Safety, Kansas State, 2022–25
V.J. Payne
- Number
- No. 7
- Height
- 6′3″
- Weight
- 208 lb
- Class (2025)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Gainesville, GA
- Born
- Mar 17, 2004, in Gainesville, Georgia
Wikipedia readers: about 592 a month over the past year
V.J. Payne played safety at Kansas State (2022–25). The New York Jets took Payne in round 7, No. 228 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
12tackles, career highat Iowa State, 2024Team titles: Big 12 champions, 2022
Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Kansas State | 14 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Kansas State | 57 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | Kansas State | 64 | 40 | 3.5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | Kansas State | 59 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Career | 194 | 134 | 10.5 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 0 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Kansas State | 7 | S | Fr. | ||
| 2023 | Kansas State | 7 | S | So. | ||
| 2024 | Kansas State | 7 | S | Jr. | ||
| 2025 | Kansas State | 7 | S | Sr. | 6′3″ | 208 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2025 Kansas State 12 games, 59 tackles, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23 | vs. Iowa State | L 21–24 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 30 | vs. North Dakota | W 38–35 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 6 | vs. Army | L 21–24 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 12 | at Arizona | L 17–23 | 11 | 6 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 27 | vs. UCF | W 34–20 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 4 | at Baylor | L 34–35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 11 | vs. TCU | W 41–28 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 25 | at Kansas | W 42–17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 1 | vs. Texas Tech | L 20–43 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 15 | at Oklahoma State | W 14–6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 22 | at Utah | L 47–51 | 10 | 6 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 29 | vs. Colorado | W 24–14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 Kansas State 13 games, 64 tackles, 2 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. UT Martin | W 41–6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 7 | at Tulane | W 34–27 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 13 | vs.Arizona | W 31–7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 21 | at BYU | L 9–38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 28 | vs.Oklahoma State | W 42–20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 12 | atColorado | W 31–28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 19 | at West Virginia | W 45–18 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 26 | vs.Kansas | W 29–27 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2 | at Houston | L 19–24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | vs. Arizona State | L 14–24 | 11 | 7 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nov 23 | vs. Cincinnati | W 41–15 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 30 | atIowa State | L 21–29 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 26 ✦ | vs. Rutgers | W 44–41 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 Kansas State 13 games, 57 tackles, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. Southeast Missouri State | W 45–0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | vs. Troy | W 42–13 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 16 | at Missouri | L 27–30 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 23 | vs.UCF | W 44–31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 6 | atOklahoma State | L 21–29 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | atTexas Tech | W 38–21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | vs.TCU | W 41–3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | vs.Houston | W 41–0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 4 | at Texas | L 30–33 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 11 | vs.Baylor | W 59–25 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 18 | atKansas | W 31–27 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | vs.Iowa State | L 35–42 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 28 ✦ | vs. NC State | W 28–19 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 Kansas State 6 games, 14 tackles, 1 sack
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17 | vs.Tulane | L 10–17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 24 | at Oklahoma | W 41–34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | atIowa State | W 10–9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | atWest Virginia | W 48–31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 26 | vs.Kansas | W 47–27 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 31 ✦ | vs. Alabama | L 20–45 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
Played in the 2026 Senior Bowl (National team, lost 9–17).
| Drill | Combine 2026 | Combine or pro day 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6′3¼″ | |
| Weight | 206 lb | |
| Arm length | 33¾″ | |
| Hand size | 9½″ | |
| Wingspan | 80¾″ | |
| 40-yard dash | 4.40 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.52 s | |
| Vertical jump | 35″ | |
| Broad jump | 10′7″ | |
| 3-cone drill | 6.94 sW | |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.33 sW |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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