Big Potential

NC State gets invovled in the 2026 NFL Draft as we go over draft prospects in the upcoming East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl. Also going over mens and womens tennis for the 2026 spring season.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Logan Brumley

What is In The Den?

"In The Den" with host Logan Brumley covers everything from the NC State Wolfpack's NCAA, intramural and club sports. "In The Den" is a podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 at NC State University.

00:00
Logan Brumley
Hello and welcome to WKNC's official sports podcast in the Den. Today we're only going to be going over two topics. Since the East West Shrine bowl and Senior bowl are this week, I'd like to take a look at some of NC State's top NFL draft prospects for this year and we'll also supplement it with some tennis previews for the men and women as they head into the spring season. So get your headphones on and let's get straight to it. As of recording, the East West Shrine bowl has not been played yet. However, there are at least three draft prospects that are being looked at. Even though they are going to be late round picks, if they are able to have a strong showing they could potentially sneak their way into a NFL roster.

00:52
Logan Brumley
I'd like to kind of start off with the kind of the least excited and kind of build my way up to the most. No disrespect to anyone though. We're going to start with Brandon Cleveland. He's slightly bigger than the average defensive tackle. He spent a couple years as starter for NC State where he averaged about 33 total tackles, 11 solo and two sacks per season. He's really great at defending against the run, but has issues with the pass rush coverage. Having three years of nose tackle under spell. He does have a lot of intangibles and he's able to set things up for his linebackers in order to get solid tackles, especially as I mentioned in the run game. The issue of course is that pass rush. He isn't really great at putting pressure on the quarterback in those situations.

01:50
Logan Brumley
Kind of have to rely more on the edge rushers in order to do so. However, NC State is a sort of a past defense heavy team so it that's kind of where the pressure comes from for NC State, so he hasn't really had to kind of take on that big role. I do expect him to be a day three even an undrafted guy. However, with a strong show in, he could be able to move up to being a sixth or seventh round pick. I think that the intangibles are there, the size is there, the athleticism might not be completely there, but I don't think it's a detriment to his game. I think if you get a strong defensive line coach to take a look at him, he could be a great rotational defensive tackle in the NFL.

02:44
Logan Brumley
Up next I'll go over Devon Marshall (i.e Marshall Island). He really was not a strong prospect through most of the season. He was solid but nothing really great. However, he did show A career highway footage against Florida State's star receiver Duce Robinson and was able to help lock down Tommy Castellano that game at Tallahassee. He is a productive corner overall, even if you just ignore that one game in his career. He averages like per year, 30 solo tackles, a forced fumble, 11 pass deflections and two interceptions in two years as a starter. He's about average size for a cornerback and he's second team All American with the Athletic, which is, you know, not the AP, but is still a highly regarded, highly respected sports reporting organization. He could become an early late day three pick in the future lockdown corner if developed property.

03:58
Logan Brumley
He has a great capability of being able to lock down really good receivers. With Duke and Notre Dame he was able to have strong showings against their star receivers. I think Malachi Fields had kind of a step back game against him in that Notre Dame game. Even if they got blown out, he's been able to kind of keep up with most. I don't really get much of the intangibles of being a defensive back, but he does show solid enough athleticism and intangibles with his footwork that he could definitely find his way onto an NFL roster, maybe as a special teamer at first, but could eventually find his way onto a backup corner starting corner position.

04:48
Logan Brumley
Now I'd like to talk about the perennial prospect from the East West Shrine bowl, third team All American, second team ACC lead in tackler for NC State this year, Caden Fordham. He had himself a dominant year. He had 143 total tackles. 143 tackles is not necessarily a big record breaker for Caden Fordham, but it's a really great season including three and a half sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery as well as two interceptions. He's about average NFL linebacker size. He's very strong, he's very physical. He played the MIKE position really well. He was a defensive playmaker for both the pass and rush.

