah. Now, Dakari Nelson, though, for me is an interesting name here. Uh that I want to talk a little bit more about just because during his time at Penn State, I mean, over the last two seasons, he's only been involved in a handful of games. So definitely been a depth rotation option at Penn State here. Now comes to NC State. I'm sure piggybacking probably a lot of you know how uh you know James Franklin, you know, getting let go for Penn State. So don't know if that was the only reason, but I'm sure probably only playing in a handful of games over the last two seasons probably doesn't help, didn't help the or didn't help the the case for him to stay at Penn State either. Uh but now comes Dency State here. Uh, you know, do you feel like you know he's a guy that also too is probably gonna come into NC State here with a chip on his shoulder and come into NC State with the expectation, the hope that he's gonna play significant time this season?

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Yeah, I I think he has that hope. Um, I'm sure like that's why you pick a place. Like you don't pick a place and say, oh, I'm going there to sit on the bench. You know, like so I I don't know. Like, I I think he was primarily, I know you mentioned he primarily a special teams guy at Penn State. Uh yeah, I I I don't know. Like, I don't have super high expectations for Nelson, but again, you've you've got to stay healthy. And you've talked about uh, you know, like the what's behind these guys. We don't really know. We don't we don't really know. And so I I think Nelson can certainly play his way into snaps. I I don't think there's you know a situation where it's like, all right, there's more guys in front of him. Like there are positions where it's hard to see this guy getting on the field. I don't necessarily feel that way about Nelson. You know, LaCorian Hodge played some last year, so you know, I'm sure State likes him. Um like other than that, though, yeah, I think Nelson can definitely carve out a role. I I again I don't know what that looks like because I think if Aguire and Richardson stay healthy, then I think they're gonna play the majority of the snaps. But that doesn't mean there's not a role for Nelson. And again, like being willing to be flexible. I think that's the biggest thing with with this defense is you know, you called it a 3-3-5, right? And you know, okay, we had the 3-3-5 with Tony Gibson, but Tony Gibson was a very like this is our 3-3-5 defense. We are not changing it. We are gonna run our defense our way. DJ Elliott is much more flexible, where it's like, okay, well, we'll do this on this play, and then we'll switch it up on that play, and then we're gonna go back to this, or we're here, we're gonna do something new here. So I he's much more flexible. I know Dave Dorn talked about that when they hired him as a guy who they called it multiple fronts, who's much more you know, open to stuff like that. So I think that allows for guys like Dakari Nelson to find something that they're good at and earn snaps that way. Um, but yeah, I mean he'll probably be on the too deep. If I had to guess, he'll probably be on the too deep and um you know have opportunities for uh if a guire uh or or Richardson either go down or aren't playing well.

Cornerbacks

SPEAKER_00 32:23

Yeah. So switching on over here though to the cornerbacks, uh, you know, obviously you feel extremely what good, like you said, about one guy and Brian Nelson, who, like you said, is probably you know definitely top two highest paid players on the defense this year. Uh guys Retched Jr. But then outside of that, you know, you again you got you got my guy here in Andre Evans, you got uh um you know Ty White, Caden, Caden Gordon there. Uh, but then at the you know, even nickel, you got Sai Brown, Jackson Vick here. Uh if you were to put money right now, Ethan, on one guy, who do you think is is gonna be starting against Virginia on the other side of the ball opposite of Brian Nelson? Your guy. Let's go.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

