Blessed with ideal size for an incoming Defensive Lineman, Jimmy Payne Jimmy Payne 6'3" | 250 lbs | DL Knoxville Catholic | 2029 TN has a ton of ability. Last season he was one of the standouts on a loaded Bearden team that won the MAC championship. Payne is unquestionably one of the best run-stopping Edge players in the 2029 class out of the Volunteer State. Has the quickness to play Edge and penetrate the backfield, but also the size and strength to stop the run game between the tackles. I can easily see a time in the future where Payne bumps down to play Defensive Tackle if scheme dictates it.

Like Trenton Gibbs Trenton Gibbs 6'1" | 225 lbs | DL/OL Oakland | 2029 TN (listed above), I named Jimmy Payne Jimmy Payne 6'3" | 250 lbs | DL Knoxville Catholic | 2029 TN a top performer last year on the offensive side of the ball because of his physical he was as a blocking Tight End. This year, Payne returned as the Edge, opposite Gibbs. The duo made an excellent pair of bookend defenders. The future Knoxville Catholic Irish prospect (unofficially) finished with five tackles, two of which for loss. Payne played the role of finisher on nearly all of his stops, bringing the ball carrier to the ground after one of his teammates made initial contact.

As a Tight End on last year’s 7th Grade TN Future Stars team, I quickly fell in love with the physicality he brought to the table. I named him a top performer a year ago, despite not having an official offensive stat in the game. Fast forward a few months and he was a big reason why Bearden brought home the MAC Championship this season. I last saw Payne play live in November at the Fire/Ice All-American Game, where his play on the Defensive Line made me realize that he was even better along the defensive front. In a year’s time, Payne went from a boy to a man physically, and is listed at 6-foot-2 and 236-pounds—which is up two inches and 30+ pounds from last year.

Wrapping up the bigs that impressed me on Team Fire was yet a third member of the Tennessee Future Stars team from this past summer, Jayden Payne. In that Future Stars Game I really liked Payne as a blocking Tight End. However, after watching some film of him playing Defensive End this year for Bearden, I can see him playing both ways. He missed the first practice of the day as Bearden was busy winning a MAC Conference Championship, but immediately jumped into (presumed) first-team reps with the defense. He’s a good looking 4-3 Defensive End that can play against both the run and the pass. Would love to see some more dynamic pass rushing moves out of him as he develops and heads into high school, but that’s just nitpicking a bit. He has a real solid future.

After getting my first look at Payne this past summer, when he took the field as a member of the 7th Grade Tennessee Future Stars, I was very interested to see how he would progress during the 2024 regular season. Standing 6-foot-1 and 195-pounds, he lined up primarily as an H-Back this season and did his fair share of setting up shop in the backfield, as opposed to on the line of scrimmage. He’s a thick kid with Offensive Line size at this point and did a great job blocking on the year. On top of that, getting a chance to watch him play Defensive End this season was also a treat. On both sides of the ball he used a powerful lower body to do his job at a high level.

Likely won’t show up in the stat book (no official states were kept to my knowledge) other than a questionable holding call, but Jimmy Payne Jimmy Payne 6'3" | 250 lbs | DL Knoxville Catholic | 2029 TN looks a future star (pun intended) at Tight End. Primarily lined up as an H-Back in Tennessee’s offensive attack, he made a number of good blocks and also look fluid running routes when he got the opportunity. With his size and athletic ability, he’s one to watch with further development.