Payton Wilson: "Every Play I Play Like It’s My Last"

Coming off a 19-tackle, two-interception performance against Duke last Saturday, NC State linebacker Payton Wilson was named the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Week. 

Despite missing a game to injury, Wilson is currently sixth in the ACC with 44 total tackles, and he leads the conference with 11 tackles per game. This week, Wilson will face a school he was once committed to in UNC.

Wilson spoke to the media via Zoom ahead of the rivalry game; here’s a full breakdown of everything he had to say:

You were committed to Carolina and then you flipped to State. Did you still hear from UNC fans, and does that still motivate you when you play those guys?

I hear from UNC fans on social media and stuff, but I’ve learned at a young age to not really bother with social media and stuff. Everyone’s always going to have something to say. People on social media do not affect me at all. I don’t lose sleep over them, so I wouldn’t say that it motivates me to play harder. But everyone knows that this is a rivalry game, so I think that that’s enough motivation to play and practice just a little bit harder.

[Joe Sculthorpe] said that your intensity level is always at a 10. Where does that come from?

I missed two years due to injury. Before I got injured, football was just football to me. And I never really realized how fast something could be taken away from us. So every day, I go out there and I look at it as if it could be my last day, would I have been happy with what I put on the field? If I didn’t put all my effort on the field, I know that I just wouldn’t be able to accept myself. 

Are you surprised by the numbers that you’re putting up this year? 

The main thing is I just want to thank God for blessing me, but also, [defensive coordinator Tony Gibson]. We have great schemes every week. I have great guys making plays around me, fitting their gaps, filling the ball out to me. Just everyone doing their job so everyone’s making plays. And like I was saying before, every play I play like it’s my last. I’m trying to make that play, I don’t want anyone to beat me to the ball. I would say that’s one thing that really helps me.

Where will guys be focusing most with UNC’s offense? 

I think just playing together more than a scheme. Whenever we practice hard and play together, I think the last few weeks the defense has really stepped it up and matured. Schemes are always great, coach Gibson and the other coaches do a great job of telling us what we need to do and who we need to stop, but it’s a matter of us playing together with one Pack and one goal.

Coach Doeren talked on Monday about the depth you guys have at linebacker and the way you’ve been able to have a rotation in games to keep guys fresh; how important has that been?

That’s super important, because every day in practice we have guys that are just as good as us and sometimes better at other things. Every practice, we go out there and we have to perform our best, because if not they could step up and outperform us and take our spot. So it’s really helpful. I feel like we have that friendly competitiveness within the linebacker room to make each other better. I really just think that them being able to come in game ready and play just as good as us really helps everyone out. 

What was the toughest part for you about coming back from the knee injuries?

I would say the toughest thing for me was the mental aspect. Physically, it’s just a matter of rehabbing and waiting. But mentally, seeing your brothers and your friends go out there, practice and play the game that you’ve worked your whole life for, it really sucks. I think that’s one thing that I praise God for, that he put me through that, to understand that this game can be taken away really fast. I would just say the hardest thing for me was the mental aspect, just staying on top of everything, staying happy and knowing that it was for a reason.

Did you play much baseball growing up, and what are the chances your brother will get to see you play this weekend?

My brother’s coming to the game, but I didn’t play baseball growing up. I played until like fifth grade, but it just wasn’t for me.

What kind of challenges does Sam Howell present?

He’s a big guy. He stays up in the pocket. He’s hard to bring down. That just comes with wrapping and good technique, but also, he’s one of the best throwers and most explosive college quarterbacks that we see today. He can throw the ball on a dime, but it’s just a matter of knowing our rules and playing the game. 

Does having committed to Carolina make this game more personal to you?

I take every Saturday the same. Every Saturday’s the same, we prepare the same. I was telling someone earlier, it is a rivalry, so maybe people do have that extra edge, but I think we need to look at every Saturday the same whether it’s UNC or not. 

Coach Doeren said you’re not just running into people, you’re using your hands to get off blocks and slipping blocks better. Did it take time over the last couple years for you to learn to play the linebacker position the right way?

I think in high school it was just that I was bigger than people, faster than people, so I was able to get to the ball and bring people down. But now you have O-Linemen that are just as fast as me, so it’s a matter of technique. Playing with my hands last year, coach Doeren is right. I just used to run into blockers. Sometimes that messed me up. I couldn’t get off blocks. But now I’m able to use my hands, have my hands up, get off the block and make a play. 

You were named defensive of the player in week in the ACC. What makes you so good at intercepting the ball? 

I think it’s just the effort aspect. Last year, the play that I made, I really wasn’t supposed to be there but it was just effort. And then the two interceptions I had this week, one of them I just read him, but the second one was just effort. For me, my mentality is make that play every play. Wherever there’s a play to be made, I need to make it. 

What are you seeing from Alim McNeill and NC State’s defensive line?

Not only Alim, but C.J. Clark and Joshua Harris, as well. They’re all huge guys that are athletic and fast. They take up a lot of blocks. Alim, he’s one of the best in the country, as everyone knows. I feel like an offensive line, with him, has to game plan so much differently than they would against someone else that it honestly just takes pressure off of us. They have to worry about him so much sometimes that it’s hard to get to us, because he’s so fast. But C.J. Clark and Joshua Harris also do a really good job of that, as well.