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Supermassive NCSU Football Preview: Defensive Front

Nothing disrupts a gameplan faster than a defensive front that creates havoc. Havoc breaks down the mechanics of a play, it eliminates the deepest routes in many passing concepts, it affects the quarterback's ability to throw on platform, it changes the math on run plays, you get the point.


This year, NC State has to find a way to create more havoc, particularly in the passing game. I'm less concerned about TFLs in the run game, as there are schematic implications to those numbers, but in 2025, the Wolfpack was 123rd in the country in sack rate.


It was a solid team against the run, but its lack of pressure generation did nothing to help a bad secondary, and that's how it ended up with the numbers that it did. This year, not only is it tasked with changing this, but it must do it with a completely new starting lineup across the board.


Welcome to part three of Trinity Road Times' Supermassive NC State Football Previews. If you'd like to be notified of the final parts, I suggest joining our email list.



Everything is New Again


NC State replaces all six starters from its defensive front a year ago, and of all the position groups on the team, this one might come under the most scrutiny as the season approaches. It was close to a full rebuild here, with three rotation players joining the starters on the train out of town. Here is a full list of the departees who played significant snaps last year. 


  • Cian Slone - Jack, Starter

  • Tra Thomas - Jack, Rotation

  • Travali Price -  Defensive Tackle, Starter

  • Brandon Cleveland - Nose Tackle, Starter

  • Chazz Wallace - Nose Tackle, Rotation

  • Sabastian Harsh - Defensive End, Starter

  • Caden Fordham - Mike, Starter

  • Sean Brown - Will, Starter

  • Kenny Soares - Will, Rotation (became starter due to injury)


That's five of your top six linebackers and four of your top six defensive linemen out the door. The leading returners in this group are Isaiah Shirley, Chase Bond, Joseph Adedire, and AJ Richardson. State also added four new faces from the transfer portal, and it will need some of those to hit and some of its lower usage guys from a year ago to trend upward if it wants to be strong here.


There are a lot of question marks surrounding this group, thus the run defense and pass rush are leading concerns in the preseason. State had a pretty good run defense last year when it got high quality play from guys like Cleveland, Harsh, Slone, and Fordham. Missed tackles at the second level were the only bugaboo that stopped it from being better than pretty good. I’m not sold that this year’s group has the same level of player in a lot of places up front. 


Defensive Line: Only Two New Faces?


Field end (defensive end that aligns to the wide side of the field) is one of these spots that poses a question. Sabastian Harsh was an old fashioned Dave Doeren diamond in the rough. He led all defensive linemen in tackles and his physicality was impactful edge-setting run plays. State did not add a player in the portal who can play this position, so it figures to belong to Chase Bond and Joseph Adedire, which were the other two players to see time there. 


This is a demanding position for State, as this player is asked to do a lot. State will 2-gap this player with what is called a "heavy technique," it will ask them to be an edge contain pass rusher, it will flex them inside when it shifts into a tite front, and it will even drop them into coverage. Below is an example of a heavy technique.


Harsh, the circled player, lines up head up on the tight end. State is going use a heavy technique with him. Essentially, Harsh needs to strike that player with force and control his body, then be able to rip either way. But he's not ripping to try and make a tackle. The goal is really to force any zone runs out wide. It's a light box technique that allows you to force the ball to the overhang player without having to align someone in that interior gap presnap. FSU runs inside zone to the left side, and you can see Harsh rip inside and force the ball wide.
Harsh, the circled player, lines up head up on the tight end. State is going use a heavy technique with him. Essentially, Harsh needs to strike that player with force and control his body, then be able to rip either way. But he's not ripping to try and make a tackle. The goal is really to force any zone runs out wide. It's a light box technique that allows you to force the ball to the overhang player without having to align someone in that interior gap presnap. FSU runs inside zone to the left side, and you can see Harsh rip inside and force the ball wide.

Field end was a massive concern going into last year, but like I said above, Sabastian Harsh ended up doing more than holding his own. State needs to achieve that level of versatility with its current crop of available returnees.


Chase Bond played here for most of his snaps last year, often on passing downs, and would occasionally flex inside when State would go into its “peso” package, which was a double 3-tech, double backer situational pass rush package. He has some twitch as a pass rusher that intrigues you, and he nearly had back-to-back sacks on Carson Beck, but Bond needs to develop more physicality to be an every-down player. State would stunt a lot when he was in the game, as that’s a good way to try to and use a size disadvantage against the other team. 


