Wilson and Concepcion Take Home ACC Player of the Year Honors
11/29/2023 4:05:00 PM | Football
Payton Wilson Named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, KC Concepcion Named Rookie and Offensive Rookie of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – NC State earned a pair of ACC Player of the Year Awards, with linebacker Payton Wilson named the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year and Kevin "KC" Concepcion taking home the ACC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year awards, the league announced Wednesday.
Wilson is just the third Wolfpack player to win the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award since it was awarded in 1993. Wilson joins Bradley Chubb (2017) and Levar Fisher (2000) to win the honor.
Concepcion becomes the 10th NC State member to be honored with ACC Rookie of the Year honors, but is the first to win the award since Russell Wilson in 2008.
A dominant defensive season saw Wilson named ACC linebacker of the month five times, the most by any player in that position. He has led the Wolfpack in tackles in 10 of 12 games this season, totaling 138 to lead the conference, 17 more than the next closest player. Wilson also leads the conference in tackles for loss with 17.5. His tackle numbers rank fifth in the FBS, while he ranks sixth in tackles for loss.
He is a finalist for three national awards following his stellar season: the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Dick Butkus Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
Of 24 Power 5 defenders who played at least 75 snaps as a pass rusher and 250 in coverage this season, Wilson has the best tackle rate, is tied for fourth in sacks, boasts the most run stuffs (tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage), the most TFLs, is tied for the most takeaways (5), has the most passes defended (8) and has the most tackles.
The Hillsborough, N.C., native has been one of three players since 2018 with 100 tackles, 15 TFL, five sacks, and 3 INTs in a season (Jett Johnson, Miss St, 2023 & Devin Lloyd, Utah, 2021)
He ranks second in the ACC in TD receptions with 10 – the top mark in the FBS for a freshman (t14th overall). The true freshman ranks third in the ACC in receptions per game (64 total receptions) and ranks second nationally among freshmen.
Both Wilson and Concepcion saw their names on All-ACC teams with Wilson being named First Team All-ACC and Concepcion being named to the second team.
