Orange High star who spurned UNC commits to NC State

HILLSBOROUGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- A week of good news for NC State football got even better on Friday as Payton Wilson, one of the top prep linebackers in the country, announced that he committed to NC State.

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Wilson, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered earlier this season while playing for Orange High School, is ranked by ESPN as the No. 2 outside linebacker in the country. He was recently honored as a US Army All-American.

The Wolfpack's good week also included head coach Dave Doeren flirting with the head coaching job at Tennessee before deciding to remain in Raleigh and signing a new contract. NC State defensive lineman Bradley Chubb was also named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Wilson, a consensus four-star recruit was originally committed to play for Larry Fedora at North Carolina but decommited recently, citing misgivings about fitting in on the Chapel Hill campus.

Wilson told InsidePackSports that he fits in at NC State because "I'm a country guy who loves to play hard-nosed football, and that's what they are about there. They care about football at State. They don't just go to watch until basketball season."

Wilson also visited Notre Dame back on the weekend of November 17. He reportedly also considered Clemson and Ohio State.