Speaker 1: With the ninety eighth pick in the twenty twenty four
Speaker 1: NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Peyton Wilson, mine backer
Speaker 1: NC States.
Speaker 2: Peyton Wilson just shutting the door.
Speaker 3: I want to tackle by Peyton Wilson. He's over double
Speaker 3: digits from a tackle standpoint for the fifth time this season.
Speaker 2: Love mixed Patton Wilson.
Speaker 3: Stand at C State. Hey, welcome to Pittsburgh and congratulations.
Speaker 3: I know you talked about Bill Kauer after you were drafted.
Speaker 4: You have a chance to catch up with him at all.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he sent me a few texts. We text back
Speaker 2: and forth, just you know, congratulating me, and you know,
Speaker 2: I was just thanking him for all his you know,
Speaker 2: wisdom and con words and encouragement over the last few years.
Speaker 2: Got to know him pretty well over the last few years,
Speaker 2: you know, with the n C State connection and now
Speaker 2: you know, Pittsburgh Steeler connection.
Speaker 4: What's the best advice he gave you?
Speaker 2: You know, just to continue to stay focused and continue
Speaker 2: to you know, be the hard worker that I am.
Speaker 2: You know, every day, just come in and be the
Speaker 2: same person. Don't change no matter how well or how
Speaker 2: bad it goes. Just continue to work hard. And keep
Speaker 2: your head down and try to be the best that
Speaker 2: you can be.
Speaker 3: Five ten years from now, when you think about the
Speaker 3: day you were drafted, what's the one snapshot that's always
Speaker 3: going to be in the back.
Speaker 4: Of your mind.
Speaker 2: Just the people I was celebrating it with. You know,
Speaker 2: I'm not the flashiest person in the world. To just
Speaker 2: having my parents, my mom, my dad, and my girlfriend.
Speaker 2: They are the people that mean, you know, the most
Speaker 2: to me in the world. Just you know, that memory
Speaker 2: will always be in my head. And you know, talking
Speaker 2: to coach Tomlin on the phone, it was I mean,
Speaker 2: it's a childhood dream, So I mean it's a moment
Speaker 2: that I'll never forget.
Speaker 4: You know, it's not a life you strike.
Speaker 2: You are our type of guy and glad to work out.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 2: We're just excited about getting up here.
Speaker 3: You're familiar with Pittsburgh because of your brother when he
Speaker 3: played for the Pirates. What do you know about the
Speaker 3: city and is there anything that really.
Speaker 4: Stood out just the times you've had a chance to
Speaker 4: visit here.
Speaker 2: I mean, the only things that really stood out to
Speaker 2: me was, I mean, it's a super clean city. My
Speaker 2: brother stayed in the Strip District, so I know that
Speaker 2: over there really well. I think there's like a breakfast
Speaker 2: diner called Kelly Oh's that we really enjoyed. But you know,
Speaker 2: just super excited to be back here and you know,
Speaker 2: get to explore it myself.
Speaker 3: Patrick Queens seems pretty excited when the Steelers drafted you.
Speaker 3: Have you touch base with him or any of the
Speaker 3: other defensive guys.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he shot me a text, you know, just congratulating me,
Speaker 2: and I hit him back. You know, just can't wait
Speaker 2: to get to work with him and learn from one
Speaker 2: of the best in the game, you know.
Speaker 3: T J.
Speaker 2: Watt texted me, Cameron Hayward texted me. So just a
Speaker 2: few guys reached out and you know, I'm just excited
Speaker 2: to get here and get to work with those guys.
Speaker 3: During your interactions with the Steelers through the entire pre
Speaker 3: draft process, what did you learn about them and why
Speaker 3: you would be a go to fit playing here.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think when you just turn on my tape,
Speaker 2: you see a guy playing with his hair on fire,
Speaker 2: playing every snap like it's my last, just because you know,
Speaker 2: that's how I was raised and that's how I want
Speaker 2: to play the game, and I think that fits this
Speaker 2: brand of football, you know, growing up watching the Steelers. Just,
Speaker 2: I mean some of the biggest, meanest, baddest defenses you've
Speaker 2: ever seen in your life. So just I mean, I think,
Speaker 2: the fittest, perfect and I can't thank everybody enough that
Speaker 2: was part of the decision.
Speaker 4: You mentioned the injuries adversity.
Speaker 3: How did that change you or did it not change
Speaker 3: you as a person and a player?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I think as a person that just
Speaker 2: helped my faith grow, you know, super religious family. Jesus
Speaker 2: Christ is everything to me. So just you know, continuing
Speaker 2: to understand that He has a plan for me and
Speaker 2: no matter what it is, that I'm going to be
Speaker 2: okay with it. So and then, you know, on the field,
Speaker 2: I really learned that I was taking everything for granted,
Speaker 2: you know, just you know, the opportunity to play football.
Speaker 2: You never really know until it gets taken away from
Speaker 2: you and you watch people do what you love to
Speaker 2: do and you're not able to. So just you know,
Speaker 2: continuing to play every single snap like it's my last
Speaker 2: does it.
Speaker 3: Almost let you play more free where you're just you're
Speaker 3: not really overreacting or thinking too much.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, just every play you love, you know,
Speaker 2: you don't I got to go do this. I gotta
Speaker 2: go do this. Now I get to do this, you know,
Speaker 2: I get to go work out, I get to go train,
Speaker 2: I get to you know, eat five times a day
Speaker 2: to try to be as big as I possibly can.
Speaker 2: But it's just a blessing and you know, you don't
Speaker 2: really understand everything that goes into it until it's taken away.
Speaker 3: Said that you were religious about your maintenance programs and nutrition.
Speaker 4: What what does that look like to play at the
Speaker 4: highest level you can?
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I mean in college for me, I mean
Speaker 2: it was Monday and Thursdays I was maintenance on the knees,
Speaker 2: and Tuesdays and Wednesdays I was you know, hitting my shoulders.
Speaker 2: But it's just I'm gonna get in here and I'm
Speaker 2: gonna meet with athletic trainers and try to just lay
Speaker 2: down a plan that's kinda between maintenance programs and nutrition
Speaker 2: to help me have a long, sustainable career.
Speaker 3: You played a ton of sports growing up. How did
Speaker 3: you stick with football and why linebacker?
Speaker 2: I mean I played a lot of sports, but football
Speaker 2: was always the main one. Played wrestling, played lacrosse, but
Speaker 2: football was always the one that I loved the most.
Speaker 2: And you know, in high school, I played a ton
Speaker 2: of positions, but just thought I was the best at linebacker.
Speaker 2: Just loved defense, Love hunting people down and trying to,
Speaker 2: you know, get the ball back.
Speaker 3: Is there something stealers fans don't know about you that.
Speaker 4: You want them to know?
Speaker 2: Now, I'm a pretty simple guy. Just faith, family, and
Speaker 2: football is everything to me. You're gonna get everything that
Speaker 2: I could possibly give for as long as I'm here,
Speaker 2: and you know, as long as I play this