RALEIGH – The NC State Wolfpack football team inducted a very familiar face as the latest member of its Ring of Honor over the weekend.
Former linebacker Payton Wilson, who played for the Wolfpack from 2019-2023, became the 13th member to be honored with his name forever enshrined upon the inside of Carter-Finley Stadium.
“It’s like a full circle moment for me,” Wilson said. “From being 17 years old, growing up 45 minutes from here, to getting inducted is just super cool. I’m just humbled. Can’t thank Jesus Christ enough for what he’s done for me giving me this opportunity and I can’t thank everyone enough that’s been a part of it. I love this place and it’s like home to me. When I look back on NC State and I go back to Raleigh, it’s like going home for me.”
Wilson’s nameplate went up between former linebacker Bill Cowher (1975-1978), who was inducted last season, and former quarterback Russell Wilson (2008-2010).
“It’s really cool because the first three names up there right now are Bill Cowher, Russell Wilson and mine and we all played or coached for the Steeler,” Wilson said. “To even be in the same conversation with some of those names is super cool.”
Wilson joked that he had a good idea that something like this was coming when NC State coach Dave Doeren texted him out of the blue one day.
“Coach Doeren texted me one day and Coach Doeren don’t text you unless he’s got something for you, so when he texted me I kind of figured it out,” Wilson said.
“It was so awesome to have Payton Wilson and his family here today being honored and to see his name go up in the Ring of Honor,” Doeren said. “Nobody deserves that more than him. He’s a great story and embodies everything that NC State is about. Blue collar, hardworking and he loves this university. Thankful to have been a part of that with Payton and his family. It was pretty special to have that all here today.”
The team honored Wilson on the field between the first and second quarter of their Nov. 2 game against the Stanford Cardinal and following the ceremony, in true fashion for the former captain, he had to be ushered off the field as he was continuing to pump up the team even as the offense had started to line back up.
“I can’t really help myself sometimes,” Wilson joked. “I started talking junk to Stanford too. You know I love NC State to death. It’s where I was born and bred, so just with the culture that we built here and how much we’ve put into it, it just means a lot to me when these guys play.”
Wilson, who is currently a starting linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL, is fifth all-time in tackles for NC State (403) and led the ACC in tackles in both 2020 and 2023.
Last season, the Hillsborough native finished fifth in FBS for tackles, averaging 11.5 per game, and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was just the fourth player in school history to be a unanimous first-team All-American.
Not only that, but Wilson also won the Butkus Award given to the top linebacker in the nation and the Bednarik Award which is given to the top defensive player in the country.
“I truly gave my all and gave everything for this campus that I could,” Wilson said. “Through the surgeries, through the injuries, I just always tried to play football. I tried to keep all the notoriety and all that stuff to the side and I just loved the game and I hope people realize that. That I played the game for what it truly is and in its truest form.”
Everyone who has known Wilson has repeated the same sentiment: that he bleeds Wolfpack red and that he is the true embodiment of what the program stands for, and he hopes to continue to pass that down to the next generation of Pack players.
“I know the culture that we’ve built here,” Wilson said. “A lot of guys put blood, sweat and tears into this place and the culture that we’ve built, I want to be able to support that. So, these guys kind of need to know that when people come here, they play hard. Don’t just come here for one year thinking about NIL and that it’s funny and ruin the culture. You have to come here and play hard.”
