Today I continue our series called “Losing Their Shirt” where I will look at the Redshirt Freshmen on the NC State football roster. Fans can be so focused on the stars they have returning, who they lost on their roster, and the incoming freshman recruiting class, that they forget entirely about the class of redshirt freshmen. Allow me to help introduce you to the NC State redshirt freshmen. The second player featured in “Losing Their Shirt” is Defensive Tackle Coult Culler.
A lot has changed since Coult Culler first committed to NC State back on December 6th, 2013. Back then Culler was a linebacker for Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. The three-star recruit tallied 135 tackles his Senior season, and earned All-State honors. Culler chose to run with the Wolfpack over offers from in-state foes East Carolina and UNC.
Coach Doeren had this to say about Culler after he signed his national letter of intent in February of 2014:
“I know a lot of coaches down in the Wilmington area are glad he’s gone. You talk to them (and they say) he’s a tackling machine. He had multiple games where he had 20-plus tackles,” said Doeren. “We’re really excited about what he brings, not only as a player but his attitude, his demeanor, the way he was raised, his toughness. He’s going to do a lot of things for us here.” (FayObserver)
Culler redshirted last season, and within his first 6 months of being a part of the program, he gained 30 pounds. This winter the NC State coaches decided to move Culler from linebacker to defensive end. Between the winter and Spring ball, the coaches had changed their minds once again. Culler was sitting at defensive tackle on the 2-deep depth chart for the Kay Yow Spring Game in April.
Coach Doeren explained the decision to move Culler to DT at Media Day, and spoke very highly of the redshirt freshman:
“We moved him from linebacker to defensive tackle. He’s doing really well. He’s getting better and better. He went from 240 to 285. A lot of eating and a lot of lifting. He spent last year as a redshirt. He played linebacker, and it was just apparent at the end of bowl practices that he wasn’t moving like a linebacker anymore. We thought he was an aggressive tough kid, and I think he was trying to keep his weight down a little bit. We told him that we thought that we needed to let nature take it’s course. He’s a big guy. His dad was a big man. He bought in right away. When I recruited him he told me ‘I’ll play wherever you want me to play. You’re my coach, and I’m your player. What do you need?’ I appreciate that about him. He has a great team attitude. He’s done a lot of good things. In the Spring he was thinking a lot, but you can see now he’s just being aggressive. He has a smile on his face and it’s fun to watch him” (Media Day)
Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.
As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.
State swaps out a home-and-home with App State for one with Virginia
Given the ACC’s stance on road G5 games, that was going to happen
NC STATE BACKS OUT OF FOOTBALL SERIES WITH APPALACHIAN STATE…. David Glenn Weighs in on Required #NCPOL Scheduling Bill per UNC, NC STATE, ECU, CHARLOTTE AND APP https://t.co/5sfWzmRa93 via @YouTube
— NORTH CAROLINA SPORTS NETWORK (@TheNCSportsNet) May 16, 2024
It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.
I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.
CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.
16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)
Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.
DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.
Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.
NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.
To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.
Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.
It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.