Orange High School football star Payton Wilson announced Friday evening that he has committed to play next year for head coach Dave Doeren at NC State.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound outside linebacker–ranked No. 3 nationally at his position by 24/7 Sports–had previously committed to play at UNC.

A torn ACL prematurely ended Wilson’s high school playing career eight games into his senior season at Orange, and led him to re-open his recruitment. During those eight games, the U.S. Army All-American posted a whopping 103 tackles and 10 sacks.

This decision was made as the Wolfpack were rising into the AP Top 25 and the Tar Heels were in the midst of their worst season since 2006.

Other schools that pursued Wilson include: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Clemson and Virginia Tech.

Wilson officially made his decision after an in-home visit from Doeren, who just recently received a five-year, $15 million extension from NC State after turning down the same job at Tennessee.

He was also on the Wolfpack sidelines at Carter-Finley Stadium during their 33-21 victory last Saturday over UNC.

 

 

Photo via Ross Martin (Inside Carolina/ 24/7 Sports)

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