NC State was doing a good job of retaining its key pieces heading into 2025, and then Thursday night happened. A trio of secondary players are out the door: corner Brandon Cisse, safety Devan Boykin, and nickel Tamarcus Cooley. All three had previously agreed to return for the Wolfpack.
Perhaps this has to do with uncertainty regarding D.J. Eliot’s system, or some NIL shenanigans, or both. Never can tell with these things anymore. We can say for sure that this is a pretty tough blow to the defense, since all three may have been starters.
Cooley is the one case of potentially being an uncertain fit in the new system, though I can’t imagine State would have had trouble getting him on the field if he returned.
Here I thought we were through the major upheaval portion of the offseason, but clearly that was foolish. These players’ NIL agreements aren’t binding, and anyway for all we know they never got beyond verbal agreements.
Anybody got a line on some quality defensive backs?