South's Payne stands out

02.14.2008

At more than 6-feet-5 and just a shade under 220 pounds, DeVontae Payne is hard to miss.

The Cleveland South High School soon-to-be senior quarterback stood out above the rest of the 300 or so athletes competing at the National High School All-Star Combine Wednesday in the Casey Coleman Field House at Browns Headquarters in Berea.

Payne said he always has risen above the competition. At age 10, he wasn't allowed to play midget football because he was too big so he was moved to Pee Wee. He played Pee Wee for just one year before being moved up to an even higher level.

By age 12, he was playing against 15 year olds and playing well. He said he realized he was a special player when he overtook his team's starting quarterback role from a 15-year-old.

"From then on I realized there was nothing to waste, so I started to play more," he said.

He stood out plenty last year as South's quarterback as well. In 2007, the team finished 8-2 and qualified for the OHSAA Division II playoffs, falling to Normandy, 38-6, in the regional quarterfinals.

In doing so, they became only the second school from the Cleveland Municipal School District to qualify for the playoffs.

Payne was a big reason why it happened.

Payne sat out most of the activities Wednesday, saying he wasn't prepared for the event because he's still in the midst of his school's basketball season.

But sitting out probably won't affect the young prospect too much. While the other athletes at the Combine needed the event to gain exposure and get their numbers out to colleges, schools are already well aware of Payne.

He's receiving interest from several institutions, including four in the Big Ten: Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.

At this point, he said he has a strong interest in Ohio State and Illinois.

He's currently listed as the No. 75 prospect on Rivals.com's Rivals100 for 2009 and is ranked as the 12th-best quarterback in the nation.

But he said he's not looking at rankings.

"I really don't pay too much attention as far as ranking," he said. "I just go play my game. Rankings mean nothing to me unless they can see me perform."

As for his style, he doesn't compare himself to former Ohio State Buckeye and Baltimore Raven Troy Smith, another Cleveland Public School kid from rival Glenville.

At his height, Payne said he's more of a pocket passer who looks up to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

"I'm a poised player, patient," he said. "Tom Brady is my favorite player so I like to be patient in the pocket, trust my lineman and believe in everybody on the team."

Surely working in his favor is Payne's attitude on academics. Payne said he enjoys school and works hard in his classes for more than just to maintain eligibility to play.

He said his favorite subject in school is Chemistry.

"I'm not going to school because I play football," he said. "That's what being a student-athlete is about. I like school. I don't just go for grades because I have to play football."

That attitude will undoubtedly help him as finishes high school and heads to college.

But Payne still has one more season of high school ball to enjoy, where he'll have a chance to build on his team's success from 2007 before graduating to the next step in his life and football career.

"I'm excited," he said of playing his senior season. "I love playing this game."

Payne wasn't the only top-level prospect at the Combine Wednesday. Benedictine running back/defensive back Anthony Urbania, who is getting attention from Notre Dame, Penn State, Illinois and Connecticut, among others, was in attendance.

"It's unbelievable," Urbania said of the recruiting process so far. "I never expected it to be like this. It's cool. I'm having fun with it."

He didn't work out because he pulled his groin over the weekend, but he still attended to cheer on his teammates.

Nine players from Glenville were in attendance, joined by head coach Ted Ginn, Sr. Tarblooders offensive lineman Marcus Hall, who attended the Combine, is the top-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio for 2009 according to Rivals.com, slotted at 26th overall in the nation.

Also among the more than 300 prospects who participated Wednesday was Benedictine cornerback Romel Dismuke and St. Vincent St. Mary cornerback David Lee, both of whom are on the ESPN 150 Watch List for 2009.