FootballScoop is proud to announce that Tony Gibson (NC State) is the 2023 FootballScoop Linebackers Coaches of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
NC State enjoyed one of the best seasons in school history in 2023, thanks in large part to one of the best players in school history.
Linebacker Payton Wilson collected 138 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and three interceptions.
One of two players nationally to rank among the top 12 in tackles and tackles for loss, Wilson topped the 10-tackle mark in 10 of his 12 games. He posted 14 against Notre Dame, 13 in a win at Virginia, 14 in a defeat of Marshall, careered with 16 stops versus Miami, and closed his Wolfpack career with 15 tackles in a win over North Carolina.
Wilson's numbers were even more impressive when cast against the rest of his career. He missed most of 2021 with a shoulder injury, and in 2022 finished 15th in the conference in tackles and did not make an All-ACC team.
A year later, Wilson led the conference in tackles and was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The Hillsborough, N.C., native also won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, and was among a fraternity of just 14 members to win unanimous All-American honors.
Elsewhere, senior Jaylon Scott finished second on the club with 74 tackles, while sophomore Caden Fordham finished fifth with 53 stops. Junior Devon Betty collected 33 stops as well.
As a unit, NC State finished fourth in the country on third downs (27.8 percent), tied for 12th in takeaways, and 24th in scoring.
Also NC State's defensive coordinator, Gibson played defensive back at Glenville State from 1991-94. He began coaching at a West Virginia high school before returning to his alma mater in 1996. Subsequent stops led him to Cumberland University, West Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Michigan, Pitt, Arizona, and West Virginia again before joining Dave Doeren's staff in 2019.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Matt Brock [Mississippi State], Jim Knowles [Ohio State], Blake Seiler and Kevin Smith [Old Dominion], Seth Wallace [Iowa] and Gibson) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the Linebackers Coach of the Year award are Bill McGovern (Boston College, 2008), Bob Fraser (Rutgers, 2009), Luke Fickell (Ohio State, 2010), Dave Huxtable (Wisconsin, 2011), Bob Gregory (Boise State, 2012), Jim Reid and LeVar Woods (Iowa, 2013), Jeff Casteel (Arizona, 2014), Dave Aranda and Tim Tibesear (Wisconsin, 2015), Mike Siravo (Temple, 2016), Tyson Veidt (Iowa State, 2017), Dave Aranda (LSU, 2018), Tim DeRuyter and Peter Sirmon (Cal, 2019), Joe Gillespie (Tulsa, 2020), Caleb Collins and Ron Roberts (Baylor, 2021) and Seth Wallace (Iowa, 2022).
Since 1965, the AstroTurf brand has been driven by forward thinking ingenuity. Today AstroTurf continuously improves its system design to deliver playing surfaces with the most realistic, sport-specific performance, longest lasting durability, and sound player protection. For more information please visit AstroTurf.com.
Created in 1999, FootballScoop.com is the premier source for coaching job information and has long been the most widely viewed website by coaches, athletic directors, strength & conditioning coaches, operations and equipment staff across America. As the leading coaching job information venue, FootballScoop.com serves our viewers’ needs by providing first hand, timely & accurate information for our audience. FootballScoop.com is the premier provider of official job postings for thousands of football programs across this great country.
