Why This NC State Position Group Could Be Elite in 2026
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RALEIGH — With the win over Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl left behind in 2025, NC State already began full preparations for the 2026 season. The Wolfpack staff worked diligently to retain key players like quarterback CJ Bailey, while also getting things going in the transfer portal. With thousands of athletes in the portal this offseason, the Pack had work to do.
The roster lost significant depth on both sides of the football to a combination of exhausted eligibility and the portal itself, forcing Dave Doeren and his coaches to identify replacements quickly and recruit them to the Wolfpack. One position group that has yet to experience massive turnover may be poised for a breakthrough in 2026.
NC State secured a commitment from former Penn State defensive back King Mack on Thursday, marking a key addition to the secondary for the 2026 season.
— Tucker Sennett (@SennettTucker) January 8, 2026
More on Mack @WolfpackOnSI: https://t.co/8UIJBC9C9m
The Wolfpack's safeties were one of the most injured groups in all of college football in 2025, but those losses might've helped the group in the long run. It forced three redshirt freshmen and one true freshman into starting roles at different points of the season, earning them valuable reps.
With the addition of former Penn State safety King Mack to the group, NC State's safety room might be one of the most successful bunches by this time in 2027 if safeties and nickels coach Charlton Warren can continue the development process.
The returning safeties
In 2025, NC State expected the safety room to be a bit of a project, but not to the extent that it ended up being. Renté Hinton never played a game, suffering an injury before the season even began. That forced JJ Johnson, a graduate transfer from Georgia Southern, into a leadership role in the back line of the defense. He also sustained injuries, playing only eight games.
Enter your returners. The group of Brody Barnhardt, Ronnie Royal III and Tristan Teasdell is expected to return for the 2026 season, with Mack supplementing that bunch. After Barnhardt went out with an injury in the Virginia Tech game and Royal left the loss to Pittsburgh, Asaad Brown Jr. moved over from nickel to safety, as junior nickel Jackson Vick returned to the fray.
Royal and Barnhardt both experienced significant growing pains during their redshirt freshman seasons. It was their first real playing time and both struggled in pass coverage, with Royal grading out with a 43.9 score and Barnhardt finishing with a 54.8, according to Pro Football Focus. Just as the latter seemed to be turning a corner, he suffered a season-ending injury.
That's when Brown and Teasdell stepped into the mix. The pair performed well, given even less familiarity with the roles, as Teasdell had never played at the collegiate level and Brown was trained as a nickel before the offseason when Charlton Warren began cross-training him. With a returned Johnson, they held down the fort.
What things might look like in 2026
Mack is set to join the young group of returners, bringing a wealth of experience at a Big 10 power. The former four-star recruit racked up 58 tackles, three pass deflections, an interception and a sack in his junior season. The safety walked an unorthodox path in his first three seasons, beginning with Penn State before transferring to Alabama for his sophomore year.
Mack becomes the latest in a growing list of players on the Wolfpack from the Miami area, joining CJ Bailey, Teddy Hoffmann and others from South Florida. Assuming he can step into the leadership void left by Johnson's exit, he will presumably be a strong veteran voice for the safeties, as Barnhardt, Royal and Teasdell continue to develop in their second full seasons.
It's unlikely Brown stays at the safety spot he played for a significant chunk of the 2025 season because of the Wolfpack's lack of depth at the cornerback spots. He could slide into the team's starting nickel spot, with Vick transitioning to a full-time cornerback on the outside alongside Brian Nelson II. That would create some competition at the safety position for just one spot.
Given his Big 10 experience and talent, Mack is all but guaranteed a starting spot on the 2026 depth chart. That would place Barnhardt, Royal and Teasdell in a three-man battle for just one spot on the field. However, NC State showed a willingness to rotate players frequently, especially with defensive coordinator DJ Eliot's unique scheme.
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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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