By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Former Cummings football star Jonathan Paylor made an attention-grabbing play for North Carolina State last week.
“I’m happy for Jonathan,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. “It’s been a long time for him to get those moments. He’s been waiting two years to play.”
Paylor, who’s in his third year in the N.C. State program after arriving as a heralded recruit, sat out last year after an anterior cruciate ligament tear. He played in three 2024 games as a true freshman.
In Friday night’s 73-0 rout of Richmond at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, Paylor’s first carry gained 1 yard on N.C. State’s first snap of the second quarter. Then his 51-yard run to the Richmond 3-yard line in the third quarter led to a Wolfpack touchdown on the next play.
“We got him a touch on a reverse, and then he got a really nice run on an outside play, a power-read run that he got,” Doeren said. “I hate that he didn’t get in the end zone, but as you return from an injury like an ACL, you’re getting your live work and having success and running through people. That’s a big confidence thing for him. It’s huge for the team.”
Paylor is listed as a running back, but it sounds like his role could expand.
“When you have a kickoff returner with his speed and now a confident kickoff returner, it’s just another weapon,” Doeren said.
N.C. State (1-1) visits Vanderbilt on Saturday.
