The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1389905
JULY/AUGUST 2021 ■ 27 Payton is on a mission to prove himself — and not just as the best linebacker in col- lege football. "I want to be best defensive player," he clarified, "and I am definitely working my butt off to get there. I'm excited to show it. I'm ready for first game, Sept. 2, Thursday night. I'm just marking the days off." Wilson broke out in 2020, leading the ACC in tackles with 108 despite missing two games. He added team highs with 11.5 tackles for loss, six quarterback pressures and two interceptions, and also contributed 3.5 sacks. Wilson plays with an aggressiveness and physicality that is rooted in the sport he ad- mitted was his first love: wrestling. "In wresting, you are either going to handle your business or you are going to let somebody manhandle you," Wilson ex- plained. "When I first started wrestling, I had that mindset of kill or be killed. It's me or him. "I took that over to football. I realized that a lot of people don't give 100 percent effort 100 percent of the time. You can make a lot more plays than other people just off effort. That's where that mentality comes from. I want to make every play. I don't want anyone else to touch the ball carrier. If they have the ball in their hands, I want to make that play." Wilson's approach has branded him an "old-school linebacker." Wilson hears it and shrugs it off. "I think they say that because how tough I am," he noted. "They think I am so tough just because I can play with a little injury, but I am just as athletic as any linebacker in the country, just as fast." Count head coach Dave Doeren among those who think his star defender's athleti- cism gets overlooked. "I totally believe that," Doeren said. "He's a hitter, he's a head-hunter, he's a high-effort guy. I think it's awesome people call him old school, but he's also a very fluid athlete. He's very diverse in what he can bring from a coverage and pass rush/ run defense standpoint. He can do a lot of things athletically." Wilson's' athleticism on his 6-4, 235-pound frame caught the attention of col- leges across the country. Prior to Bryce Wil- son, not many at Orange High found them- selves contemplating a future in athletics. For Payton, the reality hit in the 10th grade when his first offer came from East Carolina. Not long after, Alabama, Clem- son, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State and others were chasing him. However, Wilson was not one to be impressed simply by big- brand programs. Orange's practice fields were literally by a farm, and on or after rainy days the smell of cow manure was omnipresent. "Coming from where I came from, I think it humbled me," Wilson said. "I was very humbled to get Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia offers — but just because those schools offered me a scholarship to play football never meant that I was going to choose them over NC State." Wilson famously committed to UNC be- fore switching to NC State. Contemplating back, the self-proclaimed momma's boy realized he was probably never going to go far from home. The only time Wilson ever had to sit out sports was his freshman year of college, when a second ACL tear (his first came late in his senior year of high school) forced him to redshirt. In his ACC debut during his rookie season, he made seven tackles, including one for a loss, and had a pass breakup at Florida State. That effort showed that he belonged at this level. Now he is focused on bigger and better goals. That meant skipping the NFL Draft last April, getting his shoulders right after surgery and taking his game to another level. "I could have gone if I wanted to," Wilson admitted. "Would I have went as high as I wanted to? No, because of my shoulders and all I had was one year that I really showed out. I wanted to come back and show people that I can go in the first round. I could be the first linebacker taken off the board." "He made a decision to come back and improve his standing and his legacy here, and obviously he wants to win as well," Doeren added. "He is working really hard, and he's really focused." ■ " I wanted to come back and show people that I can go in the first round. I could be the first linebacker taken off the board. " Wilson Wilson led the ACC in tackles last fall with 108, despite missing two games, and paced the Wolfpack with 11.5 tackles for loss, six quarterback pressures and two interceptions. PHOTO BY ETHAN HYMAN/THE NEWS & OBSERVER