What the NC State Linebacker Room Looks Like After the NFL Draft

RALEIGH — NC State lost numerous key pieces from the 2025 season over the last five months, whether that was through the transfer portal or because many of those players exhausted their eligibility. That forced the Wolfpack coaching staff to rebuild both sides of the ball with new talent, a lot of it coming from the portal.

Now that spring practices are wrapped up and the NFL draft is over, the roster is clearer than it was last month. A key position group for the Wolfpack is the linebacker room, a staple of the NC State program over the last decade, as several iconic players patrolled the middle of the defense at Carter-Finley Stadium while playing for Dave Doeren. What's it going to look like in 2026?

Starting options for the Wolfpack

A pair of transfer additions figure to be Doeren and second-year defensive coordinator DJ Eliot's best bets for the interior linebacker spots heading into the 2026 campaign. The Wolfpack likes to have two primary linebackers in the scheme, with a third player rotating in for certain packages to help support that group. The Pack got tons of reps out of Caden Fordham, Kenny Soares and Sean Brown, before his injury, in 2025.

This season, the Wolfpack will lean heavily on Miami transfer Raul "Popo" Aguirre and Penn State transfer DaKaari Nelson, a pair of players with experience at other Power Conference programs over the last few seasons. Both Nelson and Aguirre played in the College Football Playoff over the last two seasons in rotational roles, with Aguirre making a run to the title game with the Hurricanes before they fell at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers.

There might not be a player more excited about being part of the Wolfpack than Aguirre. During spring camp, he and Nelson turned heads with their leadership and prowess on and off the field. Aguirre is embracing what it means to be a part of the Pack.

"I was at Miami three years ago when we came up here my freshman year. We lost here in 2023," Aguirre said. "I got to see that (Carter-Finley Stadium) was one of the loudest stadiums I've ever played in, really. Just the environment, I remembered that, so I wanted to be a part of it too."

Other options

NC State defensive coordinator DJ Eliot speaks to his team on the sideline before a game in 2025. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

NC State has a pair of returners who could play larger roles in 2026. AJ Richardson, a former transfer from Norfolk State, played sparingly last year because of injuries, but was poised for a larger role had he stayed healthy. He'll join LaCorian Hodge, who got some work in his freshman year because of the plethora of injuries during the 2025 season, as one of the top rotational options.

The Wolfpack doesn't have the same depth at linebacker as it did a year ago, with steady players like Fordham and Soares, who played every game. However, there's a solid amount of proven talent ahead of Richardson and Hodge, but those two could be solid options in a pinch.

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