The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546417
30 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN ust five days after post- ing 1 tackle in 12 total snaps played during Miami's na- tional championship loss to Indiana, linebacker Popo Aguirre entered the transfer portal. About 24 hours later, he committed to NC State without taking an official visit. Some players who leave a team that was a touchdown away from college football glory might waltz into their new program with a sense of arrogance. They might walk around their new building with an ego larger than the room they enter, thinking, "I'm that guy." But that wasn't Aguirre upon his ar- rival to the Wolfpack's football operations building at the Murphy Center. He didn't make everything about himself, nor did he believe he was better than anyone else when he joined his new program just days after playing on the biggest stage possible as a rotational defender. NC State head coach Dave Doeren had a good idea Aguirre would carry himself in a humble way based on the research he did through the transfer portal process, while also knowing his family well with younger brother Chino on campus as a freshman defensive back. It didn't take long for that belief to carry over into action, either. "He came in like, 'I'm here to help you guys. I want to learn how we do things and I want to add to it,'" Doeren said. "He respected what was here. He put his head down and he worked his tail off." Aguirre, who posted 77 total tackles in his three years with the Hurricanes, as- similated to the Wolfpack's "hard, tough, together" culture well, leaning on that final pillar the hardest. He transferred to NC State to not only earn a starting role for the first time in his collegiate career or to play with his younger brother once again, but to help change the defense's mentality after seeing what it takes to reach the pinnacle of the sport. The hard-nosed linebacker wanted to set the tone in spring practice, quickly es- tablishing and laying the foundation for what the Wolfpack could carry through the summer workouts and into preseason camp ahead of its Week 0 clash at Virginia. His goal was simple: If Indiana could go from being the losingest program in the sport's history to the College Foot- ball Playoff and eventually lift the trophy, why can't NC State do something similar? After all, most of the Hoosiers' success under Curt Cignetti, a former Wolfpack assistant under Chuck Amato, was a by- product of strong player-led leadership. "The biggest thing is just buying in," Aguirre said in March. "Whoever would have thought Indiana would have made it to the national championship? A whole bunch of guys just bought in. Right now, we're just focused on the little things, coming to work every day, doing my stuff so people can see. And, most importantly, win some games." Fast-forward five months later, Agu- irre's impact has been palpable. He has changed the defense's mindset with his leadership from the front, earning the admiration of all of his teammates and being named one of the program's five captains (the only newcomer of the bunch) before even playing a meaning- ful snap for NC State. J ONE-DAY ONE-DAY MENTALITY MENTALITY Linebacker Popo Aguirre's Leadership Changed The Pack's Defensive Mindset Before Playing A Snap Aguirre, who posted 77 total tackles in three years with Miami, played in last season's national championship game. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS