Payton Wilson: There’s a famous scene in the 1989 film “Lethal Weapon 2” where detective Martin Riggs, portrayed by Mel Gibson, dislocates his shoulder in order to escape a straight jacket and win side bets in the police office. If case you don’t date that far back in the Lethal Weapon canon:
In a more discreet way, former Orange High linebacker Payton Wilson did the same thing against Georgia Tech on December 5 in Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Except Wilson dislocated both of his shoulders in the first half. Despite playing a season-low 53 snaps, Wilson made eleven tackles as the Wolfpack defeated the Yellow Jackets 23-13 to finish the regular season 8-3. Wilson was named ACC Linebacker of the Week for the fourth time this season.
This season, Wilson leads N.C. State with 108 tackles. He also leads the team in tackles for loss (11.5) and interceptions (two). This week, the All-ACC team will be announced and Wilson is expected to make the first-team as a redshirt sophomore.
Wilson had a season-high 19 tackles on October 17 against Duke. He has had double-digit tackles in seven of N.C. State’s eleven games (Wilson didn’t play against Virginia Tech on September 26.) He recorded at least ten tackles in each of State’s final five games.
Trenton Gill: The redshirt junior who played football and soccer at Cedar Ridge has been N.C. State’s punter for the second straight season. Gill was named second-team preseason All-ACC by Athlon. This season, Gill had 49 punts for a 44.8 yard average. His longest was 62 yards against North Carolina on October 24. He also had a 60-yard punt in a win against Pittsburgh on October 3 at Heinz Field. Gill had 15 punts travel 50 yards or longer. He had 17 downed inside the 20-yard line.
As placekicker, Gill had 64 kickoffs. Only one went out of bounds. N.C. State is expected to accept a bowl bid later this week after winning seven ACC games this season, the most conference wins in school history. The Wolfpack also closed the season with four straight wins for the first time since 2008.
Keyshawn Thompson: With many teams in the Football Championship Subdivision waiting until the spring to play a full-fledged regular season because of the pandemic, Campbell University played four games this fall, racking up plenty of mileage along the way. The Camels went 0-4 against Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina and Wake Forest. Thompson, a redshirt junior, earned his first career start against Coastal Carolina. Against the Chanticleers, he had a career-high four tackles. He also had 2 tackles, including one-half tackle for loss, against Georgia Southern. He finished the year with nine tackles.
Campbell coach Mike Minter said the Camels would not play in the spring. The Camels next game will be September 4 against Liberty in Lynchburg, VA.
Colin Guentensberger: A redshirt freshman walk-on for the Appalachian State football team, Guentensberger has not played in a game this season for the Mountaineers. Appalachian completed its regular season with a 34-26 victory at Georgia Southern on Saturday night. After finishing 8-3, Appalachian accepted a bid to the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl on Sunday night. The Mountaineers will face North Texas at Brooks Field on December 21. Appalachian has won four straight bowl games.
Connor Crabtree: Crabtree made his debut for the Richmond Spiders on Sunday. The former Orange Panther, who transferred to Richmond after spending his freshman year at Tulane, played one minute in an 87-71 loss to #11 West Virginia on Sunday in at the WVU Coliseum. Crabtree hit a three-pointer, his only shot from the field. He finished with five points and two rebounds. Crabtree, a redshirt sophomore, missed Richmond’s first four games as he recovered from two hip surgeries earlier this year. To open the year, Richmond upset #10 Kentucky 76-64 on November 29 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.