Wolfpack's Dave Doeren Offers Update On DC DJ Eliot
In this story:
RALEIGH — In the hours leading up to the matchup between Virginia Tech and NC State, the Wolfpack program announced that it would be without defensive coordinator DJ Eliot after his daughter, Drue, passed away. Eliot stepped away to be with his family in Philadelphia after Drue's lengthy battle with cancer ended tragically.
The situation created a lot of emotion for the Wolfpack program as a whole and the defense specifically. Doeren said the team wanted to get the win to bring some "levity" to the situation for Eliot's family, but failed to do so.
During his Monday press conference, Doeren provided an update on Eliot's status moving forward and shared some insight into how the team is dealing with the tragedy and adversity.
Doeren's Update
The Wolfpack coach shared that Eliot and his family will host a service for Drue in Philadelphia on Thursday. Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Charlton Warren filled in for Eliot on Saturday.
"Coach Warren will call the game again this weekend, and then DJ will be back in full-time after that, but he'll be with the team, I believe, Friday at the hotel, so that he can spend time with the players, and then help out on game day to support Charlton," Doeren said. "We wanted (Eliot) to have this time with his family to have the closure that he needs and then we'll move forward."
Assistant linebackers coach Isaiah Moore will continue to fill in for Eliot as the primary position coach for that group during his absence.
Dealing with Trauma
Already facing adversity on the football field with injuries mounting up and back-to-back losses, the situation with Eliot added another challenge for the Wolfpack to deal with as it closes in on the halfway point of the season.
Doeren was asked whether his experience as a father of a child with autism or losing his father to alzheimer's helped him be a sympathetic figure for Eliot to lean on.
"I don't think it compares at all ... I can't put into words how hard it is to watch someone that you work with lose a child," Doeren said. "And it's hard, so all I can do is try to be as supportive as I can. Same with my staff. There's empathy. There's love... and no matter what happens in our workplace and our family here, we're going to do anything we can to help each other through these things."
Offensive coordinator Kurt Roper faced similar challenges, as his daughter, Reese, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018. Again, Doeren said the situations were incomparable given the loss Eliot and his family are dealing with, but the program has rallied around its members in the past and will do so again for the defensive coordinator.
Following the Virginia Tech loss, linebacker Caden Fordham seemed to be taking the devastating news particularly hard. Clearly filled with emotion, Fordham still addressed the media in the aftermath of the loss.
"Just a lot going on with our defense right now. Coach Eliot and his daughter, so it just meant a lot to me, this game. They all do, but I don't know, it sucks losing and every time it hurts. It's never easy," the linebacker said.
— DJ Eliot (@CoachEliot) September 29, 2025
The Eliot family took to social media to raise funds in honor of Drue for the Oncology Nurse Navigator program and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Solid Tumor program.
Want more NC State football content during the 2025 season? Follow on X (Twitter) @WolfpackOnSI and @SennettTucker and never miss another breaking news story again.
Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
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.
Follow SennettTucker