NC State enters fall camp with a lot of moving parts, but the biggest constant is the one under center. Junior quarterback CJ Bailey sits at the top of Pack Power 247’s list of the Wolfpack’s 20 most important players for 2026, and it’s easy to see why.
The Wolfpack are coming off an 8-5 season that ended with a convincing bowl win over Memphis, but the roster has changed plenty since then. NC State returns key pieces like Bailey, right tackle Teague Andersen, center Spike Sowells Jr. and running back Duke Scott, while the defense has to replace its front six.
In the secondary, though, Jackson Vick and Brian Nelson II are back. The portal also brought in several notable additions, including Tulane transfer Edge Harvey Dyson, Penn State safety King Mack, Miami transfer linebacker Popo Aguirre and left tackle Jimarion McCrimon.
Bailey’s path to this spot started long before he arrived in Raleigh. At Chaminade-Madonna, he helped lead the Lions to three straight state championships and put together a huge high school résumé: 9,005 passing yards, 116 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, a 67 percent completion rate, plus 674 rushing yards and six more scores on the ground. He entered the 2024 recruiting cycle as a four-star prospect and the No. 29 quarterback in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite, and picked NC State over offers from Miami, Louisville, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech, among others.
He signed with the Pack in December 2023 and enrolled in January 2024, and the staff was impressed right away. Bailey opened the 2024 season as Grayson McCall’s backup, but multiple early-season concussions forced McCall to retire from football, pushing Bailey into the spotlight sooner than expected.
The 6-foot-6, 218-pound quarterback played in 11 games and made nine starts as a freshman, completing 65 percent of his passes for 2,413 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while adding 279 rushing yards and five scores. That completion rate ranked sixth in the ACC and No. 1 in program history for a freshman, and his 17 passing touchdowns were No. 2 all-time among NC State freshman quarterbacks.
Bailey’s growth didn’t stop there. He carried that first season into offseason work, emerged as a team leader last winter and followed with a strong spring and summer.
In 2025, his first full season as State’s starter, he threw for 3,105 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 69 percent of his passes. Those numbers rank ninth and tied for seventh, respectively, in single-season program history.
That production helped build the buzz around him once he announced he was coming back. Sources described him as embracing a leadership role during winter workouts, and even with his top four receivers gone and Teddy Hoffmann ruled ineligible for 2026, Bailey was sharp throughout spring practice. He kept that momentum rolling into summer conditioning, which only added to what was already his best offseason since joining the program.
The attention followed him to ACC Media Days, where he finished fourth in ACC Preseason Player of the Year voting. With fall camp underway, the expectation around Bailey keeps climbing, and Pack Power 247’s confidence is growing that he can deliver a career year for NC State in 2026.
In Other News...
Terrell Anderson Finally Opened Up About Why He Left NC State
Terrell Anderson is getting ready for a fresh start at USC, where the former NC State wide receiver is set to suit up for the Trojans beginning Aug. 29. After transferring out of Raleigh, Anderson made it clear he still views his time with Dave Doeren and the Wolfpack in a positive light, which adds some perspective to a move that naturally drew curiosity from fans who wondered what prompted it.
Anderson is expected to give Lincoln Rileys offense a downfield option and help on special teams, which makes him a useful piece as he tries to carve out a role in Los Angeles. What he opened up about, though, was the tone of the departure itself, and the larger question now is how quickly he can turn that next opportunity into meaningful production for USC. [Read more 🡒]
NC State May Not Be Out Of Options With A Key Returnee
A new eligibility ruling could end up mattering in Raleigh, where the NCAAs 5 in 5 framework has created a fresh layer of uncertainty for players who started college in 2022. The rule was meant to bring some uniformity to eligibility by limiting athletes to five years, including redshirts and transfers, but the class of 2022 was originally left out before lawsuits pushed the issue into court.
Now there is at least a path for some of those players to gain another season, and that keeps NC State from assuming every familiar face is necessarily headed out the door. The situation is still tangled by the NCAAs appeal, and the fine print leaves plenty of players sorting through exactly where they stand, which means the Wolfpack may not be done exploring their options just yet. [Read more 🡒]