NC State coach reflects on Brandon Cisse’s surprise transfer to South Carolina
Brandon Cisse was one of South Carolina’s more surprising offseason transfer additions.
The former N.C. State cornerback and Sumter native entered the transfer portal and committed to Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks football team about one week later in January … despite having formally signed a contract to return to N.C. State for the 2025 season one month earlier with the Wolfpack’s NIL collective.
His former coach has some lingering thoughts about that decision.
Appearing on a podcast at last week’s ACC Kickoff preseason media event, N.C. State coach Dave Doeren reflected on Cisse’s transfer to USC and described it as an example of what the Wolfpack — and other programs — must deal with nowadays.
Because of the influence of the transfer portal and NIL deals on rosters, “you have to kind of wrap your head around the fact that you’re going to lose some guys that you shouldn’t lose,” Doeren said in a July 24 appearance on the “Ovies & Giglio” podcast.
“And at the end of the day, they’re making decisions for them and their family that you don’t have to agree with,” Doeren said. “It’s OK to think they’re wrong, and it’s OK for them to think they’re right.”
Brandon Cisse’s journey from NC State to USC
Cisse signed with N.C. State as a three-star cornerback in the Class of 2023 out of Lakewood High School in Sumter, about an hour east of Columbia. Cisse ranked as the No. 51 corner in the country and No. 505 overall recruit in the class.
But Cisse (pronounced SEE-say) quickly proved those projections wrong. As a true freshman in 2023, he appeared in all 13 games for an N.C. State team that won nine games. When healthy, he was an every-game starter at cornerback in 2024.
Cisse recorded 38 total tackles, five pass breakups and an interception in his first two years at N.C. State, positioning him as a key player for the Wolfpack to retain.
That appeared to happen in December, when N.C. State’s collective, Savage Wolves, announced Cisse had signed a new NIL deal to return to the team in 2025. Less than a month later, though, he was in the portal. Cisse publicly picked USC on Jan. 13.
Cisse cleared up a number of questions regarding his transfer in March, telling The State that the contract he’d signed with N.C. State’s collective in December 2024 was not binding; that he took no money up front when he re-signed with the collective; and that N.C. State’s defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach both leaving for new jobs this offseason prompted his decision.
Although Cisse had a prior relationship with South Carolina DBs coach Torrian Gray from high school, he also said there was “no tampering at all” from any school.
Holding onto players ‘harder’ in 2025
During his appearance on the “Ovies & Giglio” podcast, Doeren was asked about Cisse’s departure and if it stung a little extra, considering Cisse was the type of underrated player N.C. State had often succeeded in identifying and developing (other examples include NFL first-rounders Bradley Chubb, Garrett Bradbury and Ickey Ekwonu).
“You’re right,” Doeren said. “Those are the types of kids, over the years, that we’ve identified and really beat nobody to get and now they become all-conference and in some cases NFL players. But it doesn’t mean that the other 124 guys in the locker room aren’t still there. And you’ve just gotta move on, you know?”
Doeren did not specifically name Cisse during his answer.
Cisse was named USC’s 2025 “newcomer of the spring” for the defense and co-newcomer of the spring for special teams. He’s expected to start at cornerback for a Gamecocks team that went 9-4 last year and has College Football Playoff aspirations.
As a result of his older brother’s transfer, Cedric Cisse, a 2025 defensive back recruit who also played at Lakewood High School in Sumter, has joined USC as a walk-on this season. Cedric Cisse had previously been committed to play at N.C. State.
“It’s harder in this space,” Doeren said on the podcast. “But my formula of identifying guys that are tough, that have the measurables, and making them into really good players through development and mentoring and leadership won’t change. And we will lose some of them, because that’s just the way it is these days.”
This story was originally published July 31, 2025 at 8:45 AM.