Yeah, I I think it'll be Andre Evans, like Andre Evans. I I don't know, like you know, you mentioned Ty White. Um state has him listed at and nickel. Um, you know, you have Jackson Vick inside there as well. But yeah, I I really I mean you you've been talking about Andre Evans all offseason, I think. And yeah, like I like he's now an upperclassman, he's now a junior. He played, he was in the mix at Georgia, which is always something that you look for. Like, you know, the competition, Jaron Senseba, Caden Gordon played a little bit last year. Um, but yeah, I I think it's Evans. Uh, I think State has done a good job um, you know, finding corners in the portal. And you know, you go back to Devin uh Devon Marshall, I guess, where it's like, okay, year one, it's like the role is a little bit, it's a little bit of a lesser role because there's either guys in front of them or they're just getting a you know easing into the system, I guess. But this year you don't have a second guy, you you don't have somebody who you're like, okay, we can ease Andre Evans in. Like, okay, down the stretch you can earn some snaps. You don't really have that option this year. It's got like somebody's got to go out there and sink or swim. Um and you know, cornerback again is a position where you play a lot of guys. Last year, state played three corners. Um, you know, due to injury, but also, you know, when you're on passing downs, you're you're putting more, you're putting more DBs out there. So I like Andre Evans, Jaron Sensiba, you know, was hurt last year, another guy, uh Caden Gordon. Like three of those guys are gonna, well, two of those three, I should say, are gonna play a ton because we know we know uh Brian Nelson will obviously. But yeah, you ask me right now. I'm I'm picking Andre Evans.

The Ondre Evans hot take

SPEAKER_00 35:01

Yeah. Well, and I mean, you know, obviously, uh, you know, I definitely would love to see that. Honestly, uh I'll have to go pull that clip, Ethan, from uh the live stream that you and I did where I had pulled out my hot take about Andre Evans, and I'll have to timestamp it and be like, look at my guy. What did I say about it months ago, baby? Yeah, yeah. What what did I say?

SPEAKER_01 35:24

I think I really liked that at the time.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

And uh well, well, yeah, well, no, you said because it was it was uh like a hot take, and I was like, you know, let me know Ethan how spicy it was from one to ten. And I think my take was something like that Andre Evans would be the most impactful defensive player outside of Harvey Dyson uh for this upcoming season. I think you were like Yeah, I I can see it.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

Like I like again, like somebody's gotta be that second quarterback. It's not gonna be me or you, you know, so it's gotta be somebody. Yeah, it's gotta be somebody. And I I I don't really see why it can't be Andre Evans. NC State has loved Andre Evans for years dating back to his his recruitment, and so I I know that they are you know they're pumped to have him on their roster finally, and um, you know, we'll look for him to to have a big season.

SPEAKER_00 36:13

Yeah. So now looking at though the other two names, there were, you know, Jackson Vick, a guy that NC State fans uh a name that that NC State fans should know for sure. Um then Asad Brown, who uh you know saw significant playing time uh you know at different points due to injury. Uh, you know, pit game, I think, I think, I think uh if I'm remembering correctly, Ethan, uh the pit game at one point, I believe like four out of the five defensive back starters were were freshmen uh due to injuries here, and uh, or freshmen or sophomores here, and Asad Brown was one of them here. Uh besides Brian Nelson and Andre Evans, who we're both uh very high on here, do you see there's one more name on this list here that NC State fans uh should should buy a lot of stock in on the defen on the cornerback side of the ball?

SPEAKER_01 37:03

Who King Mac?

SPEAKER_00 37:06

Oh duh. Well, well, well, sorry. Oh no, no, no. Safe uh just just just corners. Not not we're not safety yet.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

I I think you covered him. I I mean I like and Asad Brown, I mean they have him listed at safety right now. We'll see. Um, I do think that's something they like is being able to move guys around, and sometimes you don't really have a choice. Um yeah, yeah, and so yeah, I I not really like to me it's Evans, sense of all, Caden Gordon. Like to me, those are the three guys right now.

Safeties and King Mack

SPEAKER_01 37:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:38

But let's switch on over though to the safety side now. Uh in and start with our guy, King Mac. Uh, you know, a guy that I don't know if it's a Twitter account, Ethan, but there uh I've I've seen a lot of talk or you know, like some tweets from time to time of like the best names in college football or whatever it may be, uh whether it's you know funny or just cool or whatever. But King Mack, I mean, gotta be up there if one of the coolest names in college football for this upcoming season here. But again, a true senior guy, Penn State transfer. Uh and really, I think outside of Harvey Dyson, you know, in terms of from a what you should expect, bringing a guy like in, bringing again, bringing in a guy like this, King Mack, I think, definitely fits that mold here. Uh definitely uh is fitting a big hole there for sure, uh, being the one true full-on senior upperclassman that's in the safety room here. So I think that it seems like to me, like like uh Coach Dorn, DJ Elliott here are putting a lot of chips here on King Mac. Would you say it's a it's a fair, a fair gamble, a fair risk here, Ethan?

