Linebacker Payton Wilson is Day-to-Day

Wolfpack Head Football Coach Dave Doeren shared at his weekly press conference today that Redshirt Junior Linebacker Payton Wilson is day-to-day after leaving the game with shoulder soreness in the season opener against ECU.

“Payton Wilson’s MRI came back completely clean. That’s just going to be time. He’s sore, but there’s nothing that’s damaged as far as the shoulder goes other than he’s sore. Hasn’t played football in over a year that way. So, we’re going to give him a chance and it’s a day-to-day recovery. I don’t know more than that. Time is really the biggest thing but the positive is it’s not a season ending. It’s not a surgical type repair. He just needs time to kind of rest up on it a little bit.

The guy’s been through so much with the knees and the shoulders. He’s one of the most elite, competitive spirits I’ve ever coached. With the way he looks at the game, the warrior’s mentality he has for playing the game, and the physicality he likes to play the game with, he’s a lot different than other people. I’m not saying other people don’t play hard, they do, but he’s a warrior. It hurts him not to be able to play the game the way he wants to play it. As far as when he’ll be back, I don’t know. I’m not going to rush that. I want him to be at peace and not worried. I’ll let him, the doctors, and trainers tell me when he’s ready to go. The good news is that it’s not a surgical injury. It’s not a long-term thing probably. He was in my office a little bit ago, and he’s not in a sling. He’s walking around normally. It makes your heart feel good that way. We’ll just have to be patient and not rush the process. (GoPack)

Wilson only played in 2 games last season, after suffering a season ending shoulder injury. Though he plays with reckless abandon, and is always a little dinged up, in 2019 and 2020, Wilson played 21 combined games over the two seasons, playing double-digit games both years. In both seasons Wilson led NC State in tackles, and led the ACC in 2020.

Wilson is an essential part of this 2022 team. For the sake of this season, and Wilson’s future, taking their time with this is wise.