NC State’s defense enters fall camp with a clear assignment: clean up the havoc numbers, hold up better up front, and trust that the back end can carry more of the load.
The Pack did show some life late last season. Over the final three games, it did a better job of cutting down on explosive plays, and the Florida State performance stood out as one of the better defensive showings of the year. That stretch matters, even if the opponents helped shape it.
Still, the broader numbers tell the story of a defense that had trouble creating disruption. NC State finished 107th in sacks and 110th in EPA on sacks.
Its pressure rate on passing downs ranked 74th, and when quarterbacks did break free and scramble, the Pack ranked 84th in EPA on those plays. That’s the kind of profile that makes life harder everywhere else on the field.
The secondary was also put in tough spots. NC State ranked 65th in yards allowed after catch and 112th in opponents’ average depth of target. That second number reflects opposing offenses to a degree, but in this case it also points to quarterbacks having enough time to attack downfield more often than they should have.
There wasn’t much help coming through the portal to fix that. The staff did what it could, but the roster budget had to go toward the quarterback, and that left the trenches in a tight spot.
Harvey Dyson is the key addition on the edge, and he needs to matter. If this defense is going to be any good, he can’t be a background piece.
NC State also needs real production from Josiah Victor and Isaiah Shirley, but the bigger issue is depth. Up front, this may be the thinnest State has been in a while.
That’s a major reason there’s skepticism about a 2026 breakout. It’s hard to see a big leap when the unit looks lighter in both quality and numbers.
The back end, though, gives the Pack a better chance to steady things. Ronnie Royal is a player to like, and Penn State transfer King Mack looks like a crucial pickup.
Safety depth should be a strength. If Brian Nelson delivers the kind of cornerback season people are expecting, that group can hold up.
Linebacker also has a few moving parts. Getting AJ Richardson back healthy matters, and Popo Aguirre has to live up to the offseason optimism that always builds this time of year. Beyond that, the depth chart is still a bit of a mystery.
SP+ sees NC State’s defense landing right where it finished last year, at No. 64.
That wouldn’t be a disaster by any means. Maybe the pessimism is too heavy.
Maybe better injury luck and a stronger overall mix will add up to more than the individual pieces suggest.
There’s one more reason for some optimism: the schedule doesn’t feature nearly as many dangerous quarterbacks. Last season, NC State had to deal with Chandler Morris, Darian Mensah, CJ Carr, Mason Heintschel, and Haynes King, which meant a lot of games against quarterbacks who could really stress a defense.
That shouldn’t be the same problem this year. More often, the Pack should be facing missed throws, bad decisions, and the kind of mistakes defenses love to feast on.
In Other News...
NC States Biggest Roster Question Just Got More Complicated
A federal court ruling out of Colorado has added another layer of uncertainty to roster planning across college basketball, including at NC State. Judge Charlotte Sweeney granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to declare eligible all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons of eligibility this spring, a decision that could ripple through depth charts and the transfer market as teams try to sort out what it means for their own personnel.
For the Wolfpack, the most immediate challenge is not just identifying who becomes available, but figuring out how that affects roster math, transfer priorities and the frontcourt balance they are trying to build. The injunction leaves key details unresolved, including how it applies to transfer rules, restitution and roster limits, which means programs may have to keep adjusting as more clarity comes in from the NCAA and the courts. [Read more 🡒]