05:43
Logan Brumley
He was basically the, I mean it's kind of like he was the guy that you kind of had to maybe not necessarily plan around, but he was definitely in the more shallow part of the pass and field and the like what second level of the rushing defense. He was definitely someone that teams had to plan for. He definitely could be that inside linebacker, defensive QB mold. He may not necessarily be a starter, but he does have an issue with staying healthy as well. That's something to take note of. He did miss a good chunk of last year, but he is also another really strong talent that with a strong showing at the East West Shrine bowl could move his way up the draft board, I think.

06:42
Logan Brumley
For my next episode I will review both bowl games to see kind of who improved their stock, who didn't. I know it would be kind of a week later for that east west bowl, but you know, better way than never on that. and did you know, this weekend is the Senior bowl and there are only two athletes, you know NC State's strongest overall prospects for this year that got invites to the Senior bowl and that will be Cain Slone, another inside linebacker that NC State was using, and tight end Justin Jolly. I'll start with Cian Slone. Average stats of starter would be about 21 solo tackles, three sacks, pass to fletching, an interception per year. So he was definitely someone who was more of a inside guy. He will probably get you a couple good tackles a game.

07:52
Logan Brumley
He's got a lot of hustle, a lot of size to him. When a play blows up you can expecting to be that guy to chase down the field and get that tackle. He's just a great hustler and he is someone with a strong passion and love for the game that is hard to deny. I know most NFL draft prospects do have that love for the game, but it's just different with him. However, he is definitely probably the biggest project for NC State in the draft class. He had a 7 1/2 C sack season last year that dropped to 1.5 when he was moved inside and that big problem was that he was not able to get the angle. He kind of relies too much on this physicality rather than intangibles.

08:45
Logan Brumley
And so it'd be like when he was going for a offensive lineman he would just try to duck and slam his body into the offensive tackle and with a strong offensive tackle, a block and running back blocking tight end that can completely blow him up and that can alleviate pressure for the quarterback, create a route for the running back. It's a very high risk scenario if you cannot coach that out of him and it could be something that kind of keeps his draft stock from being as high as he could. That's another guy who could rely on a strong Senior bowl performance where he is able to show himself breaking through and getting necessary tackles and sacks like he did last year. He could be a seventh round undrafted free agent kind of guy.

09:39
Logan Brumley
I think he would definitely have a great career, most likely with the special teams. I think he could find his way into a backup role, but it would take a very strong defensive coach to kind of get something out of him in the inside linebacker position. All right. I'd like to finish up with the tight end. Justin Jolly, our only offensive draft prospect this year. He's the face of this NC State receiver core. He was second on the team in yards and leads the team in touchdowns. His average stats as a starter is about 576 yards and four touchdowns. He's a bit small for an average tight end at 6'3,251 lbs. His biggest weakness is with that size and strength is the blocking ability. You know him being a bit small, he isn't really that intense of an athlete.

10:47
Logan Brumley
I think he could definitely be overpowered and blown up by a strong seasoned linebacking prospect. That'll be something that will definitely need to be kind of coached into him if they want to kind of build onto that blocking tight end role. But as a receiving tight end he is great. He could be a guy that could move to a slot receiver just because he has been able to make great athletic catches. He's a great yard after catch guy. He can catch a deep ball pretty well. It's almost like he is just a very big wide receiver and I think that's a strength that a NFL team could really pick up on if they, you know, wanted a very good receiving tight end. He is someone that there. He's kind of all over the board in terms of where he could land.

11:49
Logan Brumley
His size is a big question mark but his receiving talent is pretty great. He's been his biggest comp is probably like an I say a likely type prospect. He could working the age back as well. I put that down in my notes. Overall, really great receiver, questionable blocker. He's probably going to be a day free pick. But I think the strong offensive receiving showing he could end up being a late day two guy, maybe an early day three guy. You know, he's kind of all over a lot of draft boards. I've seen him being the top 100 like just outside of it. I've seen him be just below to 200 range. He's all over.