SPEAKER_01 38:45

Yeah, I like what I mean. Again, we talked about three playmakers at every level that they brought in out of the portal. And Mac is that guy at the defensive back. Now, obviously, you have Brian Nelson, but you know, he was you brought him in last year. So I'm not including him in that conversation. So yeah, like I you brought Mac in from Penn State, started eight games there. I I think it was 40, 50 tackles somewhere in that range. Like you expect him to come in and be be a guy for you. Um I'm I'm blinking on the who was the safety a couple years ago that came in from Auburn late. You remember who I'm talking about? Let me see if I can Auburn real quick. Yeah, he transferred in very late, and then he ended up being like state's best guy on defense. Uh I got it right here. It was gonna say you'd think I would know that name. DK Kaufman. Like, I I I wonder if you're looking for like a like a similar type of impact from Kaufman. Now, Kauffman made a ton of impact type of plays, havoc plays. I don't know if King Knack is necessarily that type of guy, but I I I think there's other guys here. Like, this is probably my favorite position group on the defense because we talked about it with the defensive line. It's like, okay, you're playing all these, you're gonna have to play these young guys, and hopefully that pays off down the road. Well, that's what you've done with safety. You you did play the young guys last year. You you did play Brody Barnhart probably before he was ready. You did play Asad Brown, you did have to play Tristan Teesdale, you did have to play Ronnie Royal. Well, now those guys have taken those lumps. Now they're upperclassmen. Barnhart's a junior, Royal's a junior, so you expect those guys to take steps forward. I think State would be, you know, knock on wood. I think state would be okay without King Mack here because of the lumps those guys have taken. Now, you know, you want King Mac, and I and I think it's it's great that State brought him in, but I do think they have the depth in terms of guys who have played for you, who have started, who have played a ton of snaps. You have that at safety. You have that. I mean, you go four or five deep in terms of guys who have played real snaps at this level, and now they're now they're upperclassmen. So you expect, again, those lumps they took last year, you expect those to pay off now.

Top 4-6 defense in the ACC? We disagree

SPEAKER_00 40:59

Yeah. Well, and kind of looking big picture here, too, as well. The thing I love a ton about this defense is that there's a great mix between, you know, definitely some senior leadership with King Mack and Dyson definitely fitting that mold, and obviously even Isaiah Shirley, who uh went uh represented NC State at Media Day. But you also too have a lot of really upside guys here. Again, Andre Evans, a guy that's you know, really nobody outside of NC State really knows about, but was a guy that was highly recruited out of high school, went to Georgia, and now he's coming to NC State, and you know, nobody's seen him play on the field for three years. So big upside there. Uh, you know, Josiah Victor on the defensive tackle, big upside there. Ronnie Royal, big upside. So, you know, for me, this defense, and it goes back to the initial question that starts this episode here, is that nobody truly knows how this defense is going to be until August 29th when they play Virginia. Uh, you know, very uh, you know, probably, you know, a team that's that's definitely gonna challenge NC State defensively right out the gate. And it could be I I think a defense that's a top four to six defense in the ACC easily. It definitely has that that capability there. But also too, as well, it's it's you know, gotta see, gotta see what it what it all looks like when it comes together here. Because just like you said, I think that looking at the deep uh looking at the linebackers and looking at the specifically the safeties, but you know, defensive backs in general with Brian Nelson, uh, you know, those are the two areas of the defense you're gonna you're gonna really you know rely on to get the job done here.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

Yeah. Uh I don't know. Four to six seems high to me. I I don't know, like maybe, maybe. Um, you know, I I think if Harvey Dyson has a big year, you know, and and Brian Nelson has a big year, I I I could see it getting there. Um you're right, Virginia's gonna challenge him right out of the gate. Um I I don't think Virginia's gonna be as good at quarterback this year as they were last year. Um yeah, so I you know that's that's good. I thought Chandler Morris was was excellent for them. Um so but it's a test. Like you're used to opening up with a with an FCS team or you know, ECU or somebody of that ilk, and you're not, you're getting right into it this year. So yeah, like I I don't know, like to me, the way I view it, and I and I know I I I felt like I was kind of hard on the offense, but and I'm more optimistic about the defense, but I think for me that's also relative to expectations. Like I ex like I think the offense, you've built this roster to be better on offense, and so I I do think like okay, like you you kind of need the offense to score 31, 35 points a game, 38, you know, go win some shootouts for me. Defensively, I don't necessarily feel that way. I I don't feel like you have to hold teams to 17 points to win. So if you give up 24, if you give up 28, if you give up 31, I don't personally, I don't know that I'm viewing that as the end of the world. What I'm looking for is opportunities to give the offense chances to win the game for you. And I thought by and large, last year, I thought they did that. Like, I again, I know they the defense didn't jump off the page, but you Even you look at like the Notre Dame game, I think it was 36 to 7. Like the defense hung in there for a half. They did, and they gave you a chance. Yeah, they tried. The offense didn't score, but the defense kept you in the game. You know, you look at like forcing turnovers in games, right? They did that. They got better down the stretch. So I don't know. At least for me, like expectations are higher on offense. And so Sure. I don't know. Like I well, but also too.

SPEAKER_00 44:49

I think that I I think a lot of that though, too, is tied to the importance of the quarterback position compared to any position really on the linebacker side, though, to or sorry, in any position on the defensive side of the ball, though, too, though. That's that'd be the one pushback I would say. But also too, though, I mean, in the fact of like, listen, like kind of what we're saying with CJ Bailey in the fact of like, listen, like, you know, you we shouldn't lose any games because of CJ with the defensive side of the ball, just just like you said, just uh keep us in it. You know, we're not asking you to be Superman, hold them to 17, 14 points or less a game. Just uh keep us in games, give us opportunities, make a stop where you can, and you know, and then CJ should take care of the rest. Now, with that being said, though, again, you still have guys that can make plays, though, on the decent defensive side of the ball. Again, Harvey Dyson, King Mac, uh, you know, Brian Nelson, our guy, Josiah Victor, you know, even has the potential and the capabilities for sure to make plays here. So, so that's why, you know, I I I'm looking at this team because I feel like that, and again, this could be a hundred, it could be a hundred percent uh, you know, red sunglasses, completely understand that here. But I'm looking at the offensive side, I'm looking at the offensive side. There's not really an area where I'm like, holy smokes, like, man, like we're gonna not feeling good about this position at all. I don't really feel like I really have that position at it.

SPEAKER_01 46:16

For instance, some people would say the defensive line, you don't think it's that?

SPEAKER_00 46:22

No, just because of the fact of like you said, like, you know, I think there's upside guys there, but also too as well. I mean, I I put a lot of stock in who's coaching them too, as well. And like, you know, this is a guy that's coached defensive line, you know, at the highest level for you know, a long, long time here. So for sure. Uh yeah, Charlie Wiles.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

So Wiles actually moved into a like a support staff role. So I don't I like I'm sure he's still there and helping. Like, I I I don't know. So um no, but you're right, like he's definitely a highly regarded guy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:57

Yeah, well, and and again, like, you know, support staff is even even you know, Ruffin McNeil is in a support staff role, but he wouldn't be there for as long as he did if he wasn't making an impact, you know, uh, you know, in a way. And so you know with Charlie Weil is having you know 30 years of experience in a coaching defensive line, you know he's in the conversations for sure. Like, you know, if if if they didn't want him a part of it, he wouldn't even be on the staff at all. But you're you're you know, whoever it is, you know, like you know, obviously defense defensive line coach now, you know he's part of these conversations here. You'd be you'd be you'd be crazy not to ask for his opinion

Biggest strength, biggest weakness

SPEAKER_00 47:36

there on it. And uh so but yeah, no, absolutely. Um, but you know, kind of looking at though, you know, just kind of final question here, Ethan, to kind of wrap it up here. Uh, what would you say is going to be one? I guess I guess what's the biggest strength that you feel like this defense has? And what would you say if you're an opposing offense, you know, Virginia game one, what would you say the biggest weakness is that you would look to to uh to take advantage of?

