Damon Payne
| Michigan Wolverines | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle |
| Class | Senior |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | c. 2003 Belleville, Michigan, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 303 lb (137 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College | |
| High school | Belleville (MI) |
Damon Payne Jr. (born c. 2003) is an American football defensive tackle for the Michigan Wolverines. He previously played for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2021 to 2024.
Early years
[edit]Payne attended Belleville High School in Belleville, Michigan, where he played prep football. He was ranked as the No. 39 overall player in the country in the 2021 college football recruiting class by 247Sports, holding offers from Michigan, Ohio State, LSU, Alabama, Oregon, USC, Penn State and Oklahoma. Payne committed to play college football for Nick Saban and Alabama in July 2020.[1]
College career
[edit]Alabama
[edit]In 2021, Payne enrolled at the University of Alabama and used his freshman year to redshirt. From 2022 to 2024, he had 30 tackles with a half sack. Alabama defensive line coach Freddie Roach in December 2024 said: "Payne's done a really good job; he's improved a lot. He played some last year, is playing a good amount this year and we look forward to watching him play even more. He works his butt off. He's really good kid, mature kid, who helps the young guys out."[2] After his senior season, he entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Michigan
[edit]In December 2024, Payne transferred to his home-state to attend the University of Michigan, playing for the Wolverines in his final season.[3][4]
College statistics
[edit]| Season | Games | Tackles | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | GP | Solo | Ast | Comb | TFL | Sacks | |||||||||||
| Alabama | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0.5 | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 0.0 | |||||||||||
| Michigan | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ Nick McCabe (July 28, 2020). "Belleville 2021 five-star DT Payne commits to Alabama". Lansing State Journal. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Creg Stephenson (December 30, 2023). "Alabama's Damon Payne 'thrilled' to be facing home-state Wolverines in Rose Bowl". ALcom.
- ^ Tony Garcia (December 18, 2024). "Michigan football reportedly lands Alabama transfer Damon Payne, but move not done yet". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ Sam Murphy (December 19, 2024). "Former Alabama defensive lineman Damon Payne to sign with the Michigan Wolverines". Yahoo Sports.
- ^ "Damon Payne Jr". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2025.