As one of only three freshmen to early enroll this spring, WR Jeremiah Payton got a head start on most of his classmates in getting used to what it means to be a college athlete.
“I feel like the transition has been pretty good,” Payton told CIS on media day. “I’ve gotten settled in, I haven’t been home sick much. Just taking it one day at a time, everything’s been pretty good and just been balancing school and football.”
South Florida is a hot bed for skill position talent and that has led to Miami stacking highly-rated recruits at the WR spot over the years. Although that means it will be that much more difficult to climb the depth chart, Payton is excited by what he’s seen in practice from his fellow receivers and sees a high ceiling for the group this year.
“The receiver group is going to be amazing honestly,” Payton said. “I feel like at any time you could put any of us in and we could go out there and make big plays for the quarterback and the team. We’ve got so much talent – we’ve got vertical threats, deep threats, big bodies. We’ve got explosive players, and I actually feel like any one of us can be that explosive player, that home-run threat. So, I just feel like we got a lot of talent in that room.”
Does he have any goal set for his first year of college ball?
“Kind of but not really,” Payton said. “Whatever happens this year happens, but I feel like I can go in and make plays and keep that standard of playmaking ability high. When the ball is thrown to me, make that play, when my name is called, make that play.”
When Payton originally signed with Miami in December 2018, Ron Dugans was still the WR coach in Coral Gables. Just one month later, head coach Manny Diaz brought in Taylor Stubblefield to replace Dugans at the position, so Payton had to start from scratch in developing a relationship with his position coach all over again.
“It’s been a pretty good transition – he keeps it 100 with us, we keep it 100 with him,” Payton said of Stubblefield. “He’s been teaching us a lot, definitely a lot more technical than high school when it comes to running routes. Running routes in high school was a totally different aspect to what it is now. He’s got us square cutting… it’s been normal stuff, but it’s way more technical. Just knowing the technique of your routes and knowing when to get your hands on the DB, it makes your routes that much better.”
Payton has mostly switched back and forth working with the second team and the third team this fall, but did not see any playing time in Miami’s first game against UF over the weekend. To eventually get on the field, Stubblefield communicates with Payton what he must do to earn his trust.
“Just me, he’s been on me about the top of my route, rounding my routes at the top,” Payton said. “He just wants me to listen to him and pay attention because he believes I can be that type of guy.”
“I feel like the transition has been pretty good,” Payton told CIS on media day. “I’ve gotten settled in, I haven’t been home sick much. Just taking it one day at a time, everything’s been pretty good and just been balancing school and football.”
South Florida is a hot bed for skill position talent and that has led to Miami stacking highly-rated recruits at the WR spot over the years. Although that means it will be that much more difficult to climb the depth chart, Payton is excited by what he’s seen in practice from his fellow receivers and sees a high ceiling for the group this year.
“The receiver group is going to be amazing honestly,” Payton said. “I feel like at any time you could put any of us in and we could go out there and make big plays for the quarterback and the team. We’ve got so much talent – we’ve got vertical threats, deep threats, big bodies. We’ve got explosive players, and I actually feel like any one of us can be that explosive player, that home-run threat. So, I just feel like we got a lot of talent in that room.”
Does he have any goal set for his first year of college ball?
“Kind of but not really,” Payton said. “Whatever happens this year happens, but I feel like I can go in and make plays and keep that standard of playmaking ability high. When the ball is thrown to me, make that play, when my name is called, make that play.”
When Payton originally signed with Miami in December 2018, Ron Dugans was still the WR coach in Coral Gables. Just one month later, head coach Manny Diaz brought in Taylor Stubblefield to replace Dugans at the position, so Payton had to start from scratch in developing a relationship with his position coach all over again.
“It’s been a pretty good transition – he keeps it 100 with us, we keep it 100 with him,” Payton said of Stubblefield. “He’s been teaching us a lot, definitely a lot more technical than high school when it comes to running routes. Running routes in high school was a totally different aspect to what it is now. He’s got us square cutting… it’s been normal stuff, but it’s way more technical. Just knowing the technique of your routes and knowing when to get your hands on the DB, it makes your routes that much better.”
Payton has mostly switched back and forth working with the second team and the third team this fall, but did not see any playing time in Miami’s first game against UF over the weekend. To eventually get on the field, Stubblefield communicates with Payton what he must do to earn his trust.
“Just me, he’s been on me about the top of my route, rounding my routes at the top,” Payton said. “He just wants me to listen to him and pay attention because he believes I can be that type of guy.”
