NC State Newsstand: All-American honors continue to roll in for the Pack
Each day that passes, the list of NC State’s All-American honors grows exponentially for its pair of gridiron stars. Graduate linebacker Payton Wilson has received five since the season ended, while freshman wide receiver Kevin Concepcion continues to find his name on lists, too.
Wilson has been named to five All-America teams from various national media outlets. He has earned first-team All-American honors from CBS Sports, College Football Network, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic and USA Today since the season concluded.
That also does not include his three finalist honors for the Butkus (best linebacker), Bednarik and the Nagurski trophies (best defensive player). He was surprised with the Butkus Award on Wednesday night during a media timeout of the men’s basketball game.
Wilson, the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year, has a chance to become a consensus All-American, which means he has to be on three of the following five teams from Walter Camp (Dec. 8), Football Writers of America (Dec. 11), Associated Press (Dec. 11), the AFCA Coaches (Dec. 12) and Sporting News (Dec. 13).
If Wilson is a consensus All-American selection, he will become the 11th in NC State program history, which would continue a streak of three straight years with at least one (offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu in 2021 and kicker Christopher Dunn in 2022).
While Wilson has raked in the honors, so has Concepcion. He was already named ACC Rookie of the Year, as well as On3’s National True Freshman Offensive Player of the Year. But now he can add first-team Freshman All-American from The Athletic.
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Concepcion, a Shaun Alexander Award finalist, logged three 100-yard receiving games this season to go with his 10 touchdown grabs — the most of any true freshman this fall.
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Quote of the day
NC State quarterback commit Cedrick Bailey won his third state title on Thursday in Tallahassee, Fla., but as signing day approaches, Miami continues to try to flip him. On3’s Chad Simmons caught up with Bailey after the game.
“My mind is in the middle of those two schools,” Bailey told On3. “Communication is the most important thing for me now. Both staffs are doing a great job, but that is what will come down to when I announce my final decision.”
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