No NC State spring football game, but preparations for 2026 are under way
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- NC State did not hold a public spring game and prepared for 2026 during closed practices.
- The Wolfpack has 42 new players overall this year, per coach Dave Doeren.
- CJ Bailey announced his decision to return as NC State quarterback on Jan. 2.
Spring football has evolved as the transfer portal and NIL have affected player retention. Gone are the days of adding a handful of transfers to a roster. Most teams are adding, on average, 20 to 30 transfers each year. Then, the high school or junior college recruits can add another 10 to 20 players. This year, the Wolfpack has 42 new players, head coach Dave Doeren said.
In 2019, roughly 6.4% of FBS rosters were transfer players. That has risen to more than 20% in the last two years.
The lack of continuity means spring prep is focused less on play installation and more on evaluating talent.
Doeren said the staff isn’t necessarily coaching players more nowadays, but the instruction is different. Players are treated like they don’t know what to do.
Offensive coordinator Kurt Roper also said spring ball is a chance to see players full speed, in person for the first time and determine who the playmakers could be.
“You’re taking a junior and a senior and treating them like a freshman, because he’s just now learning your offense, defense or protection, whatever it is,” Doeren said. “The amount of coaching and energy and detail doesn’t change. It’s just you can’t say, ‘Hey, that guy’s been here three years. He knows what he’s doing.’ You have fewer of those guys on the field.”
This season, however, is a little bit easier in regard to the talent evaluation, co-defensive coordinator DJ Eliot said. The NCAA previously had two transfer windows; one took place in the winter, one after spring ball.
That meant a team could lose or add players after going through the spring training period. Last year, the defense didn’t have edge rushers until the summer.
Eliot said that with the portal window closed, the staff was able to recruit players and know they would be around for offseason activities.
“It’s been great to be able to develop guys and to know that you’ve got some talent over there, and to know that those guys are ready to play,” Eliot said.
Bailey’s return to the backfield
CJ Bailey told reporters in December that he would decide after the bowl game whether he would return to N.C. State. The Wolfpack quarterback announced his decision Jan. 2.
For the second straight season, N.C. State knows who will be in the backfield after having four different QBs start the season — Devin Leary, Brennan Armstrong, Grayson McCall and Bailey — from 2022 to 2025. Leary was the last quarterback to start at the position in consecutive years.
Bailey said the decision was pretty simple: Who loves you? N.C. State loved him first. The rising junior said Doeren and Roper believed in his abilities from the time he was in high school. There were a number of variables that played into Bailey’s return, but it was important to play for a team where he’s valued and feels confident.
“It took a little while for the post to come out and everything like that, but I already had my mind set,” Bailey said during a spring ball news conference. “I wanted to come back to N.C. State. Of course, there was more stuff to it, with decision making, but in my heart, I already knew I wanted to be at N.C. State.”
Doeren said Bailey has a competitive drive that puts N.C. State above other programs, and he understands there are things, like a lasting legacy, he would’ve given up to go elsewhere.
“He is a special young man for a lot of reasons, but he and I have very similar thoughts on this,” Doeren said. “He came here to leave this place better than he found it. For him, there’s meat on the bone.”
The significance of a returning veteran quarterback can’t be understated, either. Wolfpack coaches said as much.
Roper explained Bailey is no longer in the phase of simply understanding the offensive playbook, but applying it to opposing defenses. He has the ability to visualize defensive schemes without needing film and make in-game decisions depending on the defensive scheme.
Meanwhile, Bailey’s return should pay dividends for the Pack defense, which competes against him in practice.
“Our quarterback is as good as anybody out there, so he’s going to make the right reads and make the right throws. He’s athletic, and so that’s preparing us for great quarterbacks. Our offense is multiple, so we see a lot of different looks, which is going to have us ready for different types of offense. And Kurt and those guys do a great job, you know, they try to attack our scheme. So we’re going to be ready for that. I think it’s been a great spring. It’s been competitive, and our offense is playing well, and it’s helped us.”
Year 2 under Eliot’s defense
Eliot joined the Wolfpack last season as the co-defensive coordinator and primary defensive play caller. The season was rocky at times. N.C. State dealt with injuries in the secondary and the death of Eliot’s daughter on top of the team adjusting to the new scheme.
This season, the Pack feels like it is in a better position than a year ago. Eliot said this spring is a 180 from last April. While there are new players, it’s not starting from zero.
Plus, the coaching staff remains largely unchanged from a year ago.
N.C. State finished the 2025 season tied for 82nd in FBS for scoring defense, averaging 27.2 points allowed per game. In the final three games of the season, it held its opponents to a combined 37 points.
Additionally, it allowed almost 412 yards per game this season. It held Memphis to 303 yards and North Carolina to 265.
Isaiah Shirley, a redshirt junior defensive tackle, said the experience within the scheme is trickling down.
“It’s night and day. It really is,” Shirley said. “Last year, we had old players, but we never played in that defense. Now we have old players that played in this defense. They can help the young guys. When he says, ‘Isaiah, I want you to do this.’ I know exactly how he wants it to look. And he doesn’t have to show me on video, and that’s where we’re able to take strides toward building this defense.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "No NC State spring football game, but preparations for 2026 are under way."