SPEAKER_01 48:05

I think the biggest strength is the star power. I I think Harvey Dyson, like again, the eight sacks coming from Tulane, double-digit TFLs. I'd throw Brian Nelson out there. Like you need him to take a step forward, but again, he's still a young guy. Like uh what year is Brian Nelson? Uh uh Richard Jr. Yeah, he's a senior. Yeah, so he's in year four. So he's still got another year after this, right? I would kind of throw him in that category, and then I think you're gonna get somebody out of the linebacker position, either Guire or Richardson, where I think we're gonna look back at the end of the season and say, man, that guy had a great, great season. He was a star for NC State. Yeah. I so I to me it's those guys, and and to me, that's always the question. It's like, okay, who are your playmakers gonna be? Who are your who's gonna create your havoc? Who's gonna create turnovers? And to me, I think you know the answer to that question, or you feel like you should know the answer to that question. So for me, that's the biggest strength. Biggest weakness. Um, I I wish they had gone a little heavier in the portal at some spots, and I compare what they did in the portal on offense, where they I think they brought in 13 guys on offense and only five on defense. Like, to me, another cornerback would do wonders. Another defensive lineman. I know they brought in Catron Evans, but Dave said, we talked about it. Like Dave knew that that was you know, you knew that that was the possibility. Another defensive line, like just to make you feel a little bit better about the guys that you're running out there, and you know, guys who have played, like I don't think you need a warm body at those positions, but you know, could you get somebody who has played like a Dakari Nelson, you know, like a offensively, like a Davion Gauss. Like Davion Gauss, that running back, like he's not a superstar, but like he's been a role player for a couple of years. Like, could you have found somebody like that on the defensive line? So I think they're gonna be relying on too many young guys a little too early. But I mean, that's the nature of of college football, right? And that's just kind of the way it goes. Yeah. Um, so I I don't necessarily blame State for that, but I think they'll feel it in some in some points as they as they kind of did last year. But like we said, you take those lumps and then moving forward, you you you know, you grow from them and get better.

SPEAKER_00 50:26

Well, and and like you said too as well. I mean, you know, I do agree for sure that defensive line is not one I'm feeling overly bullish on for sure.

Should State have spent portal money differently?

SPEAKER_00 50:35

Now, I don't think it's you know just scraps basically there running the show there from the defensive line side. Now, with that being said, though, you even said it. I feel like honestly, we could have gotten by without King Mack, uh, you know, and went with a Ronnie Royal, a Brady Barn uh Barnhart, you know, and been just fine. I'd rather have invested those funds and going after another defensive lineman's uh, you know, uh death piece there at the very least. Uh, you know, especially just like you said, if Dorn didn't know what she did, say he did know, there's a possibility that Evans would not be able to play. So that way, it's you know, not seeming like a big issue is if Victor goes down, okay, now we're really concerned uh for sure. Uh, but again, if Victor can stay healthy, then I think this defensive line will be able to play its part. Uh so again, you know, hindsight's 2020, there's reasons for it. Obviously, uh the market, I'm sure, for defensive line, defensive lineman's probably pretty high compared to the other positions on defense. Which part would you agree with that?

SPEAKER_01 51:38

Yeah, and again, like I don't want to sit here and and discuss the you know, the look back at the roster management and and critique that. Like it's hard, you know, and and certainly we do that in the offseason. So now to me, the roster is your roster and let's evaluate what you have. But you're right, adding guys like that in the portal is it's hard. You know, it's hard. Like it, like I don't, you know, I certainly don't take that for granted. Um, so it's easy, you know, it's easy for me to sit here and say, oh, well, you should have grabbed X, he should have grabbed Y. It's not that easy, it's not that easy.

