NC State’s offensive exodus in the 2026 offseason sent four of the Wolfpack’s most notable departures to Power Four homes, while the program answered by rebuilding around junior quarterback CJ Bailey.
The biggest name on the move was Hollywood Smothers, who turned a two-year run in Raleigh into a Texas landing spot after piling up 1,510 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns for NC State. Smothers earned first-team All-ACC honors in 2025 after coming close to 1,000 yards in just 11 games, and his road to Austin was anything but straightforward.
He committed to Alabama on Jan. 5, enrolled, then flipped to Texas before signing his financial paperwork. The Longhorns will pair him with Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown in a backfield designed to solve a problem that saw Texas fail to produce a 600-yard rusher last fall.
On the offensive line, Jacarrius Peak headed to South Carolina after becoming the most dependable piece of NC State’s front. Peak spent four years in Raleigh, started for three seasons, and finished with 32 career starts and 38 games played.
He also earned All-ACC honorable mention recognition. At 6-foot-4 and 308 pounds, he gives the Gamecocks a proven pass protector if he’s fully healthy by the start of the 2026 season.
NC State, meanwhile, appears ready to hand the tackle job to Jimariou McCrimon, who arrived from ECU.
Noah Rogers is taking his next shot at Alabama after a frustrating stretch at NC State. The former blue-chip recruit, who began his college career at Ohio State, spent two years as a starter for the Wolfpack and finished with 68 catches for 919 yards and three total touchdowns across 22 career starts.
Even with that volume, he never posted a 100-yard game or a 500-yard season in Raleigh. Rogers entered the 2026 portal cycle as a Top-60 transfer and now gets a fresh start in Tuscaloosa.
Terrell Anderson’s departure to USC may be the one that stings most from a long-term upside standpoint. The Greensboro native arrived in Raleigh as a Top-100 member of NC State’s 2024 class and resisted a late Georgia flip to stay with the Wolfpack.
He flashed in 2025 with 39 catches for 629 yards and five touchdowns, starting five games and showing the kind of ceiling that had both NC State and USC betting on a breakout. If he stays healthy through the 2026 season, the Trojans believe he can keep climbing toward the NFL.
The only quarterback departure listed was Lex Thomas, who landed at Western Carolina.
Once the reserves and redshirts are stripped away, the real hit came from Smothers, Peak, Rogers and Anderson. All four moved on to Power Four programs after strong 2025 seasons.
NC State did not stand still. With Smothers gone, sophomore Duke Scott is positioned to lead the backfield after showing real promise in 2025, and Davion Gause was added to deepen that group.
At receiver, the Wolfpack essentially rebuilt the room with Miami transfers JoJo Trader and Chance Robinson, both former teammates of Bailey, along with true freshman Tyreek Copper, the Kinston standout who impressed in spring camp. Buffalo’s Victor Snow and App State’s Davion Dozier also join the mix, giving Bailey a fresh set of targets.
The line got help too. McCrimon’s arrival from ECU softened the blow of Peak’s exit, while NC State also worked to keep Teague Andersen and Spike Sowells in the fold. The departures were significant, but the Wolfpack pieced the offense back together with plenty of upside around Bailey heading into a crucial fall.
In Other News...
NC State Roster Update Just Changed How Wolfpack Fans View Eligibility
The NCAAs latest eligibility overhaul has already started to show up in NC States football roster, and it changes the way fans have to read the depth chart. With the Division I Cabinet approving a model that gives student-athletes up to five years of eligibility if they enroll on time, the old layers of redshirt rules and season-of-competition math suddenly look a lot less important, and the Wolfpacks roster page has been updated to reflect that new reality.
For a program trying to plan beyond the current season, the appeal is obvious: roster management gets simpler, and players can be tracked on a cleaner timeline instead of through a maze of waivers and exceptions. It also means some familiar names now carry longer runway than fans may have expected, with the roster showing extended eligibility across multiple classes as NC State adjusts to a system that is already reshaping how college football teams think about the future. [Read more 🡒]
NC State May Need This Hidden Edge More Than Ever This Fall
NC State is opening fall camp with a mix of familiar faces and portal additions, and the special teams picture could matter more than usual as the Wolfpack try to steady a roster that has to replace eight defensive starters. The defense will get most of the attention, as it should, but hidden value often shows up in the less glamorous spots, where field position can quietly shape a season.
Junior punter Jackson Waller is one of those pieces. The Arkansas State transfer gives NC State another experienced leg as it sorts through the fall and looks for ways to compete more effectively, and his role could become especially important if the defense needs help flipping the field. For a team trying to build around returning talent while integrating new arrivals, even the smallest edges can carry real weight. [Read more 🡒]