Payton Wilgar is a 6-foot-3 235-pound linebacker for Brigham Young University, recruited as part of the Class of 2018.
BYU summary: In four seasons at BYU (roster years 2018-2021), Wilgar has 168 tackles (94 solo), two forced fumbles, nine pass breakups, six quarterback hurries, five interceptions, 16.5 tackles for loss, and one sack (BYUcougars.com).
- 2022 (Junior).
- 2021 (Sophomore). Played in 10 games (10 starts), recording 57 tackles (29 solo), one quarterback hurry, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, two interceptions, six tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Named to Pro Football Network All-Independent First-Team and Linebacker of the Year, and Phil Steele All-Independent Second-Team.
- 2020 (COVID Sophomore). Played in 12 games (12 starts) and recorded 57 tackles (29 solo), with five quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and five tackles for loss. Named to All-Independent second-team.
- 2019 (Freshman). Played in 13 games (12 starts) and recorded 54 tackles (36 solo), with 4.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup, and three interceptions (1st among BYU linebackers and no. 2 among linebackers nationally).
- 2018 (Redshirt). Played in three games
High School. Wilgar prepped at Dixie High School (St. George, Utah), where as a senior he had 56 solo tackles, 13 tackles for loss, one sack, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble, one blocked punt, four fumble recoveries, eight passes defended, and three interceptions (MaxPreps). For his high school career he had 128 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 13 passes defended, and nine interceptions. He was named to the 4A All-State team as an honorable mention. Wilgar also played on the basketball team.
Recruitment. Wilgar had no scholarship offers out of high school, but joined BYU as a preferred walk-on in 2018. He earned and was awarded a scholarship in Spring 2019.
Personal. Wilgar’s father Dana played football for BYU from 1973-1976, where he recorded 280 tackles and eight interceptions, earning All-WAC honors twice, and being named an All-America honorable mention.
Social Media. Follow and support Wilgar on Twitter at @WilgarPayton, on Instagram at @paytonwilgar, and on LinkedIn.
Resources: BYU Player Profile, MaxPreps Stats
