NC State's Payton Wilson named Defensive Player of Year as All-ACC team unveiled

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson was the unanimous choice as the Associated Press defensive player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference for 2023 while Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis was named as the league's top offensive player.

Wilson, a 6-4, 238 linebacker from Hillsborough, did it all for a stingy Wolfpack defense. He tallied a league-best 138 tackles, six sacks, forced a fumble, recovered two more, and intercepted three passes, returning one for a touchdown.

Travis' selection in voting by 14 media members who cover the conference headlined a haul of honors for the fourth-ranked Seminoles. That included Mike Norvell as coach of the year, Michigan State transfer receiver Keon Coleman as the league's top newcomer, and FSU claiming 13 positions on the AP's All-ACC first and second teams.

Travis was a second-team pick at quarterback last year behind North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, who was the offensive player of the year. They flipped positions this year, with Travis the unanimous first-team pick while Maye was the second-team pick on all 14 ballots.

Travis - who accounted for 27 touchdowns - was joined by Wilson, North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton and Virginia receiver Malik Washington as unanimous first-team picks. Wilson ranked fifth in the Bowl Subdivision with 11.5 tackles per game, Hampton was No. 5 in rushing (120.2 yards) and Washington was No. 2 in receiving (118.8).

FSU's 13 All-ACC picks, including Coleman being voted as both receiver and as all-purpose player, were more than twice the totals by UNC and Miami (six each) as the next-closest teams.

Duke and No. 16 Louisville each had four All-ACC picks.

The 2023 Associated Press All-Atlantic Coast Conference team, as selected by a panel of 14 sports writers who regularly cover the league. Players at all positions are listed alphabetically with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown; "u-" denotes unanimous selections:

First team

Offense

u_QB - Jordan Travis, Florida State, 6-1, 212, R-Sr., West Palm Beach, Florida

u_RB - Omarion Hampton, North Carolina, 6-0, 220, So., Clayton, North Carolina

RB - Jawhar Jordan, Louisville, 5-10, 185, R-Jr., Long Island, New York

u_WR - Malik Washington, Virginia, 5-8, 194, grad., Lawrenceville, Georgia

WR - Keon Coleman, Florida State, 6-4, 215, Jr., Opelousas, Louisiana

TE - Bryson Nesbit, North Carolina, 6-5, 235, Jr., Charlotte, North Carolina

OT - Darius Washington, Florida State, 6-4, 306, R-Jr., Pensacola, Florida

OT - Graham Barton, Duke, 6-5, 314, Sr., Brentwood, Tennessee

OG - D'Mitri Emmanuel, Florida State, 6-2, 309, R-Sr., Charlotte, North Carolina

OG - Christian Mahogany, Boston College, 6-3, 322, grad., Elmwood Park, New Jersey

C - Bryan Hudson, Louisville, 6-5, 305, R-Sr., Georgetown, Kentucky

PK - Andres Borregales, Miami, 5-11, 170, Jr., Miami

All-purpose - Keon Coleman, Florida State, 6-4, 215, Jr., Opelousas, Louisiana

Defense

DE - Ashton Gillotte, Louisville, 6-3, 270, Jr., Boca Raton, Florida

DE - Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Virginia Tech, 6-3, 244, Jr., Portsmouth, Virginia

DT - Tyler Davis, Clemson, 6-2, 300, Sr., Apopka, Florida

DT - DeWayne Carter, Duke, 6-3, 305, R-Sr., Pickerington, Ohio

u_LB - Payton Wilson, North Carolina State, 6-4, 238, grad., Hillsborough, North Carolina

LB - Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson, 6-0, 230, Jr., Hainesport, New Jersey

