NC State, unfortunately for the Wolfpack, has had quite a bit of experience with the “next man up” philosophy. It’s the approach that when one player goes down with an injury, the replacement steps in and gets the job done.

Sophomore linebacker Jaylon Scott will be the latest example.

During NC State’s 24-10 loss at Mississippi State last Saturday, first-team All-ACC linebacker Payton Wilson suffered what appeared to have been a left shoulder injury while making a tackle near the sideline. By the time Wilson emerged on the sideline from having X-rays taken in the locker room, he was wearing a tightly wrapped ice pack on the shoulder while his left arm was in a sling.

That meant Scott was going to have to man the weakside linebacker position in Wilson’s absence. However, Wilson, a team captain, stayed engaged in the game from the sidelines and helped his teammate.

“He was actually giving me really valuable information,” Scott recalled. “That just proves he cares about me, and he cares about the team.”

Scott cited one example where Wilson helped him get situated better in his alignment.

“With specific coverages, I tend to get too far outside or too far inside,” Scott noted. “I’ll get too close to the line of scrimmage. It’s just small things like that help me be in position to get the job done.”

On one play, Scott even recognized Wilson’s voice from the sideline.

“He was saying, ‘Why not J-Scott?’” Scott recalled.

Now that Wilson has been confirmed to be lost for the season, Scott will have the first opportunity to replace him in the defense.

“He just told me literally that I prepared for this, I know what to do, just go ball out,,” Scott noted. “He’s a straightforward guy. He doesn’t really sugarcoat a lot of things. He’ll tell you if you mess up on something.”

Wilson is not the only leader in the linebacker room that Scott can go to for advice.

Scott noted that redshirt junior Isaiah Moore, who goes by the nickname “Zay” on the team, is an invaluable resource.

“Zay makes sure we know what we need to know,” Scott said. “Know the defense, know the pass game, just like him. He even comes in and invites us to watch film with him on his own.

“He’s a great person to have.”

All that help should prove useful for Scott, but regardless, he is a talented linebacker himself. He had 16 tackles, including one for a loss, and an interception in 2020 and earned a start in the Gator Bowl that Wilson sat out with an injury.

Scott assisted on a pair of tackles after coming into the game for Wilson at Mississippi State, and in the season opener he notched a tackle for a loss during the shutout win over South Florida.

“I feel like I am balanced,” he said. “I know the game just because I’ve been here three years. The mental aspect of things I’m not really worried about. I can set edges well and like to do that. I like to run the field.”

NC State preaches not to flinch when the opportunity to come into the game arrives. Scott has always prepped for that moment.

“I prepare as if I have to go in the game and play 60-something, 70-something snaps,” Scott said. “That’s just my work.”

It’s part of that next-man-up mentality.

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