12:36
Logan Brumley
He's a big wild card tight end prospect and I think if the right team is able to get their hands on him, he will be a great tight end in the league. All right, so make sure to check out the East West Shrine bowl that happened last night. And make sure to check out the Senior bowl that I think is happening this weekend. And with all that out of the way I'd like to go into the tennis previews. But one last thing I forgot to mention these are some guys. I've seen their names thrown around on some draft boards for 2027. A lot of strong income and transfers. Daniel Groves. Oh no. Daniel Cruz (OG for Te Elijah Groves linebacker Andre Evans the cornerback transfer from Georgia, CJ Bailey could be a draft prospect. I think there's just a lot of question marks.

13:35
Logan Brumley
As I've mentioned in an earlier episode, because there are so many incoming transfers on the defense couple on the offense. We'll see who's able to show up, who doesn't, but those four guys are very early players to watch. All right, so let's get to tennis. Like to start with a kind of a brief review of how last season went. Both the men's and women's teams went to the sweet 16 and individuals for the men's Martin Borisiouk got to the final four and in the sweet 16 for womens Gabrielle Broadfoot and Mia Slama, both had very strong perfromances in the fall brackets. But where are they now? How are they looking ahead into the spring semester? The mens is ranked ninth in the nation, putting them at four in the conference. But where are they now? How are they looking headed into the spring semester?

14:48
Logan Brumley
The men's is ranked ninth in the nation, putting them at fourth in the conference. Of course I mentioned Borisiuk, who is ranked ninth coming off a12.4 record. Another men's tennis player in the top 100 is William Manning, who's 85th with a 6 and 5 record. See how are they looking this season? They don't have too many strong opponents. They are just coming off a loss against 18 Duke. They do have this weekend. They'll be playing South Carolina at home, but it does seem like they're going to have to travel for a lot of tough opponents. At number 20, Florida State. They're going to be hosting number two Virginia, but then we'll be at 18 Duke again, 15 cow number three Stanford. Wake Forest was number one.

15:52
Logan Brumley
It's going to be a very problematic road schedule for NC State this year, but if they are able to put on a strong performance on the road, especially with Borschuk, then they should definitely be able to get back into the postseason. I would be surprised if they didn't and then from there just try to have a good strong show and hopefully get back to the Sweet 16. But if they don't, oh well. Women's is a 11th in the nation. They are fourth in the conference as well. Gabriella Broadfoot, who is 29th at a 10-4 record, and Mia Suma, who is 31st with an 8-3 were both individual Sweet 16.

16:47
Logan Brumley
I think I mentioned that already, but they had some strong show inside and some other players in the top 100 is Lavinia Tanasie who was 38th at 10-4 record and Anna Cyranova who was 60th with 5-4. They also made appearances but lost in the round of 64 in the individual tennis bracket. How is their schedule looking like? Well, they're going to be see they're coming off a dominant win against UNC Greensboro, but we'll also be coming off a matchup against number 23 Florida, which currently is hasn't happened as of time recording. I would record on Wednesday but I have 8am classes and my stuff goes live at 1:00. UNC, They have this weekend. Make sure keep an eye on that. They're going to have a really solid kind of home streak.

17:54
Logan Brumley
They're going to start off with a really bad road trip with Ohio State, Michigan, Cal and Stanford, but with marches ship lighting up having FSU Miami visit. They're going to have a lot of traveling to do overall, but no one who is really a dominant powerhouse. I think the Virginia teams will be tough. Those are road games. But I think as long as they're able to also kind of get through the road schedule and are able to get the necessary wins such as, you know, at Stanford, see home against Duke would be nice. I think that they're going to be in good shape heading into the acc, women's and NCAA tournaments. They just have to not falter. They have four really good tennis players that I think it will counteract a tough road schedule and result in a great season for women's tennis.

18:59
Logan Brumley
But that's all I got for today. As I mentioned it was going to be kind of a shorter episode. Hope you have a great day and go pack.