Penn State Linebacker Could Be NC State’s Next Portal Addition
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RALEIGH — With limited opportunities to make moves in the transfer portal still left over, programs around the country are scrambling to make the final additions to their rosters for the 2026 season. NC State is no exception, as the Wolfpack is hosting a handful of players at key positions after the short dead period slowed things down for a couple of days.
The latest visit is an important one. Penn State linebacker DaKaari Nelson is visiting the NC State campus on Thursday, according to a report from 247Sports. The Wolfpack linebacker corps has lost a significant amount of production to the portal and exhausted eligibility, so he would be a major pickup at a position of need.
More on Nelson and the Wolfpack defense
NC State is set to host Penn State transfer LB DaKaari Nelson for an official visit starting tonight, as @MichaelClark247 reported yesterday.
— PackPower247 (@PackPower247) January 15, 2026
Nelson was a Top-150 player in the 2023 class as a safety before adding 30+ pounds to his frame in college.
✍️: https://t.co/4pVQzZIZRf pic.twitter.com/x3Tm5fY4UH
Nelson was mostly a contributor to Penn State's special teams during the 2025 season, although he played in every game for the Nittany Lions. 193 snaps came with the special teams unit for Nelson, where he logged four tackles. The linebacker fits into NC State's tendency to look for former highly-rated recruits who haven't found a role at the collegiate level after one or two seasons.
When he committed to Penn State, Nelson was a coveted four-star recruit. He was considered a prospect at safety. However, he changed his body during his three seasons in State College, adding large amounts of weight to get up to 233 pounds. His transition to linebacker makes him a prospect very similar to outgoing NC State linebacker Sean Brown, who completed the exact same switch.
NC State has a knack for getting the most out of the linebacker position. Since Dave Doeren took over the program 13 seasons ago, the Wolfpack has produced several highly-productive players at various linebacker positions, headlined by Payton Wilson, Bradley Chubb, Drake Thomas, Germaine Pratt and Isaiah Moore. That might be appealing to a player like Nelson looking for a fresh start.
The Wolfpack also already secured a commitment from a former Nittany Lion earlier in the transfer portal process. King Mack, a safety, joined the Wolfpack last week, bolstering the team's secondary. NC State is likely utilizing the familiarity between Mack and Nelson to its advantage to try to boost the appeal of the program for the transfer linebacker.
One more linebacker could be the missing piece for the Wolfpack defense in 2026. The team has young talent returning at that position, but an experienced Power Conference transfer would add some much-needed depth.
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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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