ELITE+: NC State LB Payton Wilson On NIL, His Love For Football

In our first Elite+ feature, NC State linebacker Payton Wilson shares his thoughts on the importance of NIL, the struggles with being away from football, and much more.  We've made this feature free to all members to provide a glimpse of Elite+ content.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview with Wilson.  We’ve also provided a transcript below.

On the buzz around the program when NIL started…
For me personally, I think it’s awesome. Ever since I got into college, I’ve always wondered why, even when I was a freshman and I wasn’t playing, I was wondering why guys like Ryan Finley, Germaine Pratt, Steph Louis, Kelvin Harmon weren’t able to make money off of their name when they were bringing 70,000 people into the stands each week to watch them.

It’s awesome, guys like myself, Devin Leary, Drake Thomas and many of the guys get the opportunity to not only make money off of our name, but [also] connect with the people after football. We’ve built relationships where if football doesn’t work out, we’ll be able to fall back on that. We’ve got good connections, we’ve got great people in high places that can help us out.

On the impact of the new NIL rules so far…
It’s awesome. Everyone knows we get free college if we’re on scholarship, and we’re all very blessed to get that, but outside of that we don’t get much. And we have football, we have school, we have training so we don’t have much time to go out and have a job or make money.

I’ve seen it change guys’ lives. I’ve seen guys go from struggling to get their next meal to being able to prepare themselves how they want to and really become the person that they want to just because of how many opportunities and how many doors have been opened for these guys.

On the extra lifestyle stuff athletes can do now…
Before NIL, I couldn’t tell you the last time I went to the mall or took my girlfriend out to eat. Just having a little bit of extra money in your pocket is awesome. I was able to buy my parents birthday presents for the first time, Christmas presents for my brother. It’s really awesome to have the opportunity to give back to people who give so much to me.

On NIL giving schools a better chance of keeping guys around…
You know they say NIL is not used for recruiting, but I think one thing fans don’t understand is, if you’re a huge fan of NC State you want to see NC State become a college playoff contender every year, but I think people have to start understanding that NIL is a thing now.

So say that there’s a top recruit in high school, say Drake Thomas one of the best linebackers in high school, say that he had two schools that he wanted to go to. NIL is something that could really just shoot that other school down. NIL is more than just us getting money in our pockets. Everyone from the fans to the coaches to ADs are using it to benefit them.

On when he made his decision to come back for another year…
Coming out of 2020, I definitely did have that opportunity [to go pro], and there was a lot weighing on it. Me and my parents, we talked about it from the Georgia Tech game when I messed up both of my shoulders to January 19th, which was decision day. I think more so for me was I had the two injuries, that played a part in it, but when I was in high school I won a lot. Won championships, won everything.

It’s just kind of in me. [In] 2019, [we went] 4-8. 2020 I had a great season but we went 8-4. And then last year I got hurt. For me, it was just wanting to win, wanting to give this program something that they haven’t had in the past. I think we have the talent, all the guys that are coming back have that same mindset.

On how tough it was to be on the sidelines for most of last season…
It was really tough for me. Coming out of 2020, going into this season, my mindset was to have a great year. That’s where I was, and honestly I had the wrong mindset going into the season. It was only the second game that I got hurt, and my life flipped upside down.

I was just coming off two labrum surgeries and here I am with another shoulder pop. I had absolutely no idea what was gonna be the next step for me. It took me a while to come around. I was pretty out of it for about a month, mentally and emotionally. I didn’t want to be around anyone. It was almost to the point where guys were getting to do what I couldn’t, and I didn’t want to bring negative energy around the building and around the guys with the season that they were going to have.

It was really tough for me, but I got around the right people, I started praying a lot, started getting my life back on track. I really fell in love with stuff outside of the game, because up until this point, football was my life ever since I was six years old. If football didn’t work out, I had absolutely no idea what I was gonna do. But I kind of just found love outside of the game, and that brought my love for the game back and I started training harder and started to get back to where I am now.

On if he was surprised by the defense’s performance despite all the injuries…
At first, I would have to say when I went down and Isaiah [Moore] went down, I was like, “eh,” but guys like Drake Thomas, he’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever seen. He’s like Devin Leary, he’s so poised. If we’re down by 50, if we’re up by 50, if it’s a one-possession game. Then you’ve got guys like Tanner [Ingle] who bring that energy every game and he’s the type where the people around him play better.

I think one thing that really helped us most this year is the coaches really preached next man up. Obviously at NC State, we’ve had to play with some injuries, so if you’re the next man up you just have to have that mentality that there’s no dropoff.