LB - Cedric Gray, North Carolina, 6-2, 235, Sr., Charlotte, North Carolina

CB - Elijah Jones, Boston College, 6-2, 184, grad., Harlem, New York

CB - Nate Wiggins, Clemson, 6-2, 185, Jr., Atlanta

S - Kamren Kinchens, Miami, 6-0, 205, Jr., Miami

S - Jonas Sanker, Virginia, 6-1, 210, Jr., Charlottesville, Virginia

P - Porter Wilson, Duke, 6-5, 231, grad., Akron, Ohio

Second team

Offense

QB - Drake Maye, North Carolina, 6-4, 230, So., Huntersville, North Carolina

RB - Trey Benson, Florida State, 6-1, 223, R-Jr., Greenville, Mississippi

RB - LeQuint Allen, Syracuse, 6-0, 195, So., Millville, New Jersey

WR - Xavier Restrepo, Miami, 5-10, 198, Jr., Coconut Creek, Florida

WR - Jamari Thrash, Louisville, 6-1, 185, R-Jr., LaGrange, Georgia

TE - Jaheim Bell, Florida State, 6-3, 239, R-Jr., Lake City, Florida

OT - Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College, 6-8, 313, R-Jr., Norwell, Massachusetts

OT - Jalen Rivers, Miami, 6-5, 325, R-So., Jacksonville, Florida

OG - Michael Jurgens, Wake Forest, 6-4, 311, R-Sr., Damascus, Maryland

OG - Jacob Monk, Duke, 6-3, 320, grad., Clayton, North Carolina

C - Matt Lee, Miami, 6-4, 295, R-Jr., Oviedo, Florida

PK - Noah Burnette, North Carolina, 5-10, 175, Jr., Raleigh, North Carolina

All-purpose - Kevin "KC" Concepcion, North Carolina State, 5-11, 187, Fr., Charlotte, North Carolina

Defense

DE - Jared Verse, Florida State, 6-4, 260, R-Jr., Dayton, Ohio

DE - Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina, 6-1, 265, Sr., Hartwell, Georgia

DT - Braden Fiske, Florida State, 6-5, 297, R-Sr., Michigan City, Indiana

DT - Joshua Farmer, Florida State, 6-3, 311, R-So., Port St. Joe, Florida

LB - Kalen DeLoach, Florida State, 6-1, 212, R-Sr., Savannah, Georgia

LB - Marlowe Wax, Syracuse, 6-1, 230, Jr., Baltimore

LB - Francisco Mauigoa, Miami, 6-3, 230, Jr., Ili'ili, American Samoa

CB - M.J. Devonshire, Pittsburgh, 5-11, 190, R-Sr., Aliquippa, Pennsylvania

CB - Renardo Green, Florida State, 6-0, 186, R-Sr., Orlando, Florida

S - Malik Mustapha, Wake Forest, 5-11, 207, Jr., Charlotte, North Carolina

S - Jaylon King, Georgia Tech, 6-1, 193, R-Sr., La Vergne, Tennessee

P - Alex Mastromanno, Florida State, 6-1, 235, R-Jr., Melbourne, Australia

• Coach of the Year - Mike Norvell, Florida State

• Offensive Player of the Year - Jordan Travis, Florida State

• Defensive Player of the Year - Payton Wilson, N.C. State

• Newcomer of the Year -- Keon Coleman, Florida State

The voting panel:

Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville (North Carolina) Observer/USA Today Network; Chad Bishop, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV, Louisville, Kentucky; Jerry DiPaola, Tribune Total Media, Pittsburgh; Chapel Fowler, The State, Columbia, South Carolina; Trevor Hass, The Boston Globe/Boston.com; Emily Leiker, Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard, Syracuse, New York; Adam Lichtenstein, South Florida Sun Sentinel; Greg Madia, The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia; Brian Murphy, WRALsportsfan.com, Raleigh, North Carolina; Kate Rogerson, WTVD/ABC-11, Durham, North Carolina; David Teel, Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch; Jack Williams, Tallahassee (Florida) Democrat; Steve Wiseman, The Herald-Sun, Durham, North Carolina/The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina

The Associated Press contributed.