University of Tennessee Athletics
2021 Football Roster
Roster
Payton, JaVonta
WR
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Jersey Number 3
JaVonta Payton
- Position:
- WR
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-1 / 180
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Nashville, Tenn.
- High School:
- Hillsboro
- Prev School:
- Northwest (Miss.) CC/Mississippi State
Bio
CAREER
A versatile, big-play wide receiver and special teams contributor who is no stranger to the SEC … Graduate transfer from Mississippi State who returned to his home state for his fifth and final season of eligibility … Enrolled at Tennessee in June 2021 … Prepped at Hillsboro High School in Nashville before enrolling at Northwest Mississippi Community College … Caught 28 passes for 372 yards and one touchdown with one 100-yard receiving game at Mississippi State … Hauled in 18 catches for 413 yards and six touchdowns in his lone season with the Vols ... Owned 15 career catches of 15+ yards … Including his time at UT and MSU, played in 35 games with 17 starts and finished with 46 catches for 785 yards and seven touchdowns … Was MSU’s top special teams tackler with 20 in two seasons … Also returned six kickoffs for 121 yards, averaging 20.2 yards per return for the Bulldogs … Earned his undergraduate degree from Mississippi State in communications in December 2020.
2021 – SENIOR (FIFTH YEAR)
One of the SEC’s top big-play receivers … Led the SEC with 22.9 yards per catch (min. one reception per game) ... Started 12 of 13 games and ranked third on the team with 413 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns ... Ranked 12th in the SEC in touchdowns and was second in the league and third in the FBS in 70+ yard catches with two … Caught two passes for 35 yards in his collegiate finale in his hometown at the TransPerfect Music City Bowl vs. Purdue (12/30) ... Reeled in one catch for five yards in the first quarter vs. Vanderbilt (11/27) ... Saw limited action vs. South Alabama (11/20) ... Had one catch for eight yards vs. No. 1 Georgia (11/13) before exiting game with an injury ... Found pay dirt on UT’s first play from scrimmage at No. 18 Kentucky (11/6), taking a screen pass 75 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown ... Put UT ahead 14-7 in the first quarter at No. 4 Alabama (10/23), catching the ball in the middle of the field and speeding past the secondary for a 57-yard TD ... Finished the game at Alabama with two catches for 59 yards ... Got behind the secondary and hauled in a 39-yard touchdown reception midway through the first quarter vs. South Carolina (10/9) ... Became the first Vol WR since Josh Malone in 2016 to score a receiving TD in four straight games ... Hauled in a touchdown for the third consecutive week with a 35-yard grab at Mizzou (10/2) ... Caught a 75-yard touchdown at No. 11 Florida (9/25) on a fly route down the left sideline, the longest reception by a Vol since 2015, and led all players with 82 yards receiving in the game ... Hauled in first TD catch as a Vol vs. Tennessee Tech (9/18), capping a 25-second scoring drive early in the first quarter with a spectacular 29-yard grab ... Made his second straight start at WR vs. Pitt (9/11) ... Cracked the starting lineup in his UT debut, hauling in a pair of receptions on back-to-back plays for 14 yards vs. Bowling Green (9/2).
2020 – SENIOR (MISSISSIPPI STATE)
Appeared in nine games with three starts … Logged 19 receptions for 225 yards and one touchdown … Added five tackles on special teams coverage … Did not play vs. Auburn or Missouri … Set career highs in receptions (6) and receiving yards (122) in upset win at LSU (9/26) to open the season ... Finished with the third-highest receiving grade (71.5) on the team, according to PFF ... Five of his receptions were for first downs, including three on third down vs. the Tigers ... Hauled in a 17-yard pass for the first touchdown reception of his career in the first quarter vs. Arkansas and returned two kickoffs for 49 total yards (10/3) ... Caught five passes for 34 yards at Kentucky (10/10) with three of his receptions for first downs … Posted two receptions for nine yards vs. No. 5 Texas A&M (10/17) … Caught two passes for 16 yards at No. 1 Alabama (10/31) and returned four kickoffs for 72 yards against the Tide … Finished with two receptions for 21 yards in bowl game win vs. Tulsa (12/31) while making one tackle on special teams.
2019 – JUNIOR (MISSISSIPPI STATE)
Appeared in 13 games with two starts at wide receiver and was an excellent contributor on special teams … Tops on the team in yards per reception (16.3) … Logged team-leading 15 tackles on special teams … Led the team with nine tackles on kickoff coverage and six stops on punt coverage … Had at least one special teams tackle in 11 appearances … Caught one pass for nine yards in his debut vs. Louisiana (8/31) ... Had a season-best 24-yard kickoff return against Kansas State (9/14) ... Hauled in a pair of passes for 14 yards vs. Kentucky (9/21) … Made one catch for 30 yards at No. 7 Auburn (9/28) and added one kickoff return for 16 yards … Took the handoff on the sweep and went for an 11-yard on his lone rush of the season at Tennessee (10/12) … Hauled in a season-long 34-yard reception in the fourth quarter for his only catch vs. Abilene Christian (11/23) … Also had a season-best three tackles on special teams vs. ACU In Egg Bowl victory over Ole Miss (11/28), made one catch for 11 yards and added two tackles on special teams … Recorded two receptions for a season-best 39 yards against Louisville in the Music City Bowl (12/30) and added two special teams stops.
JUNIOR COLLEGE (NORTHWEST MISS. CC)
Four-star and top-ranked junior college wide receiver per ESPN … Ranked No. 9 overall in the ESPN Junior College Top 50 … Rated the 24th-best prospect and No. 2 wide receiver by 247Sports … Started nine of 10 games as a sophomore at Northwest Community College … Caught 23 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns … Longest catch of the season was 40 yards … Had a season-high 111 yards and one touchdown on five receptions against East Central C.C. … Appeared in all 11 games with 10 starts as a freshman … Had 44 receptions for 509 yards and nine touchdowns … Ranked No. 12 in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges in receiving yards (509) … Averaged 11.6 yards per catch … Best outing was a nine-catch, 130-yard, two touchdown effort against Holmes CC. … Named to the Spring 2018 Vice President’s List.
HIGH SCHOOL
Prepped at Hillsboro High School under head coach Craig Clayton … Rated a three-star prospect by Rivals, Scout and 247Sports … Named team’s offensive MVP as a senior … Selected first-team all-state … As a senior, logged 24 receptions for 452 yards and seven touchdowns … Added 63 carries for 484 yards and six touchdowns on the ground … Selected to the East vs. West Tennessee All-Star Classic as a senior … Also lettered in track and field … Helped Hillsboro to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association title in the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relay events in 2017.
PERSONAL
Full name is JaVonta Cosby Payton … Born on Oct. 7, 1998 … Son of Tameka Payton and McKinely Young Jr. … Oldest of 12 siblings … Godbrothers, Nantambu-Akil Fentress (Miami) and Kiambu Fentress (Vanderbilt) played football and baseball, respectively … Earned his undergraduate degree from Mississippi State in communications in December 2020 … Twitter handle is @_Payton0 and Instagram handle is @thalegend.
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Tuesday, September 16
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