Photo by Nicholas Faulkner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The Steelers have a whole pack of Wolfpack Wilsons. Turns out NFL teams were pretty concerned about Payton Wilson’s injury history, as the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year nearly slipped into day three of the draft. But the Steelers pulled the trigger on him late in the third round, at No. 98 overall. Seems like pretty good value to me. Wilson is the fourth player selected by Pittsburgh in the draft through day two, and the Steelers’ first defensive pick. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin spoke about the selection afterward, and when asked what stood out about Wilson, he responded, “speed; he can really go.” DC Teryl Austin spoke to the media about LB Payton Wilson: pic.twitter.com/edPcBg541n— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 27, 2024 NFL reporter Ian Rapoport explained that teams were concerned by the shoulder surgery Wilson had, which apparently “was not a great operation,” and the fact that Wilson doesn’t have an ACL in one knee. The latter was definitely news to me. Maybe the removal of one ACL is what unlocked his powers, though, did anyone consider that? Obviously, there are not 97 guys in this draft better than Payton Wilson at football, so the injury concerns wound up giving Pittsburgh a potential steal. The draft slide stinks for Payton because it cost him money, but he landed in a good place, and if his health holds up like it did in 2023, he’ll be just fine.

#21 NC State convincingly defeated Ball State 10-2 in the series opener in Raleigh this evening. Senior Sam Highfill pitched a Quality Start against the Cardinals, giving up 2 earned runs in 6 innings, while striking out 6. The Quality Start was Highfill’s 3rd of the season, and his record on the year is now […] The post #21 NC State Convincingly Wins Series Opener Against Ball State 10-2 appeared first on Pack Insider.

NC State has signed Dave Doeren to a 2-year extension, but the extension comes with a raise. Doeren’s base salary in 2023 was $5.02 million. According to Brian Murphy of WRALSports Fan, Doeren’s salary in 2024 will be $5.5 million, and it will increase by $125,000 each year of the contract. He can earn $1.325 […] The post Details of Dave Doeren’s New Contract at NC State appeared first on Pack Insider.

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images Carolina continues its homestand against Virginia Tech. After a disappointing weekend in Raleigh, the North Carolina Tar Heels are back in Chapel Hill for a 10-game homestand. Below is the upcoming weekend schedule against Virginia Tech: With the 2-1 loss to NC State, UNC dropped in the rankings: D1Baseball.com: 15 (-4) Baseball America: 12 (-1) NCBWA: 14 (-3) USA Today Coaches Poll: 14 (-3) Perfect Game: 15 (-5) On Tuesday night, Carolina hosted Gardner-Webb. After two scoreless innings to start the game, the Runnin’ Bulldogs tallied a couple of runs to take the early lead. However, these were the last runs GWU would score. Two innings later, UNC got on the board with a Gavin Gallaher RBI double to left. Later in the inning, the Tar Heels rallied with two outs and a Vance Honeycutt single through the left side plated Gallaher to tie the game. Alex Madera scored Parks Harber on a sacrifice fly to left in the bottom of the sixth. In the next inning, Anthony Donofrio scored on an error by Gardner-Webb, then Harber tallied an RBI for the eventual 5-2 victory. 5-2! pic.twitter.com/XOMq0kdrhp— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) April 24, 2024 After allowing five hits and two runs in the first three innings, the Carolina pitching staff held Gardner-Webb scoreless over the final six innings. Three pitchers, Matthew Matthijs, Connor Bovair, and Dalton Pence combined to strike out eight and allow just four hits. UNC shuts out the Bulldogs over the final 6.1 innings to rally for the win. pic.twitter.com/kR9twRWVrn— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) April 24, 2024 Virginia Tech (26-12, 12-9) is performing much better than their preseason expectations. The Hokies were picked to finish 11th in the ACC preseason poll. With less than a month from the ACC Baseball Championship, VT has the same conference record as ranked Virginia and is just three games back of Carolina for the Coastal Division lead. Although no longer ranked, Virginia Tech were ranked as high as no. 11 in early April. Fueling the Hokies’ success is the offense. Virginia Tech is fourth in team batting average (.321) and leads the conference in home runs (78). Center fielder Ben Watson is second in the ACC with a .412 batting average and ranks fourth with 63 hits. Third baseman Carson DeMartini is tied for the conference lead with 17 home runs and is seventh with a .745 slugging percentage. On the mound, VT is fifth in the ACC in team ERA. A contender for Freshman Pitcher of the Year is Brett Renfrow. The righty ranks sixth in the ACC in ERA (3.50), opposing batting average (.214), and innings pitched (54.0). Renfrow has five wins on the season. Below are the individual leaders for UNC: Batting (minimum 2 PA/G and 75% of games played): Batting average: .372 - Gavin Gallaher (10th in ACC) Slugging percentage: .683 - Parks Harber Home runs: 16 - Vance Honeycutt (T-5th in ACC) RBI: 56 - Casey Cook (2nd in ACC) Hits: 56 - Casey Cook Runs: 56 - Vance Honeycutt (T-1st in ACC) On-base percentage: .447 - Gavin Gallaher Stolen bases: 22 - Vance Honeycutt (3rd in ACC) Pitching (minimum 1 IP/G): ERA: 3.71 - Shea Sprague (8th in ACC) Strikeouts: 43 - Jason DeCaro Innings pitched: 49.0 - Jason DeCaro Wins: 11 - Matthew Matthijs (1st in ACC) Saves: 4 - Matt Poston (T-5th in ACC) Opposing Batting Average: .240 - Jason DeCaro (10th in ACC)