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

Tuesday, December 5, 2023
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.

NC State's Payton Wilson was named top defender in the ACC.

Ben McKeown



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.

North Carolina's Omarion Hampton led the ACC in rushing yardage.

Nell Redmond



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

Duke defensive tackle DeWayne Carter was first-team All-ACC defense.

Ben McKeown



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.
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