Joseph Adedire is still my underdog of choice on this team. He played some last year, almost exclusively in this spot, and I still think he’s flashing a ton of really good stuff. If you followed these previews last year, you know I love this player. He plays with such good hand placement and leverage that he’s able to generate a lot of force and win reps against much larger tackles. He isn’t a twitchy pass rusher, but he has real vertical explosion off the snap, and he can win with speed that way. That also makes him valuable in stunts as the penetrator that occupies the tackle and frees the looper. 


Adedire has underrated power because he plays with great leverage. Here he is against Markel Bell, who is 80 pounds heavier than him. Bell is down blocking on this pin-and-pull play. He is trying to drive Adedire toward the hash mark and cannot let him cross his face. Adedire has great pad level, strikes inside with his hands, and is able to lift Bell out of a powerful position. He wins the rep, and is able to cross Bell's face and add himself to the paint of attack. State is in a terrible alignment to fit this particular run, but Adedire almost makes the tackle despite the obvious running lane outside of the second puller.
Adedire has underrated power because he plays with great leverage. Here he is against Markel Bell, who is 80 pounds heavier than him. Bell is down blocking on this pin-and-pull play. He is trying to drive Adedire toward the hash mark and cannot let him cross his face. Adedire has great pad level, strikes inside with his hands, and is able to lift Bell out of a powerful position. He wins the rep, and is able to cross Bell's face and add himself to the paint of attack. State is in a terrible alignment to fit this particular run, but Adedire almost makes the tackle despite the obvious running lane outside of the second puller.

Probably the biggest concerns for me on the whole team come from the interior of this defensive line. The defensive tackle was the weakest spot on this line last year, and State again added nobody here. It will be Isaiah Shirley and somebody who has zero snaps (AJ Prim?). Katron Evans was added at nose tackle to replace Brandon Cleveland, but his eligibility is in question. If Evans can't play, it will be Josiah Victor as the number one.


Here’s an outside zone play from Notre Dame against NC State’s second unit in an odd front alignment. 


Victor is trying to "lag," which means he is trying to fit into the backside A gap. Shirley is trying to fit the backside B gap. Victor can't allow the guard (76) to get past him, while Shirley can't allow the tackle (59) to get past him. Both of these things happen. Kenny Soares at linebacker is doing the right thing for his role in this particular front against this particular play (wide zone), but regardless of what he does, he can't be right because Victor got reached by the guard and blocked out of his A gap. It's an explosive run.
Victor is trying to "lag," which means he is trying to fit into the backside A gap. Shirley is trying to fit the backside B gap. Victor can't allow the guard (76) to get past him, while Shirley can't allow the tackle (59) to get past him. Both of these things happen. Kenny Soares at linebacker is doing the right thing for his role in this particular front against this particular play (wide zone), but regardless of what he does, he can't be right because Victor got reached by the guard and blocked out of his A gap. It's an explosive run.

Victor is a guy that presents well long-term. He has pretty legit power and can be a plug for you, but how much he improves from his freshman season suddenly seems like a very important question. The ceiling is high, but the player is young. Isaiah Shirley is also a third-year player now. I really think he's better trying to penetrate off the snap as opposed to some of these "react-attack" style techniques that State uses frequently.


It's reasonable to expect a natural progression to a career. I am confident that these young returning players will get better. But State needs a lot from them. A lot of guys are going to play that have very few college reps.


All Jacked Up


The jack linebacker can be thought of as sort of a hybrid defensive end and linebacker. The hybrid nature of this position is an important enabler of the scheme multiplicity that State plays with, and it has yanked a really good fit out of the portal this year. This is, of course, Harvey Dyson, who shares a name with a vacuum cleaner but definitely doesn't suck. Dyson led the AAC in sacks last year with eight, and unlike a Dyson Vacuum, he has a bag. The senior jack backer is a twitchy athlete who really uses his hands well and can win with a variety of moves. Speed is definitely more his game, but he flashes some bull rush stuff too and definitely isn't completely without some power elements. He also had multiple sacks last year off a dirty "bull slip" move.