SPEAKER_00 52:12

Yeah, yeah. Well, and then luckily enough, the nice thing too, as well, to kind of wrap this up here is the nice thing is that honestly, we feel so bullish on what we have at linebacker that that linebackers could easily for sure supplement some of the issues that we might have on the defensive line side for sure. Uh, you know, there's a lot more that you can do from a linebacker perspective in terms of movement schemes, you name it, uh, to support the defensive line more than if it was the other way around and you're asking the linebackers to supplement the defensive back side, in my opinion, like especially with the run game. Uh, you know, like that's why honestly, when we were so dominant in 2021, 2022, et cetera, it wasn't necessarily because defensive line was elite, which, you know, I mean, it had some really high pieces in Devin Van, for example, but the play that you got from Drake Thomas, Peyton Wilson, Isaiah Moore is what really piggybacked a lot of that elite, uh, elite, you know, success that you saw. So again, that that's the hope for sure, is that the NC State defensive staff, Coach Doran, said, listen, we feel so good of what we have and what we can get from a price perspective a linebacker. I'd rather invest in that than, like you said, go after one stud on the defensive line side. And now, yes, you feel better about defensive line, but now once again, you don't have as much depth as you may have liked. So like we said, Peter to pay Paul. It's you know, like it's exactly it's it's you gotta limit it.

SPEAKER_01 53:46

It's you gotta you gotta limit the budget. Yeah, you gotta figure out where you want to. You gotta choose wisely. Yeah, and you gotta figure out, you know, the other part of this too, like you gotta figure out where do you develop well, right? Like, where do you where would you sit here and say, hey, we do a good spot. So if we get cheap production at position X, what position is that most likely to be with our with our internal development? You could make the case that's defensive line, you know, where state does such a good job developing guys. You could make that case, and then it's okay, we'll you know, we'll let it ride with those guys and understand that you know we're taking a gamble, but you got to gamble somewhere. And if we feel like we do a good job there relative to other positions, then you know, like I don't think state did a good job at like for a few years they had a struggles at linebacker, to be honest. Like they had Peyton Wilson and Drake Thomas, but Caden Fordham's really the only impactful high school linebacker they've signed since then. I mean, and that was a long time ago now, you know, and so that's a position where hey, we didn't we didn't do great at the high school uh out of high school there. So we do have to go into the portal. Same thing at cornerback, you know, since Aiden White. You landed Devon Marshall out of the portal, you landed Brian Nelson, you know. So I think that's part of it. And I think certainly that you can make a strong case that state took the right approach there based off of that.

SPEAKER_00 55:04

Yeah, agreed.

Outro

SPEAKER_00 55:06

So with that being said, Wolfpack Nation, we'll wrap it up right there. Really, really hope that everybody really enjoyed this defensive preview and you feel ready to rock and roll here for August 29th, here, especially now that we've gotten through the offense and defensive side here. But what's to come here? So we're gonna be starting our NC State football. Uh uh, probably do a little bit of hot takes, but definitely got our uh uh full season predictions coming up here. So make sure to stay tuned. And to make sure you don't miss out on it, what you gotta do, hit that subscribe button. If that subscribe button's lit up for you right now, then smash it right now. Do that for us, really help support the channel and also too as well and make sure you're notified whenever we release any new content. Plus, also too as well, hit that like button too, as well as it that's a huge big supporting uh um supporting system too for us as well. And uh let's know down in the comments too which player you're most excited about on the defensive side of the ball. I'd love to hear that uh in the comments, and then also too, make sure to give us a follow at Tuffy TalkNow on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. And also too as well, check out our amazing Patreon, our man Ethan here spitting out three videos a week, which is 12 video videos a month, plus our members only rumor chat. So 12 videos, plus our members only rumor chat, only $5 a month. Make sure to go click the link down in the description down below. Sign up today. Again, ton of value there for only $5 a month. Uh but with that being said, Wolfpack Nation, we will see you all soon. And as always, go pack, y'all.