NC State Newsstand: Payton Wilson named in top-100 players in college football
NC State graduate linebacker Payton Wilson was a do-it-all player for the Wolfpack defense this past fall. While he garnered national awards left and right, his play had him named No. 13 on ESPN’s top 100 players in college football list.
“Wilson was, quite possibly, the best all-around defender in college football in 2023,” ESPN wrote. “He finished the regular season with 138 tackles (tops in the ACC, second in Power 5), six sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss, 10 QB hurries, 6 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions (including one returned for a TD). Basically if there’s a category on the defensive stat sheet, Wilson filled it this season.”
After the list was released, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg thought Wilson should have been inside the top 10.
“The top 10 includes only one defensive player — Alabama edge/outside linebacker Dallas Turner — as well as three wide receivers and a tight end,” Rittenberg wrote. “Although the top of the wideout group is excellent, Wilson was arguably the nation’s most decorated defender. He won the Dick Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and the Chuck Bednarik Award as the national defensive player of the year. Wilson led the ACC in both total tackles and tackles for loss, and he was a consistent factor in pass coverage for NC State.”
Wilson, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, won the Bednarik and Butkus Awards for his standout play this season, while he was also a unanimous first-team All-America selection. The star defender was a finalist for the Nagurski Award and has been named to numerous media outlets’ All-America lists, including CBS Sports, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic and USA Today among others.
The linebacker led the ACC with 138 tackles and led the league with 17.5 tackles for a loss. Wilson also logged 6 sacks, 9 passes defended, 3 interceptions — including a pick six — and a forced fumble this fall.
Wilson posted the third-highest Pro Football Focus coverage grade of any player at his position who played more than 700 defensive snaps this fall with a 90.4 mark. He led the Pack with that grade, and he also paced NC State in every defensive category, according to PFF.
The linebacker also logged 402 total tackles in his NC State career, which made 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.
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Wilson will begin his NFL Draft training in Florida ahead of his appearance in the Reese’s Senior Bowl Feb. 3 in Mobile, Ala., and possibly an NFL Combine appearance later in February. After that, as Wilson said last week, the rest is out of his hands as he awaits the beginning of his professional career.
Tweets of the day
Graduate forward DJ Burns hit the go-ahead layup with less than a second to beat Notre Dame.
NC State had three signees play in the Under Armour All-America Game on Wednesday, including quarterback Cedrick Bailey Jr.
The Wolfpack had two Pack Pros selected to the Pro Bowl.
Quote of the day
NC State men’s basketball trailed for the entire game at Notre Dame, but it won on a last-second layup from Burns. Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts thought NC State did a good job of hanging around in the contest before it pulled into the lead.
“I thought everybody came in and gave everything that they had,” Keatts said. “We didn’t have it offensively, but we found a way to win defensively.”
Today’s top NC State headlines
DJ Burns’ last-second layup propels NC State to road win at Notre Dame
Instant Observations: NC State signees at the Under Armour Next All-America Game
NC State CB Shyheim Battle declares for NFL Draft
Finally … NC State Wrestling Returns to Reynolds Coliseum to face Oklahoma State
