How the NC State Linebacker Group Performed in 2025
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RALEIGH — With the 2025 season wrapped up and the battle for retention and roster management is well underway already. However, in the few days left before the New Year, NC State has time to reflect on an overall successful season, given what the team dealt with on and off the field during the year.
The defense experienced the most significant changes, as Dave Doeren's longtime defensive coordinator, Tony Gibson, bolted to become the head coach for Marshall at the end of the 2024 regular season. Doeren brought DJ Eliot in to replace Gibson, with Eliot bringing a unique multiple scheme to the defense to help the Wolfpack modernize on that side of the football.
The new scheme required some significant adjustments from players already familiar with what NC State did defensively in years past. The linebackers were particularly affected, as that group's role as a whole changed somewhat drastically in Eliot's more professional system. Over time, the Wolfpack's linebackers grew into a strong group and looked very formidable down the stretch.
Snap counts for NC State's linebacker corps (Primary Contributors)
- Senior middle and weak side linebacker Caden Fordham - 823 snaps
- Senior SAM and middle linebacker Kenny Soares Jr. - 656 snaps
- Senior JACK linebacker Cian Slone - 650 snaps
- Senior JACK linebacker Tra Thomas - 361 snaps
- Senior middle linebacker Sean Brown - 298 snaps
- Junior weak side and middle linebacker AJ Richardson - 88 snaps
Assessing the performance of the Linebacker Corps
Entering the season, it was clear that Doeren and Eliot had a level of trust with Caden Fordham and Sean Brown that didn't quite exist with the rest of the group yet, even with Fordham returning from a brutal knee injury that prematurely ended his 2024 season. Fordham wasn't as confident as he normally would be in the early part of the season, still recovering from a lengthy process to regain the strength in his knee.
Eliot, who also served as the team's linebackers coach in addition to his coordinator duties, developed a trust with veteran players like Kenny Soares Jr. and AJ Richardson before the latter suffered an injury in the win over Virginia and failed to return before the Gasparilla Bowl at the end of the season. Richardson and Soares both came to help support Brown and Fordham, but Soares ended up being one of the most valuable players on the defense, finishing with 80 total tackles.
Brown, a converted safety still transitioning to his role as a linebacker, thrived as a tackler but struggled mightily in pass coverage. In the five games before his season-ending injury, he scored an average of 52.7 in pass coverage according to Pro Football Focus. Brown's exit moved Fordham into a more prominent role, accelerating his reacclimation.
As Fordham started to hit his stride in the middle part of the season, Eliot's handpicked JACK linebacker transfers, Tra Thomas and Cian Slone, both helped bolster a pass rush in desperate need of some help up front. Slone was incredibly effective, playing a unique outside linebacker role where he dropped into pass coverage when needed, while also screaming off the edge at times to rush the quarterback.
Cian Slone has serious juice and LAYS PEOPLE OUT https://t.co/4n8W7m160V pic.twitter.com/4yK4axFVdL
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) December 22, 2025
Thomas improved as the season went on as well, helping spell Slone when he needed rest and also taking the field opposite him as an additional pass rush option. Slone finished the season with 1.5 sacks, 24 solo tackles and 61 total tackles. Thomas had four sacks and nine quarterback hurries in his more limited snaps, while also making some key plays on special teams.
The group of senior linebackers laid the foundation for the future of Eliot's defense, helping freshmen Ke'Von Carter and LaCorian Hodge learn the system in their first season in Raleigh and play limited snaps as the group struggled with injuries. Fordham ended the season on a remarkable hot streak, racking up 66 of his 143 total tackles in the final five games.
Our All-American LB!
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) December 15, 2025
Caden Fordham has earned Third-Team All-American Honors from the AP.
📰: https://t.co/WSyxdiJEF7 pic.twitter.com/yOyJDHaj6x
Fordham's efforts were deemed impressive enough to earn first-team All-ACC honors from the league and other outlets, while he also earned third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press at the end of the regular season. During his five seasons as a member of the Wolfpack, he never lost to in-state rival North Carolina.
While NC State will sorely miss the services of Soares, Fordham and potentially Brown, players like Richardson and the young linebackers Hodge and Carter could help take Eliot's defense to the next level in the second season with him at the helm.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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