During his freshman year of high school he participated in only one sport, track and field. He ventured into football the following year, at the request of the sophomore coach. Payton immediately showed promise when he gained 65 yards on his first ball carry and racked at least one touchdown in every game. By his senior year of high school, Payton's accomplishments were impressive. He continued to play with the school band, stretched his long jump record to 22-feet-11-and-1/4-inches, lettered in basketball, and earned a place on the all-state football team. He averaged 18 points per game on the gridiron, and he was an excellent student. Major universities courted him, but Payton, who was raised in a segregated culture, enrolled at Jackson State University, a small school with a predominantly African American student body.
During his junior year at Jackson, Payton ranked among the top-scoring collegiate football players nationwide, with a total of 160 points for the season. By the end of his senior year he amassed a career total of 464 points--a National College Athletic Association (NCAA) record at that time.
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