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Kansas State football assistant Joe Klanderman on safety VJ Payne
Kansas State football defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman says safety VJ Payne is as good of an NFL prospect as any defensive back he has coached.
K-State Athletics
MANHATTAN — Whenever Kansas State football’s defensive backs get together informally, away from their meeting rooms, at some point the conversation inevitably turns to who is the fastest player on the team.
Conversation might be too polite a word.
“I had some players over to my house a few months back, and they’re all DBs, and they got to fighting about that,” said K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who also coaches the Wildcats’ safeties. “They were going to go out and race.
“One of them didn’t have any shoes, so they’re going to go out and do it barefoot in the street. It’s just a constant battle about who’s the fastest guy.”
To Klanderman’s relief, that race never materialized, but in mid-March, before the start of spring practice, the Wildcats got their answer. Surprisingly, at least to anyone outside the K-State program, the winner at 23.37 miles per hour was 6-foot-3, 205-pound safety VJ Payne.
The other three to reach 23 mph on the Catapult timing system were a bit more predictable. Running back Dylan Edwards registered 23.2, cornerback Donovan McIntosh 23.13, and quarterback Avery Johnson 23.0.
Payne, a senior and two-year starter at strong safety, beat them all.
“I’m not going to say there’s not bragging rights,” Payne said with a smile. “Being the fastest guy on the team is a pleasure, it’s a blessing, but all the work we put in is great, so it’s great to see it work.”
That Payne, the…
Source link : https://www.cjonline.com/story/sports/college/cat-zone/2025/05/14/vj-payne-kansas-state-football-safety/83560237007/
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Publish date : 2025-05-14 08:01:00
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