Hokie Club2023: Played in all 13 games, making two starts ... tallied 31 tackles (10 solo), including 10 TFL ... registered four sacks, five QB hurries, a pass breakup and a forced fumble ... set a season high in tackles at Virginia (Nov. 25) with seven ... recorded two quarterback hurries vs. Wake Forest (Oct. 14) ... forced a fumble in the second quarter of the Military Bowl win over Tulane, preventing a Tulane touchdown.
2022: Missed the entire season with an injury.
Nebraska: Played in the first 10 games of the 2021 season before an injury kept him out of the final two games … Recorded 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks … Totaled five tackles, including a game and career-high 2.0 sacks, in the season opener at Illinois (8/28/21) … Posted four tackles against Northwestern and made a pair of tackles against No. 9 Michigan … Registered four tackles vs. Purdue (10/30/21), including a half tackle for loss … Had one tackle vs. No. 6 Ohio State (11/6/21) … Played in every game in his first season at Nebraska in 2020, finishing with 21 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and a pair of pass breakups … Made his Huskers debut at outside linebacker by recording two tackles at No. 5 Ohio State (10/24/20) … Added two tackles at Northwestern (11/7/20) … Totaled a career-high six tackles, including a half tackle for loss, in a win vs. Penn State (11/14/20) … Made three tackles vs. Illinois (11/21/20) and had three tackles with a pass breakup vs. Minnesota (12/12/20) … Recorded five tackles with a career-high 1.5 TFLs, including a six-yard sack at Rutgers (12/18/20).
Lackawanna College: Spent two seasons at Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania … Helped Lackawanna advance to the 2019 National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship Game and finish with a No. 2 national ranking, one year after Lackawanna was ranked sixth in 2018 following a perfect season … Helped Lackawanna to a 21-1 record in his two seasons, including a 21-game winning streak … Recorded 30 tackles for the Falcons in 2019, including 12.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks … Also had one pass breakup, one fumble recovery and five quarterback hurries … In the junior college national championship game, made seven stops with 2.5 TFLs and one fumble recovery … As a freshman at Lackawanna, recorded 23 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss, including five sacks … Regarded as a three-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite junior college rankings, Payne picked Nebraska over offers from North Carolina State, Florida International and Liberty .. Also visited Penn State and Syracuse.
High School: Prepped at Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Virginia … Was an all-district and all-region selection as a senior, when the Warriors advanced to the state semifinals.
Personal: The son of Phelton and Johnnetta Payne … Named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in 2021 … Earned spots on the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team and Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2022 ... Majoring in sociology.