Payne and Preparation

Photo of Stetson football player Donald Payne
Photo of Stetson football player Donald Payne
Payne’s summer routine includes a full-time finance internship and intensive football training.

Donald Payne hasn’t deflected a pass this summer. There have been no tackles or sacks, no recovered fumbles. Yet, Payne is keenly aware that his sweat in June and July has everything to do with his success this fall. And perhaps for years to come.

For Payne, this summer brings the promise of leading the Hatters in his final season at Stetson and the potential of a new beginning in professional football. This will be his fifth year on campus but only his fourth athletically, enabling him to play. In May he graduated with a degree in Finance. Eleven games on the schedule separate him from a dream ending.

In between running sprints and lifting weights on campus for the past several weeks, he can hardly wait. Unlike years past, he has remained in DeLand, focused on “getting better.”

“I have to stay on the grind constantly; I just can’t have any setbacks,” he says.

He isn’t alone, either, which is just the way he wants it. “Grinding by yourself is good and all,” he adds, “but grinding with people I’ll actually be playing with is so much better. Here, I have 20 or so other guys keeping me accountable and making sure I’m working. … Going into the fall, I want to be as healthy as I can be and as in shape as I can be.”

Indeed, this prep time is big for the Hatters, readying for their fourth season in a return to the field after a 57-year absence, but mostly for Payne. The light will shine brightly on No. 7, beginning Sept. 3 vs. Sacred Heart at Spec Martin Stadium. History could be in the making. Payne, already named a Preseason All-American, plans to make it happen.

A jarring, sideline-to-sideline strong safety with prototypical size, Payne ranks among the best dozen players at his position. He is projected by many people to be selected in the NFL Draft next April, a first for Stetson. At the same time, there are doubts. Despite off-the-charts achievement and his All-America status, some scouts question Payne’s competition at the Football Championship Subdivision level. (The same doubts persisted coming out of high school.)

Nonetheless, he is squarely on the NFL’s radar.

“I will be able to do 22 easy.” That’s Payne’s own projection, regarding the number of times he can bench-press 225 pounds without stopping. In late June, his maximum was 19, but he’s confident. Such numbers matter. In temperatures nearing 100, they drive him.

His summer routine has consisted of rising each workday for a finance internship at DaVita Labs near campus, handling patient accounting, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s not exactly glamorous work, but, Payne insists, it’s a place to “explore possible career paths.” He puts in the requisite effort there, too.

That leaves time for the gym to lift weights and run with teammates. Some days, he’ll work on speed. Other times, he’ll emphasize lateral/quick/explosive movements. The first part of the summer was spent on flexibility and hip movement; “real” conditioning commenced in July.

Summer has also given him time to get healthy. A high right ankle sprain, incurred last season, is now “fine” while a cast was removed from his right thumb in June, following “minor fusion surgery,” the result of multiple dislocations at Stetson.

He’s ready to roll.

“It’s really a blessing I’ve made it this far,” he says, “and it’s not over yet.”

By Michael Candelaria

Note: To learn more about Donald Payne — the person and the player — read the upcoming issue of Stetson University Magazine, scheduled for publication this fall.