The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530878
TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Offensive Linemen Are First To Join In Transfer Window NC State's efforts in the transfer portal began paying dividends when the football program received a pair of commitments from offensive linemen in mid-December. The Wolfpack landed Teague Andersen from Utah State and Brock Stukes from North Carolina A&T. Listed as the No. 23 offensive tackle in On3's Transfer Portal Rankings, Ander- sen chose NC State over Penn State and Kansas State, announcing his decision on Dec. 17. He has two years of eligibility remaining. "NC State just felt right," he said. "It wasn't that anything popped out to me, but when I got there, you could tell I was the No. 1 priority. Everyone was bought-in, and they were really, really good people." Listed at 6-foot-5, 305 pounds, An- dersen is viewed by the staff as a tackle who can play right away, likely on the right side, with Jacarrius Peak expected to slide to left tackle for his redshirt ju- nior year. Andersen started 11 games at right tackle for Utah State this fall, allowing only 9 quarterback pressures, accord- ing to Pro Football Focus. He holds a 3.1 percent pressure rate across 836 career pass-blocking snaps and earned an 81.3 pass-blocking score from PFF in 2024. The 6-3, 317-pound Stukes commit- ted on Dec. 18 during an official visit. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining, as well as a redshirt year. Stukes made five starts for North Carolina A&T this fall — four at left guard and one at center, for a total of 344 snaps. He missed the rest of the season with an injury but said he will be ready to participate in spring practice. The interior lineman recorded a 62.2 grade from Pro Football Focus that in- cluded an 80.2 mark in pass protection. Stukes conceded 4 total pressures, 1 sack and 2 quarterback hurries in his five games. He's expected to play center for NC State. The Pack also suffered some recent losses via the transfer portal, but the only starter to depart as of Dec. 19 was rising junior wide receiver Kevin "KC" Concepcion. — Noah Fleischman NC State Welcomes Two New Head Coaches Two NC State fall sports programs are now under new leadership. Megan Wargo-Kearney was named head coach of the women's volleyball team after Luka Slabe stepped down following the 2024 season, while Gary Higgins has been hired to coach the women's soc- cer team. Wargo-Kearney had served as associ- ate head coach and recruiting coordina- tor for the past five seasons on Slabe's staff. Before arriving in Raleigh in 2020, she was an assistant at Arkansas for four seasons and at Truman State for eight. "I am so grateful to [athletics direc- tor] Boo Corrigan and the administra- tion for trusting me to be our next head volleyball coach," Wargo-Kearney said in a statement announcing her promo- tion. "It's been an honor to have been here with Luka since 2020 and to help build the groundwork for what I know is going to be a successful and exciting future for Wolfpack Volleyball." NC State finished 16-13 this past sea- son and earned the team's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017. The Wolfpack compiled winning records in four of Slabe's five seasons, but in the statement announcing his departure, he said he wanted to step away from college athletics in hope of finding an opportu- nity that would allow him to spend more time with his family. Higgins is taking over the Wolfpack women's soccer program after three seasons at East Carolina. The Pirates went 10-4-7 this fall and captured the American Athletic Conference title to earn the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history. In 2023, they fin- ished 9-5-5, posting their first winning record since 2018. Before taking over at East Carolina, Higgins was head coach at Lenoir- Rhyne, his alma mater, where he went 83-31-13. A native of Paisley, Scotland, Higgins succeeds Tim Santoro, who compiled a 90-108-33 record in 12 seasons. — Matt Herb Dave Doeren Seeking Right Fit For Coordinator Opening After longtime defensive coordinator Tony Gibson left NC State in early De- cember to become head coach at Mar- shall, Dave Doeren said he was in no rush to hire a successor. Doeren named nick- els coach Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay in- terim defensive coordinator ahead of the Pack's matchup against East Carolina in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28, and it could be an audition for the full-time job. "He's had opportunities to leave here for mid-major coordinator jobs," Doeren said. "He wanted to learn, he wanted to stay and he wanted to grow. This is a great opportunity for him to show what he can do and lead our guys." Doeren said his phone began "buzz- ing" after the news broke that Gibson was leaving. He added that he isn't looking for someone with expertise in a particular scheme, noting that he might be willing to depart from the 3-3-5 sys- tem Gibson deployed if the right fit pre- sented itself. "I know what these guys need, and I know what we have," Doeren said. "We don't need to all of a sudden go to a completely different thing, but we do need to evolve. This is a great opportu- nity to do that." — Noah Fleischman ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Assistant coach Freddie Aughtr y-Lindsay is serving as interim defensive coordinator for NC State's matchup against East Carolina in the Military Bowl. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN