Tennessee Head Coach Talks Addition of Former Mississippi State WR JaVonta Payton
Former Mississippi State wide receiver JaVonta Payton will be suiting up for a different team in the Southeastern Conference in 2021.
Payton entered the transfer portal back in April, landing with the Tennessee Volunteers not long after.
The wideout lands in Knoxville after being recruited three times by the team between Butch Jones, Jeremy Pruitt and Josh Heupel.
One element Payton brings to the table for Tennessee is level of experience.
“He’s experienced, and I think that’s important too,” Heupel told reporters. “Just that wide receiver room, we have a little bit of age on the top, but we’re really young underneath. So his experience, having played in this league, I think is important for us and was an important piece for us to add this spring.”
Payton saw action in nine games last year for MSU, starting three of those games. He totaled 19 receptions for 225 yards with one touchdown last year. His biggest performance came in the season opener against LSU, when he reeled in six passes for 122 yards, helping quarterback KJ Costello achieve the SEC single-game passing record of 623 yards.
Heupel is anticipating Payton could make an immediate impact for the Vols.
“Just watching him, strength and condition, he’s fast, he’s explosive, he’s got a natural set of hands.” Heupel said. “I really feel like he’s got an opportunity to compete and earn a spot and be a difference-maker for us this fall.”
Payton joins an offensive system that throws the ball a lot, but also runs the ball much more than we saw in Mike Leach's offense last year.
It will be interesting to see just how much of a force Payton can become for Heupel as Tennessee opens the season against Bowling Green on Sept. 2 in Neyland Stadium.
