Cullowhee, N.C. – After playing professionally overseas in Germany this past season, former Western Carolina defensive back Fred Payne has returned stateside to start afresh in a new league, drafted in the Phase 5 portion of the expansion XFL Draft earlier this month.
A full-time starter for seven of his eight seasons between Gainesville High and WCU, Payne played in 45 games for the Purple & Gold, finishing with 241 career tackles including 106 solo stops and 11.5 tackles for loss from his safety position. He successfully defended 12 passes and recorded four career interceptions, adding a pair of forced fumbles and two recoveries to his litany of takeaways.
Voted a team captain his senior year, he was selected to the second team All-Southern Conference at a defensive back by the media after leading the Catamounts with 87 seasonal stops, posting double-digit tackles four times including 15 in a home win over Gardner-Webb and 14 against The Citadel. With two picks in his final season, he returned one 42 yards for a touchdown at Samford in late October of 2016.
Off the field, Payne was a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation (NFF) William V. Campbell Trophy given annually to the individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. He was a two-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll recipient.
Payne joins four other former Catamounts currently active within the various top-level professional football leagues around the country. Former Catamount defensive back Keion Crossen remains third on the Houston Texans' depth chart at cornerback while former WCU tailback Detrez Newsome was placed on the Los Angeles Chargers' practice squad reserve/injured list in mid-October. Former safety Ace Clark was on the roster for the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League (AFL), while former defensive back Torez Jones just finished his third season professional for the AFL runner-up Philadelphia Soul.
All told, 85 former players from the NCAA FCS level of football were taken in the XFL Draft including two from the Southern Conference – WCU's Payne and former Chattanooga defensive lineman Davis Tull, both to the Houston Roughnecks, coached by June Jones – former head coach of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons (1994-96) and the Hamilton TigerCats (2017-18) of the CFL with collegiate stops at Hawai'i (1999-2007) and SMU (2008-2014).
The XFL begins play on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020 with eight teams strategically placed across the country including the Washington DC Defenders, New York Guardians, St. Louis BattleHawks, and Tampa Bay Vipers in the XFL East; the Dallas Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats, and Seattle Dragons in the XFL West. The inaugural 10-week regular-season schedule through the championship game spans 79 total days with each team hosting five home games with a home-and-home with divisional opponents and one game against each team in the other division.
XFL tickets went on sale to the general public via Ticketmaster on Thursday, Oct. 24. Fans can also visit XFL.com/tickets to learn more about tickets for all XFL teams.
