Linebacker, NC State, 2018–23
Payton Wilson
- Number
- No. 11
- Height
- 6′4″
- Weight
- 238 lb
- Class (2023)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Hillsborough, NC
- Born
- Apr 21, 2000
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Payton Wilson played linebacker at NC State (2018–23). He won the 2023 Butkus Award and the 2023 Chuck Bednarik Award. He was a consensus All‑American in 2023. The Pittsburgh Steelers took Wilson in round 3, No. 98 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
19tackles, career highvs. Duke, 20202sacks, career highthree times; last vs. Louisville, 2023Honors
- 2023Butkus Award
- 2023Chuck Bednarik Award
- 2023Consensus All‑American
- 2023ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.
Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | NC State | 11 | LB | Yr 1 | ||
| 2020 | NC State | 11 | LB | Yr 2 | ||
| 2021 | NC State | 11 | LB | Yr 3 | ||
| 2022 | NC State | 11 | LB | Yr 4 | ||
| 2023 | NC State | 11 | LB | Sr. (Yr 5) | 6′4″ | 238 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2023 NC State 12 games, 138 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | at UConn | W 24–14 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sep 9 | vs. Notre Dame | L 24–45 | 14 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 16 | vs. VMI | W 45–7 | 9 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 22 | at Virginia | W 24–21 | 13 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 29 | vs. Louisville | L 10–13 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 7 | vs. Marshall | W 48–41 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | at Duke | L 3–24 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | vs. Clemson | W 24–17 | 8 | 2 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | vs. Miami | W 20–6 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nov 11 | at Wake Forest | W 26–6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 18 | at Virginia Tech | W 35–28 | 11 | 8 | 3.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | vs. North Carolina | W 39–20 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
2022 NC State 11 games, 75 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | at East Carolina | W 21–20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs. Texas Tech | W 27–14 | 10 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 24 | vs.UConn | W 41–10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | atClemson | L 20–30 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | vs. Florida State | W 19–17 | 10 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 15 | at Syracuse | L 9–24 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 27 | vs.Virginia Tech | W 22–21 | 7 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 5 | vs.Wake Forest | W 30–21 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 12 | vs. Boston College | L 20–21 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 |
| Nov 25 | atNorth Carolina | W 30–27 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 30 ✦ | vs. Maryland | L 12–16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2021 NC State 2 games, 5 tackles, 1 sack
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. South Florida | W 45–0 | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 11 | at Mississippi State | L 10–24 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2020 NC State 10 games, 108 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | vs.Wake Forest | W 45–42 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 3 | at Pittsburgh | W 30–29 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 10 | atVirginia | W 38–21 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 17 | vs.Duke | W 31–20 | 19 | 8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 24 | atNorth Carolina | L 21–48 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 6 | vs.Miami | L 41–44 | 12 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 14 | vs.Florida State | W 38–22 | 10 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 21 | vs. Liberty | W 15–14 | 12 | 6 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 28 | atSyracuse | W 36–29 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 5 | vs. Georgia Tech | W 23–13 | 11 | 4 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2019 NC State 11 games, 69 tackles, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs.East Carolina | W 34–6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 7 | vs. Western Carolina | W 41–0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 14 | at West Virginia | L 27–44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 21 | vs. Ball State | W 34–23 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 28 | atFlorida State | L 13–31 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 10 | vs.Syracuse | W 16–10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 19 | atBoston College | L 24–45 | 9 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2 | atWake Forest | L 10–44 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 9 | vs.Clemson | L 10–55 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 21 | atGeorgia Tech | L 26–28 | 7 | 6 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 30 | vs.North Carolina | L 10–41 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
Named to the 2024 Senior Bowl (National team) but didn’t play.
| Drill | Combine 2024 | Combine or pro day 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6′3⅞″ | |
| Weight | 233 lb | |
| Arm length | 30½″ | |
| Hand size | 9″ | |
| Wingspan | 75¾″W | |
| 40-yard dash | 4.43 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.54 s | |
| Vertical jump | 34½″ | |
| Broad jump | 9′11″ | |
| 3-cone drill | 6.85 s | |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.20 s |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
3 seasons, 38 games with a stat; latest team: Pittsburgh Steelers.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 16 | 73 | 0 | 1 |
| 2025 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 17 | 125 | 2 | 1 |
| 2026 (so far) | Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 42 | 1 | 0 |
| NFL career | 38 | 240 | 3 | 2 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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