On how the team stayed motivated after a tough 2019 season…
In 2019 we had talent, and I think one thing that NC State does a great job of is remembering 2019. Obviously we’ve had two decent years, not what we wanted since we came short both years, but I think that 2019 season still drives us. Because you’re always a few injuries from that 2019 season, and I think that hunger that we bring every day, we don’t have that mentality of ‘oh we were one game from the ACC Championship.’ We have that mentality of ‘We’re still underdogs, we still have so much to prove.’ I think that’s why we come in and work so hard each day and why I really believe so many guys came back. They know everyone is here to work, we’re all here for the same mission.

On how important it is to be able to lean on so much experience because often now State is the hunted...
It’s tough, it’s definitely tough. There’s social media out there, you guys do y’alls jobs. We hear the hype, we hear everything. Obviously, guys in the locker room start to [acknowledge] that yeah we’re good, we know we’re good. But we still have to [have] as coach Doeren calls it, a blue-collar mentality. We still have to keep our head down every day and work no matter what, no matter the talent we’ve got. Because all 150 other D-1 college football teams are working just as hard as we are no matter the season that they had.

On it not being as simple as being good on paper and how there is a fine line between winning and losing…
A lot of it has to do with discipline. Every team has talent, in 2019 we had talent but we went 4-8. People saw the talent that we had, but it’s college football, anything can happen on every given day. It’s just about being disciplined and coming out with that same mentality. No matter who it is, we’re gonna beat them.

On how he’s feeling physically…
I’m actually starting to feel really good, almost close to back to my normal self. This was a pretty extensive shoulder injury, but I’ve done well with the people that have been working with me and doing my rehab. I won’t be doing spring ball, but I’ll be doing individual drills and stuff. We’re really excited to get into spring ball, excited to see some of the position battles. I’m excited to see some of the older guys get better, some of the younger guys get better.

On some of the younger guys who he’s been impressed by…
I think Caden Fordham, the will linebacker that plays under me right now. He’s almost similar to my play style, he has a motor that doesn’t stop, he’s very angry on the field and he makes a lot of plays. He works out with me and Drake every day, and he’s getting bigger, stronger, faster. I really like his future here at NC State.

On if this team has good camaraderie…
We’re all so close. Even going back to 2020, covid really hurt a lot of teams but for us we became very close. Coaches weren’t able to really instruct us, so we had to do things on our own. We had guys leading the whole team. We’re such a close team, man. When you go into certain locker rooms, it’s very cliquey. There’s six people hanging out with these six people, you know? On our team you walk in and we’ve got specialists hanging out with wide receivers, DBs hanging out with receivers. It’s awesome.

On if he’s a big film guy…
At NC State, even right now at 9 a.m. this morning, coach Gibson had us in the film room watching film and going over installs. My position room alone might be one of the oldest in the country. We’ve got me, Drake and Isaiah but we’re still going back to the basics, learning every single detail of the defense.

On the linebacker group’s instincts on the field…
Isaiah and Drake are similar, but I’m in a completely different world than both of them. A lot of my plays are made off instincts, but the two people that I play beside are two of the smartest people I’ve ever played with. For example, I stand right beside Isaiah, if the formation walks out, he tells you what run is coming.

On his final winning play of the game against Syracuse in 2020…
We were in a drop eight, we were in a prevent defense trying not to let anyone in the end zone. And then my zone, I had absolutely no one near me and that quarterback had no read, there was no way he was gonna throw the ball anytime soon. So I just took off and made the sack, and luckily he spiked it on fourth down. A lot of that is just instincts, and sometimes it does get me in trouble, I’ve made a lot of mistakes that have cost the defense. But instincts are one of my best strengths.

On balancing his instincts with Drake Thomas and Isaiah Moore’s styles of play…
Sometimes I get angry, the fans have seen it, I get out of my head and I get real emotional. But I’ve got the two calmest guys on the team beside me right there and likewise. If something is going wrong and they need my energy, I bring a lot of energy to give them. We work so well, we’ve played so many reps together. It’s really awesome.

On how important the NIL is…
It’s really awesome what you guys are doing. We really appreciate it. A lot of people I don’t think truly understand, I think they have the wrong idea about NIL; that we’re already on a pedestal and people are just giving us money because we play college football.

But for me, my NIL deals, I don’t just get paid. I meet someone, I do something for their company. We’re all willing to work for money, we’re not just out here asking people for money. If you think about it, a lot of these kids, I’m blessed to have two great parents, but some of these kids have nothing. They come from nothing and the only thing they’re living off of is a free education. Giving them a little deal that they have to do some work for can put food in their pockets for a weekend. Guys can take their game to the next level because they’re getting the right nutrition, they’re getting the right training.

Another thing about NIL that people don’t really understand is how heavily it affects recruiting. NC State could become one of the best schools in the country or it could start dropping based on how [many] NIL deals are coming through here. That’s a deciding factor in a lot of high school kids’ decisions, how much money they’re gonna make. Which is smart, it’s very smart.