Here are the awards NC State linebacker Payton Wilson is up for after a standout season
N.C. State linebacker Payton Wilson is in the running for three major defensive awards after his dominant season.
Wilson was named a finalist for the Nagurski, Butkus and Bednarik awards.
The Nagurski Trophy is designed to complement the Heisman Trophy, which often goes to a top offensive player. Bradley Chubb represented the Wolfpack when he earned the award in 2017.
The Bednarik is also given to the country’s best defensive player. Finally, the Butkus is awarded to the nation’s top linebacker who also serves the community.
“If he doesn’t win all three of these national awards, what are people looking at?” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said on an ACC broadcast Saturday.
Wilson also earned All-ACC First Team honors on Tuesday, earning 184 points, the most out of any player.
Before the team’s game at Wake Forest, Doeren said Wilson does it all — from positively impacting the defense in every game to leading the locker room and serving the community.
“There’s a lot of good players in our league that impact games, but I would say there’s not many in the country that impact the game the way that No. 11 (Wilson) is right now for us,” Doeren said.
Wilson finished his career, with the exception of N.C. State’s bowl game, with 402 tackles, 15 sacks, 13 pass breakups, seven interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He scored a pick six this season, too.
The graduate student from Hillsborough leads the ACC in total tackles (138/11.5 per game) and tackles for loss (17.5/1.46 per game), which is good enough for No. 5 and No. 6 nationally.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Wilson is the only player in the past 20 years with at least 100 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 10 quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and one touchdown.
He also ranks No. 5 in the Wolfpack record book for career tackles and No. 3 in tackles for loss (48).
“I’m a sixth-year guy. I’m 23 years old, playing college football,” Wilson said last month. “It’s almost like I should be doing this. That’s the way I look at it.”
The Nagurski award will be presented on Dec. 4 in Charlotte, while the Bednarik winner will be announced on Dec. 8 during ESPN’s college football awards show. The Butkus Award winner is expected to be announced next week, with a televised ceremony taking place in January.
This story was originally published November 28, 2023 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Here are the awards NC State linebacker Payton Wilson is up for after a standout season."
