There are very few players that come into a program and become the very embodiment of everything that team stands for.
Over his five-year career, Payton Wilson has become the personification of NC State Wolfpack football.
Wilson is a hardworking, blue-collar football player who overcame multiple injuries to have one of the Wolfpack’s best individual seasons ever.
In his final season, Wilson had 138 tackles — which led the ACC and was fifth most in FBS — 17.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, one forced fumble, two recovered fumbles, 10 pass breakups and three interceptions, with one of those being a pick-six.
“It’s so fun watching Payton play,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said. “I’m just thankful for him, first of all. He’s the one who’s been through it medically and put in the time and the effort and the hours to play this sport. It means the world to him, and you can see that in his play. … That guy is just a wrecking ball out there when he’s doing it in so many ways. His effort, energy, leadership and everything else.”
His performance led Wilson to be named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, a consensus All-American — just the fourth in program history — a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award and the winner of both the Dick Butkus and Chuck Bednarik awards as the NCAA’s top linebacker and defensive player. Wilson is the only player in school history to win either.
“It’s been really cool to get the awards and to win them for NC State,” Wilson said. “All the work that we’ve put in over here and all the great coaches, great strength staff and just everyone that is around us is so awesome. To see the momentum that we have going now, rolling into next season, that’s what it was all about.”
Wilson even got a day named after him: Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin declared Dec. 19 as “Payton Wilson Day” in Raleigh.
“It’s a true honor, but like I’ve been saying the whole time, none of this would have happened without my team, without my coaches and without my support, especially my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” Wilson said. “All credit to him.”
The Wolfpack finished 4-8 in his first season in 2009, but since then, NC State has won at least eight games in each of his final four years and has established itself as one of the top defenses in the ACC year after year.
“That’s how my parents raised me,” Wilson said about leaving the team better than it was when he started. “Whether you’re borrowing something small or something massive, you always return it better than you got it, and that’s kind of been my dream. I gave everything I possibly could have given these last few years, and hopefully that showed.”
On top of his work on the field, Wilson also blossomed into a leader, one who knew how to lift his team or deliver strong messages, depending on the circumstances.
Following the 24-3 loss to Duke on Oct. 14, Wilson publicly apologized to the NC State fan base for the team’s performance and promised that things would get better.
Five straight wins later, it’s clear that the message was received.
“He’s the pulse of our team,” Doeren said. “He’s the leader of this football team and he’s the best player on this football team.”
More than anything, Wilson exhibited his leadership by always being sure to credit the team and staff around him. There was perhaps no better example of it than his support for Brennan Armstrong.
In NC State’s win over Marshall, Armstrong — who had been benched as starting quarterback for MJ Morris following a difficult stretch of games — came in for a designed package, but the plays didn’t deliver and boos started to rain down on Armstrong.
After the game and following his media availability, Wilson circled back to the podium to address the fan base and the booing.
“[Armstrong] is a great person,” Wilson said. “Just imagine if that was your kid out there on that field in front of 70,000. Let’s get behind him, Wolfpack Nation, when he’s in there. He’s a good-hearted kid and does nothing but pat everybody on the back and play hard for us every single day. Continue to uplift him.”
From a hot-headed kid to the heart and soul of the Wolfpack, Wilson gave everything he had to NC State and left his mark as one of the very best players in college football this year.
“I love this university, I love this team and I love this fan base,” Wilson said. “It sucks that it’s my last one, but I’m looking forward to the next chapter, and hopefully I left a good mark here.”
