Player Feature: Fred Payton Jr

Fred Payton Jr is a budding quarterback with a budding franchise. In just the second year of his professional career, he has led the Tritons to a 3-1 start and is blossoming into a highly productive passer.

Built by Dad

Fred Payton Jr first put on the pads when he was seven years old, and from then on, he was going to be a professional football player. When interviewing Payton, he spoke about the influence his father had in his playing career. When he first told his dad he wanted to play football, he wanted to test him and make sure he was serious. So, his dad got him everything that he needed. When they got home, he had Payton put the pads back on. Confused, he put the pads on, and they went outside. Payton ran across the yard like his dad told him to, and, like a prime Ronnie Lott, his dad came across and leveled him. Even after that, Payton was all-in on football.

“From the time that I said that I wanted to play football, my father really made sure it was something that I was serious about. He was not about to invest all the time and money into it if I wasn’t serious about it.”

“I’ve always been serious about it- ever since I was seven when it started.”

Road to the show

Payton spent his collegiate career at two schools. Out of high school, he attended Coastal Carolina where he got serious playing time as a freshman. He stayed a Chanticleer for three years before deciding to hit the transfer portal, looking for a system that could prepare him for the pros. After the 2020 season, he found himself at home in Macon, Georgia at Mercer University. Although Mercer had been known in recent years as a rushing offense, he showed up and flipped the script.

Under Head Coach Drew Cronic, he had the best single season by a quarterback in the university’s history. He set four separate records in that 2022 season: single-season passing yards (3,019), passing yards in a game (514), single season passing touchdowns (32), and passing touchdowns in a game (5). (Via Mercer University) After that season, he entered into the 2023 NFL draft. Although he was not picked up by a team, he knew he was not done playing. From an early age he dreamed about playing professional football, and the journey would not end there.

paid to play

After not being picked up in the 2023 draft, Payton turned his sights to other pro football opportunities, and he eventually made his way into the indoor game. As a rookie last year in Jacksonville, he stepped in to captain a very run-heavy offense in a run-heavy league. Although he was happy to show off his abilities with his legs, he has always been more interested in moving the ball through the air. 

“I play quarterback for a reason, man. If I wanted to run the ball like that, I would definitely just play running back.” 

Stepping into the Arena has given him the exact opportunity that he was looking for. His signing with the Corpus Christi Tritons doubled that opportunity. He got paired with one of the best receivers corps in the AF1, and he has spoken incredibly highly of his receivers. Former Arena Champions like Darius Prince and Arthur Anderson have really helped him learn as much as he can about the Arena game.

“I know that, with the position that I play, I can’t have success without those guys around me, without those guys up front.”

This Season

Week after week his production is getting better. He has gone from 38% completion in Week One to 65% completion in Week Five. In Week Five, He also eclipsed 200 passing yards for the first time this season. Coach Anderson attributes his progression to his hard work and willingness to learn. He describes Payton as the ultimate "student of the game." He is always asking the right questions and capitalizing on the veteran knowledge that surrounds him. Coach Anderson has touted him as talented, respectful, coachable, and every other compliment you can give a young quarterback.