N.C. State football likes to have a word or phrase each week as a way to encourage the team. While it might not be official, players have used the words “versatile” and “toughness” — or some form thereof — repeatedly to describe the incoming defense.
The Wolfpack has new personnel, new leadership and a new scheme opposite the offense this fall. It won’t look like it has in years past, with Tony Gibson’s signature 3-3-5 formation and familiar faces in their longtime positions.
Instead, the new group thinks it has the opportunity to do more and elevate the standard thanks to depth and players with diverse skills.
“This defense, I think, is way more versatile,” cornerback Devon Marshall said. “We’re showing different looks, and we’re going to be able to do a lot of different things under Coach (DJ) Eliot … We’ve been getting to it. We’ve been moving fast. I like the whole defensive line and the linebackers that we brought in there. They’re fast, they’re physical.”
Northwestern transfer linebacker Kenny Soares described the defense as “hard knock, physical and gonna run through your face every single play” while also saying he wants to be a “headhunter” who hits someone on every play. He’s taken reps at the inside and outside linebacker position.
Former Wyoming Cowboy Sabastian Harsh, meanwhile, said he’s practiced at different spots in various formations on the defensive line.
“If Coach tells me to get in there and take on a double team, I’m gonna get in there and take on a double team,” Harsh said. “If he tells me to go cover someone on the perimeter, I’m gonna go do that, too. Being able to have a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things, I think, is really good for the team.”
Caden Fordham and Sean Brown combined for 144 tackles, four sacks and three pass deflections last season despite Fordham missing the second half of the season. In the case either player sustains an injury or needs an in-game break, Soares said the linebacker room has enough players to handle their absences effectively. So does the secondary, which is rebuilding after multiple departures, Marshall and Jackson Vick added.
“I feel like we’re all ball hawks. We all can get the ball,” Marshall said. “We’re just ball hungry. We all got a chip on our shoulder, and we got a whole lot to prove. People are doubting us and they shouldn’t. We’re gonna show that.”
How is the NC State defense different in 2025?
Most of the defense will be different this season after it returns just 11 letter winners, including three starters.
It lost 13 total letter winners, with six coming in the secondary. Four entered the portal — including Brandon Cisse, who transferred to Clemson — and two exhausted their eligibility.
Brown returns as the team’s leading tackler from last season (96), but only two of the next nine-best stoppers — Fordham and Travali Price — are back for another season.
Ten of the returning players combined for 318 tackles, according to the NCAA website, or roughly 38% of the team’s total production.
Marshall was 1 of 5 players last year to record an interception and 1 of 7 to have at least three pass deflections. He will be the only player from those respective groups back on the grass at Carter-Finley Stadium this season. The senior contributed seven pass breakups, the second most in 2024, and a pair of interceptions.
Its incoming class, however, is expected to bolster production.
Six of N.C. State’s incoming defensive players combined for 257 tackles, four sacks, 19 pass breakups, seven interceptions and two forced fumbles at their respective schools.
Cornerback Brian Nelson played all 12 games for North Texas last year. He swatted three passes and picked off four.
Safety Jamel Johnson and cornerback JJ Johnson both bring to Raleigh more than 100 career tackles each, while Harsh finished with 97 in three years in the Mountain West.
One of N.C. State’s biggest losses came at defensive end with Davin Vann’s graduation. He led the team last season with 6.5 sacks and topped the country with six forced fumbles. Price, Harsh, Tra Thomas and Isaiah Shirley are all contenders to replace his efforts, but N.C. State will need increased play everywhere.
Goals and expectations for Wolfpack defenders
Some of N.C. State’s most famous alumni come from the offensive side of the ball, but its defensive history is just as rich. Mario Williams, Bradley Chubb, Vaughan Johnson and Adrian Wilson combined for 15 Pro Bowl selections and 10 All-Pro selections. Twelve defensive players have been NFL draft picks in the last decade.
During that same span, N.C. State has finished in the national top 25 for scoring defense or total defense in half of the seasons played. It has finished in the national top 25 for both statistics in 2016, 2021 and 2022. It has finished within the top 75 of each category in eight seasons. Last year was the worst finish for both numbers since 2015. The team ended at No. 99 in scoring defense and No. 88 in total defense.
N.C. State has a chance to course correct this time around. It wants to finish with a positive turnover margin, which it didn’t do last year. The team is emphasizing better quarterback pressure, so it can have more than 23 sacks. Additionally, it needs better coverage to limit explosive plays.
The list is long, but the Pack is determined.
“Any time we go out on the field as an N.C. State defense, we expect to dominate,” Fordham said at ACC Kickoff. “We expect to play physical and tough, and I believe this offseason was big for us. Getting a lot of the new guys in here, showing them the ways of how we do things here is huge for us. Last year, it wasn’t up to the standard. But this year is a new year, and we’re going to come out and prove that we’re back. We’re going to uphold that standard and play ball on defense.”