NC State linebacker Payton Wilson earns unanimous All-America honors
NC State graduate linebacker Payton Wilson’s list of postseason awards might be too long to fit in a social media post — and it continues to grow. But his latest honor, first team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, put him in historic company Thursday morning.
That latest award is his fifth from the five major lists — AFCA, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting news and Walter Camp Football Foundation — making Wilson a unanimous All-American for the first time in his career.
He already earned consensus All-America honors by being a first-team selection on at least three of the five major honors earlier this week.
Wilson is the fifth NC State player to receive unanimous All-America honors in NC State program history. He joined center Jim Ritcher (1979), defensive end Bradley Chubb (2017), offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu (2021) in the illustrious group.
The linebacker is the third unanimous All-American under Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren in his 11 years at the helm of the red and white, and is the second in three seasons.
Wilson led the conference with 138 tackles and led the league with 17.5 tackles for a loss. Wilson also logged six sacks, six passes defended, three interceptions — including a pick-six — and a forced fumble this fall.
The ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year posted the third-highest Pro Football Focus coverage grade of any player at his position that played more than 700 defensive snaps this fall with a 90.4 mark. He led the Pack with that grade, and he paced NC State in every defensive category, according to PFF.
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The linebacker also has 402 total tackles in his NC State career, which makes him the sixth player in program history to eclipse the four century mark. He joined Levar Fisher, Dantonio Burnette, Damien Covington, Robert Abraham and Earl Wolff in accomplishing the historic feat.
Wilson’s unanimous All-America nod is the latest honor to his laundry list of awards that he has earned for his dominant play this fall. Wilson won the Bednarik (best defensive player) and the Butkus (best linebacker) awards this month, while he was a finalist for the Nagurski (best defensive player). He is the first player in program history to win the Bednarik and Butkus Awards.
Wilson has accepted an invitation to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in February as he prepares for the NFL Draft in April.
NC State long snapper Joe Shimko, who received the Mannelly Award for the best long snapper in college football this offseason, made second team AFCA All-America status on Thursday.
