NC State coach Dave Doeren is no stranger to having great individual players, but he has been especially proud of the play of sixth-year senior outside linebacker Payton Wilson.
NC State has featured kicker Christopher Dunn, offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu and defensive end Bradley Chubb in recent years, who were up for national awards. Dunn won the Lou Groza Award last year, Ekwonu was a finalist for the Outland Trophy in 2021 and Chubb won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award in 2017.
Wilson was named one of the 12 semifinalists for the Dick Butkus Award on Monday. Doeren knows who he thinks should win the award.
"I don’t get to watch all the teams play, and I know there are a lot of good players, so I don’t want this to come across as demeaning anyone else, but he is the best defensive player in college football right now,” Doeren said. “What his impact is on the field during the game, I just don’t know if anyone has that on their team. He is impacting the course of the game throughout the game and in every game.”
Wilson leads the ACC in tackles per game with 105, and he has double figures in tackles in all but two games this season. Wilson has overcome multiple shoulder injuries and knee injuries over the years since his senior year at Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange High.
"I look forward to seeing him on stage accepting that trophy hopefully here," Doeren said.
Wilson was three tackles away from his career-high in tackles, getting 16 stops in the 20-6 win over Miami. The defense has been impressive in back-to-back home wins against the Hurricanes and Clemson.
“Every game, he could be the defensive player of the week in the ACC,” Doeren said. “Sometimes he probably doesn’t get it because they want to reward somebody else. He is all over the field playing at a high level in every facet.”
NC State has lost nine of the 11 meetings against Wake Forest when the game is played in Winston-Salem, N.C.
“Understand, they are not easy to beat in their stadium,” Doeren said. “That is a place a lot of people have failed at. A lot of focus will be on how we can go down there and be the best team we can be.”
It looked like the two old rivals wouldn’t play each other every year anymore, but with Stanford, California and SMU joining the ACC, the schedule model got altered. Now, NC State will play North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest every year coming up. That is something Doeren is excited about.
“I love it,” Doeren said. “We are playing all three other schools in-state every year at least for the next seven. I would be in favor of a trophy for whoever wins the most in-state games between the four of them.
“Occasionally, we’ll play a non-Power Five — ECU, App [State] or Charlotte — on our rotation. We are going to have two California schools and a Texas school. I love that our pod is local.”
Dick Butkus Award semifinalists
• Tommy Eichenberg, Senior, Ohio State
Eichenberg has 73 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble.
• Marist Liufau, Senior, Notre Dame
Liufau has 38 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one pass defended, one forced fumble.
• Jaylan Ford, Senior, Texas
Gray has 65 tackles, one sack, two interceptions, one forced fumble.
• Cedric Gray, Senior, North Carolina
Gray has 85 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three passes defended, one interception, two forced fumbles.
• Jay Higgins, Senior, Iowa
Higgins has 113 tackles, one sack, two passes defended, one interception, one forced fumble.
• Ty’Ron Hopper, Senior, Missouri
Hopper, who is from Shelby, N.C., has 53 tackles, three sacks, three passes defended.
• Curtis Jacobs, Junior, Penn State
Jacobs has 36 tackles, one sack.
• Deontae Lawson, Sophomore, Alabama
52 tackles, two sacks, two passes defended.
• Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., Clemson
Trotter has 65 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four passes defended, two interceptions (one for a touchdown), two forced fumbles.
• Edefuan Ulofoshio, Senior, Washington
Ulofoshio has 59 tackles, two sacks, one pass defended, one interception for a touchdown, one forced fumble.
• Nathaniel Watson, Sr., Mississippi State
Watson has 87 tackles, eight sacks, two passes defended, one interception, one forced fumble.
• Payton Wilson, Senior, NC State
Wilson has 105 tackles, four sacks, five passes defended, two interceptions (one for a touchdown).
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