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Is Payton Wilson the Best Linebacker in the Country?

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On November 6th, the 12 semifinalists were announced for the 2023 Butkus Award, which is awarded annually to the best Linebacker in College Football. NC State’s Payton Wilson was 1 of 12 selected.

No Wolfpack player has ever won the Butkus Award. Levar Fisher was also a semifinalist in 2001.

When you compare Wilson to the other 11 semifinalists, where does he stack up? Is he the best Linebacker in the nation?

Below you will find a statistical comparison of all 12 semifinalists heading into Week 12.

Currently, Wilson has the 2nd highest PFF Grade behind Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter. He trails Trotter by a tenth of a point. Trotter also has 1 more tackle for loss and 0.5 more sacks, but Wilson has 41 more tackles.

Wilson has the 2nd most tackles behind Iowa’s Jay Higgins, who has 121. With that being said, Wilson beats him in every other category.

UNC’s Cedric Gray has one more solo stop than Wilson, but that’s really the only thing he has on him.

Just looking at numbers, and not looking at film, there is an extremely good case to be made that Wilson’s the most well rounded Linebacker of the 12 semifinalists, but there are still 3 games remaining.

Payton Wilson 

PFF Grade – 85.9
Tackles – 112 (53 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 12
Sacks – 4
Interceptions – 2
Pass Breakups – 6
Fumble Recoveries – 2
Fumbles Forced – 0
Touchdowns – 1

Jeremiah Trotter (Clemson)

PFF Grade – 86.4
Tackles – 71 (44 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 13
Sacks – 4.5
Interceptions – 2
Pass Breakups – 4
Forced Fumbles – 2
Fumble Recoveries – 0
Touchdowns – 0

Edefuan Ulofoshio (Washington)

PFF Grade – 83.9
Tackles – 65 (45 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 4.5
Sacks – 2
Interceptions – 1
Pass Breakups – 1
Forced Fumbles – 1
Fumble Recoveries – 0
Touchdowns – 1

Jay Higgins (Iowa)

PFF Grade – 83.7
Tackles – 121 (51 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 3.5
Sacks – 1
Interceptions – 1
Pass Breakups – 3
Forced Fumbles – 1
Fumble Recoveries – 1
Touchdowns – 0

Tommy Eichenberg (Ohio State)

PFF Grade – 63.2
Tackles – 73 (37 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 2.5
Sacks – 1
Interceptions – 0
Pass Breakups – 0
Fumble Recoveries – 0
Fumbles Forced – 1
Touchdowns – 0

Jaylan Ford (Texas)

PFF Grade – 66.8
Tackles – 74 (36 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 10
Sacks – 1
Interceptions – 2
Pass Breakups – 1
Fumble Recoveries – 1
Fumbles Forced – 1
Touchdowns – 0

Cedric Gray (UNC)

PFF Grade – 75.4
Tackles – 96 (54 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 10
Sacks – 4.5
Interceptions – 1
Pass Breakups – 3
Fumble Recoveries – 2
Forced Fumbles – 2
Touchdowns – 0

Ty’Ron Hopper (Missouri)

PFF Grade – 51.5
Tackles – 55 (36 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 6
Sacks – 3
Interceptions – 0
Pass Breakups – 3
Forced Fumbles – 0
Fumble Recoveries – 0
Touchdowns – 0

Curtis Jacobs (Penn State)

PFF Grade – 65.8
Tackles – 43 (28 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 6.5
Sacks – 1
Interceptions – 0
Pass Breakups – 0
Forced Fumbles – 0
Fumble Recoveries – 2
Touchdowns – 0

Deontae Lawson (Alabama)

PFF Grade – 68.4
Tackles – 52 (22 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 3.5
Sacks – 2
Interceptions – 0
Pass Breakups – 2
Forced Fumbles –  0
Fumble Recoveries – 0
Touchdowns – 0

Marist Liufau (Notre Dame)

PFF Grade – 75.1
Tackles – 38 (21 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 3.5
Sacks – 2.5
Interceptions – 0
Pass Breakups – 2
Forced Fumbles – 1
Fumble Recoveries – 1
Touchdowns – 0

Nathaniel Watson (Mississippi St.)

PFF Grade – 68.7
Tackles – 95 (30 solo)
Tackles for Loss – 11
Sacks – 9
Interceptions – 1
Pass Breakups – 2
Forced Fumbles – 1
Fumble Recoveries – 2
Touchdowns – 0

 

 

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Does the Addition of the UVA Series Equal the Elimination of NC State’s Series with App St.?

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Earlier this week it was announced that NC State and Virginia would play one another in a home-and-home series, with the Wolfpack hosting in 2025, and the Cavaliers hosting in 2026.

Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.

As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.

It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.

I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.

This situation brings to mind the bill that has been proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play App St., ECU and UNC Charlotte in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball.

If the addition of UVA means the elimination of App St. on NC State’s schedule, what are your thoughts? Share in the comments.

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CBS Sports Ranks Dave Doeren as 1 of the Top-20 Coaches in College Football

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CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.

16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)

Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.

ACC Coaches that made the Top-25

3. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

8. Mike Norvell (FSU)

16. Dave Doeren (NC State)

19. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

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NC State vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

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Kickoff time and TV Channel details have been revealed for NC State and Tennessee’s game in the Duke Mayo Classic in Week 2 of next season.

The game will be a primetime game on Saturday 7th, at 7:30pm on ABC.

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This game has the makings to be a Top-25 matchup.

Here’s a look at some of the Way-Too-Early Preseason rankings for the Wolfpack and the Volunteers:

Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17

ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15

247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11

ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15

DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.

Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.

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NC State Football

NC State and UVA Agree to Home-and-Home Non-Conference Games

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NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.

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To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.

Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.

It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.

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