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Football coaches can teach a lot of things, but they can’t teach in-game experience. They can’t teach what it’s like to play in a playoff or national championship game.
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“I can put him in the summer program, get him to gain weight,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said at the beginning of fall camp. “I can have him watch a lot of film, but I can’t give him game experience. He has to do that physically.”
Doeren was specifically discussing junior quarterback CJ Bailey, but the concept remains true for any player on any level or team.
This year, the Wolfpack roster has a wealth of experience in several positions — both in age and competition. Six players spent the 2025 season on teams that appeared in the College Football Playoff, while Popo Aguirre (Miami), Joshisa Trader (Miami) and Harvey Dyson (Texas Tech/Tulane) appeared for their former schools during the postseason.
Other players, such as Joseph Adedire (Texas Tech), King Mack (Penn State/Alabama) and Da’Kaari Nelson (Penn State), did not appear in the playoff last season, but have experience against Power Four competition. Hunter Provience played in back-to-back FCS national championships with Montana State. The Bobcats won the title last season.
UNC transfer Davion Gause called the transfers “big additions” who can help position the team for a chance at its own ACC Championship or playoff appearance.
“They know what it takes to get to a championship. They know the standard and what they had,” Gause said. “We can all bring it together, and we bring Wolfpack — that already (has) a big standard and big tradition — and add all that together to get where we want to be.”
Additionally, more than 30 players on the roster are listed as seniors, fifth year or graduate students.
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Dyson recorded one sack during the Green Wave’s lone playoff game against Ole Miss and led the nation with eight total last year. He also recorded a forced fumble in the game. Dyson’s Pro Football Focus pass rush grade came out to 74, his fifth-best performance of the season. His season pass rush grade landed at 90.4.
“Being in the playoffs, even though Tulane’s a G5 school, it was still a great experience,” Dyson said. “I’m trying to bring that culture here, and I feel like I can do a good job of doing that.”
Josiah Victor, a second year defensive tackle, praised Dyson’s leadership and athletic abilities. Defensive coordinator DJ Eliot also said Dyson will help the Wolfpack, because he’s faced high-level defenses and knows what different scenarios require to pick up stops.
“The good thing about him is he’s a veteran player,” Victor said. “There’s a lot of things that he’s savvy about. Pass rush is a great skill set of his, and a lot of that comes from experience. He’s had a lot of reps against a lot of tackles in a lot of situations. … He’s played so much and he’s made so many plays. It’s going to help us.”
Similarly, Aguirre appeared in all 16 games for Miami last year. During the playoff run, Aguirre contributed 10 tackles in the postseason
Trader played in 11 games as a true freshman, including two playoff games. He grabbed a pair of receptions against Ohio State and Ole Miss, and he nearly had a deep ball in the playoff opener against Texas A&M.
N.C. State was picked to finish seventh in the ACC. Its schedule features seven opponents who were picked to finish 10th in the league or lower.
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