Choctaw County senior Preston Payne has signed to play football at Mississippi College.
“They were looking at me and I really liked the school,” he said. “It's a good school.”
Payne was a big play wide receiver for Choctaw County, helping the Chargers win the Region 4-3A regular season championship and reach the North State final. He had only 10 receptions, but they went for 270 yards, with three touchdowns.
“He had a couple of big catches, especially early in the season,” said coach Jeff Roberts. “He had a tendency to make a play when we needed it.”
Payne's TDs came on a 56-yard pass against Winona, a 55-yarder against Kosciusko and a 12-yarder against Aberdeen. He also had a 53-yard reception in an opening game victory over Independence.
Just as valuable was his blocking, Roberts said.” I didn't count them up, but he had a few pancakes.”
Payne also played on special teams and was effective blocking on the punt team. “We had only one blocked punt all year. That says a lot about the punt protection up front.”
Robert attributes much of Payne's success to his work in the weight room. “He worked hard. He kind of grinded it out. He’s definitely not a selfish player.”
Mississippi College head coach John Bland was also complementary. “He’s a talented kid and a good receiver. Some of the things we like about Preston is that he’s a good student and a good fit for Mississippi College. We’re looking for good quality people and we’re looking for young men who will develop into good football players. I think he meets all those things.”
Bland also mentioned Payne’s blocking ability. “We like to run the ball. Our receivers have to be good blockers to help us move the ball.”
Payne also plays on the golf team. He had the team's low two-round score of 165 at Hillandale Golf Course in Corinth as Choctaw County finished sixth at last year’s 3A state tournament. He was 11th in the individual competition.
He’s not sure if he will be able to play golf at Mississippi College. “They have a pretty good team,” he said, but added, “I’m sure if I really wanted to I could. I love golf, but it’s a lot of work.”
Payne said he will probably major in kinesiology or engineering.
MC, located in Clinton, competes in the Division II Gulf South Conference. There are 13 regular member schools and five affiliate members in six southern states. Delta State is the only other Mississippi school in the conference.
