Payton Wilson, who decommitted from UNC, announces he’s going to NC State instead

A little more than a week after he decommitted from North Carolina, and the day after Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren and his staff visited him at his home, Orange High School linebacker Payton Wilson has decided he’s going to N.C. State.

The four-star recruit was at Carter-Finley Stadium last Saturday for the Wolfpack’s 33-21 win over the Tar Heels. Wilson, who’s 6-4 and 225 pounds, decommitted from the Tar Heels on Nov. 22 after committing to the school on May 1.

He took official visits to N.C. State on Nov. 3 and Notre Dame on Nov. 18, according to 247Sports. He had been expected to visit Ohio State and Clemson this month.

On Thursday night, Wilson’s father, Chad, said Doeren and his staff sat with their family for “about two hours” and that they had a “good visit.”

Wilson, who tore his ACL in October, said he was ahead of schedule with his rehab. Wilson also plans on graduating from high school in December and enrolling early at N.C. State.

In eight games, before his season-ending injury, Wilson accounted for 610 yards of total offense and nine touchdowns. From his linebacker position, he recorded 103 tackles, 10 sacks and 21 tackles for loss.

Before N.C. State’s game against UNC on Saturday, Wilson spoke highly of the game-day environment at Carter-Finley Stadium, and how much he liked the coaching staff.

“The atmosphere is nice here and I love the coaches,” he said.

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Wilson is ranked the third best player in North Carolina, according to 247Sports.

N.C. State coach Dave Doeren, who decided on Thursday to stay with the Wolfpack after turning down a job at Tennessee, has commitments from several strong Triangle players from the 2018 recruiting class. In addition to Wilson, Doeren has commitments from Ricky Person (RB, Heritage), Alim McNeill (DL, Sanderson), Trent Pennix (RB, Sanderson), Devin Carter (WR, Clayton), Joseph Boletepeli (DL, Heritage) and Tyler Williams (WR, Southeast Raleigh).

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Payton Wilson, who decommitted from UNC, announces he’s going to NC State instead."