By setting up the power move, Dyson gets the offensive tackle to fire his hands and anchor his feet, which freezes him. Dyson then slips out of the bull rush like he's slipping a screen in basketball and the tackle forgets what planet he's on for a second.
By setting up the power move, Dyson gets the offensive tackle to fire his hands and anchor his feet, which freezes him. Dyson then slips out of the bull rush like he's slipping a screen in basketball and the tackle forgets what planet he's on for a second.

The jack backer as a whole only accounted 5.5 sacks last year between Tra Thomas and Cian Slone, and that's a number that ideally goes up. Tra Thomas led the team with four sacks, and he was the beneficiary of some schematic wins late in the season. From a scheme perspective, State basically threw everything but the kitchen sink and then also the kitchen sink out there. Creepers and sims, stunts and games, 5 and 6-man pressure paths, straight up cover 0, if you can legally do it, State probably did it, and it likely didn't work. It needs a higher win rate one-on-one to start. Thus, Dyson will bare a large burden for the Wolfpack. He really needs to be a problem.


The rotational pieces matter a lot on the defensive front, because it has to rotate more than any other positional group. I really have no clue what State has here. Omarion Abraham is probably your second-string nose tackle, and he briefly played in the bowl game. AJ Prim could be part of this. He has not played a snap yet, but added like 65 pounds this offseason. Ke’Von Carter could be on the field as the jack backer, as could Sterling Dixon. Carter played in almost every game last year. Dixon played in none due to injury but is obviously talented. 


Replacing Caden Fordham and Friends


Off-ball Linebacker play really surged last year down the stretch. Kenny Soares turned out to be a nice little find and Caden Fordham was obviously good. State is hoping to find that production this year and preferably better tackling in the first half of the year. That quest begins with the addition of Raul "Popo" Aguirre and Da'karri Nelson. State also returns AJ Richardson and LaCorian Hodge, who both played some in the off-ball linebacker spots.


Aguirre is a solid portal piece that should slot into a starting role at linebacker after playing a lot as a rotational player for an elite Miami defense. The junior’s strengths on his tape are really his play in space and his ball reads. He covers ground well and makes a decent number of out-of-area tackles. He’s also a good fit for a team like State that wants to layer its run fits more, and that ability to execute a stack-track-fallback type of second-level technique shows in a lot of his tackles in the run game. Here’s an example. 


This is the "stack track fallback" technique that you'll see State use sometimes. Watch Aguirre stack up 35, who is in a 2-gap technique. Aguirre does not try to get vertical or attack a gap. He stacking the lineman, reading the ball, and falling back with the cut if the ball cuts back. In this case, it didn't cut back, so he just makes the play. This allows you to create layers in your run defense, which creates an umbrellas over the defensive line and ideally minimizes explosive runs.
This is the "stack track fallback" technique that you'll see State use sometimes. Watch Aguirre stack up 35, who is in a 2-gap technique. Aguirre does not try to get vertical or attack a gap. He stacking the lineman, reading the ball, and falling back with the cut if the ball cuts back. In this case, it didn't cut back, so he just makes the play. This allows you to create layers in your run defense, which creates an umbrellas over the defensive line and ideally minimizes explosive runs.

The areas for improvement are really in the physicality. Aguirre isn’t huge, and he isn’t overly physical. Some improvement defeating second-level blocks could take his game up a level. It’s something to watch for. Aguirre could be a very good and very high-output player for State, especially if the defensive line can help keep him clean. 


AJ Richardson is back. If you forgot who this is, it's just because he missed most of the year with an injury. When healthy, Richardson was a 30ish snap-per-game rotational linebacker last year who will have an obvious chance to play much more than that this go-round. Realistically, he's capped by his athleticism, but he's a good form tackler who led the MEAC in tackles two years ago.


State also added Da'Karri Nelson, who played as a rotational piece in 29 games at Penn State, some of which was special teams. He gives State an athletic prospect to try and cash in on.


Scheme Notes


The DJ Eliot defense has so many levers to pull that I could write an article twice this long on just the various things it likes to show offenses. Being able to use positional versatility to create confusion and passive QB pressure, fit the run with a light box, and play in and out of even and odd spacing as a defensive line are all elements of many modern defenses. You'll see all of this stuff again this year



There's nothing about this defense that can't win if it has good players and executes. It's fair to feel concern about some of the spots here with the roster turnover and lack of portal activity. Hopefully State gets some big steps from some returnees. It will need it.


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