Payton Wilson: LB · NC State · #11.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Payton Wilson
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. Fifth year in the same linebacker corps at NC State. All-America (Consensus) in 2023 was the third season with an honor. On tape: 16 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Miami, Week 10, 2023.
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
138 tackles. 6 passes defended. 3 interceptions. 17.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-14@ UConn | 10 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-45vs No. 10 Notre Dame | 14 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 45-7vs VMI | 9 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 24-21@ Virginia | 13 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 10-13vs Louisville | 10 | 6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 6 | W 48-41vs Marshall | 14 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 3-24@ No. 17 Duke | 11 | 6 | 2.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 24-17vs Clemson | 8 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 20-6vs Miami | 16 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | Season-high 16 tackles |
| Wk 11 | W 26-6@ Wake Forest | 7 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 35-28@ Virginia Tech | 11 | 8 | 3.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 3.5 TFL |
| Wk 13 | W 39-20vs North Carolina | 15 | 8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 138 | 69 | 17.5 | 6.0 | 3 | 6 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
138tackles this seasonTFL rate
13%18 TFLSack rate
4%6 sacksPD rate
4%6 pass breakups138 tackles · 17.5 for loss · 6 sacks · 3 interceptions.
5 seasons under Dave Doeren — 38-24 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 12.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Road5g | 10.4 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 11.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 11.4 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dave Doeren
Pass share
44.5%
378 pass / 472 run
Plays / game
65.4
13 games
Team sack rate
6.0%
403 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
First team on every major selector list.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #1 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2023
Named Consensus All-American — recognized on 3+ of the 5 NCAA-recognized selector lists.
How it ended
Five seasons at NC State, 395 tackles, the Chuck Bednarik Award (2023) — drafted at #98 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
The snaps went the other way.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · UNANIMOUS
Unanimous AA (2023)
Named to 12 first-team selectors
National awards
Bednarik, Butkus
2023 season
ALL-ACC · 1ST TEAM
All-ACC 1st team (2023)
Weekly recognition
4 weekly honors (2023)
7 career weekly honors across 2 seasons — a 4+ season has tracked to All-Conference ~83% of the time
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
1 coachPlayed every college season under Dave Doeren.
Next stop · NFL
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 3rd NFL season
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 3rd NFL season
