Shifting defensive scheme? What NC State’s recent transfer portal activity could mean

When NC State defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot arrived to the Wolfpack in January, he remained confident in forming his scheme out of a 3-3 stack to keep some uniformity from Tony Gibson’s system to his. It made sense to do so, but it seems like the Pack is adjusting its scheme going into the fall.  NC State, which didn’t hold any open spring practices to the general public or the media, has been secretive about both sides of the football. Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren made the decision to close everything, including his team’s spring game, at the start of camp to try to keep his two new coordinators' plans under wraps.  “We’re going to play and we’re going to get better this spring,” Doeren said on Feb. 25. “For obvious reasons, you don’t want your stuff out there if it doesn’t have to be.” But reading into NC State’s recruiting tendencies and its post-spring practice transfer portal additions, it’s obvious that the Wolfpack is making a change to how its defense will look.