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NC State Newsstand: Payton Wilson's press conference

On3 imageby:Ethan McDowell•09/22/22•

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(Photo by Ken Martin/On3)

NC State’s 2022 football season is here, and there will be no shortage of news for the rest of the year. Our daily ‘Newsstands’ will be a way for our readers to catch up on what they missed from the day before. 

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The Wolfpacker’s Thursday morning newsstand

As NC State prepares to face UConn in its second-consecutive primetime matchup, Wolfpack linebacker Payton Wilson spoke with the media, discussing his first full game back from last year’s shoulder injury. Here’s an excerpt from The Wolfpacker’s story ‘Payton Wilson discusses first full game back with the Pack.’

Payton Wilson made a statement on the first defensive snap of NC State’s win over Texas Tech. Wolfpack defensive coordinator Tony Gibson drew up a blitz that quickly got the linebacker into the opposing backfield and, as the Red Raider quarterback released the ball for what ended up being an incomplete pass, Wilson delivered a crunching hit. 

Just like that, Wilson was ready to help the Wolfpack defense dominate for four quarters. 

“It was exciting,” Payton Wilson said. “I had some nerves, and I haven’t played in a while. Getting back out there and coach Gibson called in a great blitz at a great time, doing what he does, it really helped me just get to the quarterback and get that first hit and get those nerves out. It was pretty awesome.”

That hit set the tone for the rest of the night, and Wilson finished the game leading the Pack in tackles with 10. Gibson stressed the importance of that first play during his press conference Tuesday. 

“Probably the best play he made all night goes unnoticed,” Gibson said. “It was the first play of the game, and he broke through and hit the quarterback. It was a big hit.

“I don’t know if that affected [the quarterback] the rest of the night or not, but it was good for [Wilson] on the first snap to be that physical.”

Tweets of the day

NC State now has four commits in the new class of 2023 On300 rankings.

The Wolfpack had a top-20 2022 baseball recruiting class.

Former NC State guard Dennis Smith Jr. is signing with the Charlotte Hornets.

Quote of the day

This quote is from Wilson discussing why the team is not looking past UConn and ahead to its week-five showdown with Clemson.

“It’s college football,” Wilson said. “Everybody knows what can happen. It’s really hard to win in college football, so you’ve got to go out there and prepare as hard as you can, work as hard as you can and approach every game the exact same.”

Today’s top NC State headlines

NC State football coach Dave Doeren radio show recap: UConn

Javonte Vereen talks recent NC State trips, recruiting efforts

Tim Beck confident NC State offense will survive growing pains

NC State football opponent scouting report: Connecticut

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