N.C. State Starting Linebacker Brock Miller Enters Transfer Portal

The Wolfpack loses depth at linebacker after Brock Miller entered the transfer portal.

The N.C. State football defense lost a bit of its depth on Tuesday, as starting linebacker Brock Miller entered the transfer portal. Miller, a redshirt senior, was expected to be a key returner on the Wolfpack’s defense. Miller had 40 tackles and seven tackles for loss in 2019, making 11 starts as an outside linebacker in the Wolfpack’s 3-3-5 defense.

Miller was a three-star recruit in the 2016 recruiting class out of Fort Pierce, Florida, grading out as the No. 79 outside linebacker in the country. Miller battled injuries early in his career and played mostly on special teams, eventually earning his first start on the road against North Carolina and then again playing in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against Texas A&M, when regular starter Germaine Pratt sat out of the game.

One has to wonder how much the changing of staff contributed to Miller’s exit or whether it was a playing time issue, as Miller seemed to be losing his spot to Payton Wilson.

The Wolfpack signed one outside linebacker in the 2020 class: three-star Devon Beatty. the no. 55 ranked outside linebacker in the country.

The Wolfpack returns Wilson, as well as starters Isaiah Moore and C.J. Hart. The team will look to improve upon a defense that finished 82nd in points allowed per game. The team gave up an average of over 400 yards per game, which led to the firing of Dave Huxtable and the hiring of Tony Gibson as the new defensive coordinator.

With Miller leaving, Gibson will have one less starter to try and turn the defense around.