Wolfpack Transfer Dominating Fall Camp

One North Carolina State transfer continued to catch the eye of his teammates for his performance in the Wolfpack's fall camp practice sessions Wednesday.

Defensive end Sabastian Harsh has reportedly dominated in the early stages of fall camp. The graduate student transferred to head coach Dave Doeren's Wolfpack program after five seasons with the University of Wyoming.

What Harsh's Teammates Are Saying

Despite only being with the program for a short time, it hasn't taken long for Harsh to become one of the most talked-about players within the program.

When asked who the toughest competition has been defensively, fellow transfer and senior tight end Cody Hardy didn't hesitate.

"Sabastian," Hardy said after thinking for a couple seconds. "He's doing really well. Really strong, really good technique."

NC State brought Hardy into the fold to help with some of the blocking duties at tight end. Because of Hardy's role, he's lined up across from Harsh frequently throughout fall camp, seeing firsthand the display put on by the edge rusher.

Redshirt junior linebacker Kenny Soares Jr., another transfer, expressed excitement about the unit in charge of the defensive trenches as a whole, with Harsh being a significant piece.

"We got, in my opinion, one of the best d-lines," Soares said.

While Harsh's performance created some excitement amongst his defensive teammates like Soares, those reps came at the expense of some of his teammates on the offensive line.

"He's been really good at giving us a hard time," offensive lineman Teague Andersen said about Harsh. "He's a really explosive athlete and it's been fun going against him."

The pressure the defensive end puts on the offensive line in camp could act as a positive in the long run, as the Wolfpack are slated to face some top-end defensive talent throughout the 2025 season.

Harsh's Adjustment

Coming from a Mountain West program, Harsh lacked some of the physcial traits required to be a truly elite defensive end against power conference opponents.

That all changed when Harsh arrived in Raleigh. The transfer connected with the Wolfpack's director of strength and conditioning , Dantonio "Coach Thunder" Burnette.

"I came in and was weighing around 240 at the time and I knew I needed to gain some weight," Harsh said.

Harsh's work with Burnette paid off in a big way, as the transfer reportedly wrecked some reps for players like Andersen and Hardy.

"I've been able to put on like 22 pounds, around there," Harsh said. "Just being able to gain as much as mass as I can, get lean mass on me."

The veteran edge believes his work to change the body made him a more versatile player this offseason. In a new defensive scheme that remains relatively under wraps, many players expressed sentiment in the early days of fall camp about the importance of versatility, with Harsh being no exception.

"Making sure my body is able to handle playing 4i, playing on the edge, even going down and sliding to a three sometimes," Harsh said. "Just being ready for ACC football with whatever it takes."

Despite the small sample size, the results became clear to Harsh quickly.

"I feel faster. I feel stronger," he said. "There's times where I might feel it more than others ... where I'm doing a power on a tackle or I'm holding a gap, I can feel it now. It feels a little bit easier. Just that is really encouraging to be able to feel the progression, the progress I've made."

The Wyoming transfer will join the likes of Brandon Cleveland, Chazz Wallace and Travali Price with the goal of improving a unit that struggled in 2025. Although it's early days, the group seems to be moving in the right direction.

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