The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1513610
TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Throughout the regular season, Dave Doeren made it a point during his press conferences to mention how well graduate linebacker Payton Wilson was playing. Wilson was performing at an elite level, Doeren said, and the NC State head coach wanted to make sure that voters for various national awards were paying attention. "He is the best defensive player in college football," Doeren said in early November. "What his impact is on the field during a game, I just don't know if anyone has that on their team. "He is impacting the course of the game in every game throughout the game. Every game, he could be the De- fensive Player of the Week in the ACC." Wilson led the conference with 138 tackles and 17.5 stops for a loss. He also logged 6 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 3 inter- ceptions — including a pick six — and a forced fumble this fall. "There are a lot of good players in our league who impact games," Doeren said. "I would say there's not many in the country who impact the game the way that No. 11 is right now for us." It seems as though the voters were paying attention. Wilson dominated the postseason award circuit for his play. In December, he became the first Wolf- pack player to win the Bednarik (best defensive player in college football) and the Butkus (best linebacker in college football) awards. In addition to those two national honors, Wilson earned unanimous All-America recognition, becoming only the fourth player in NC State history to do so. The Pack's previous unanimous All- Americans were center Jim Richter (1979), defensive end Bradley Chubb (2017) and offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu (2021). The last two played during Doeren's tenure as head coach. Kicker Christopher Dunn was a con- sensus All-American in 2022, narrowly missing unanimous honors. NC State is one of only six schools with multi- ple unanimous All-America selections since 2021, the others being Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan and Oregon. Wilson, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, led the Wolfpack in every de- fensive category rated by Pro Football Focus, including coverage, in which he posted a 90.4 mark — the highest of any FBS linebacker with more than 700 snaps this season. Wilson has 402 total tackles in his NC State career, which makes him the sixth player in program history to eclipse 400. He joined Levar Fisher, Dantonio Bur- nette, Damien Covington, Robert Abra- ham and Earl Wolff in accomplishing the historic feat. In addition to Wilson's play on the field, he was the clear leader off the gridiron for the Wolfpack. He helped turn the tide of the season with a pas- sionate speech after the Pack lost at Duke on Oct. 14. Wilson's message was that the team needed to be tougher, not better. NC State appeared to take his admonition to heart, closing the regular season on a five-game winning streak after he spoke up following the 24-3 loss in Durham. Wilson was not the only NC State player to win a national award this fall. Graduate Joe Shimko walked away with the Patrick Mannelly Award, which honors the best long snapper in college football. In addition, Wolfpack receiver Kevin "KC" Concepcion is one of five fi- nalists for the Shaun Alexander Award, which goes to the nation's top freshman and will be presented Dec. 29. — Noah Fleischman Wilson ranked first in the ACC and fifth in the FBS with 138 total tackles during the regular season. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP NC State Linebacker Payton Wilson Dominates National Award Stage