Fred Payton

Photo by: Clarence Powell

Photo by: Will Hanley

2022 Fall

Payton had statistically the best season of any quarterback in Mercer history
Set the school record for single-season passing yards (3,019), passing yards in a game (514), single season passing touchdowns (32), and passing touchdowns in a game (5)
Threw for at least two touchdowns in all 11 games
Payton threw for 20 passing touchdowns and played the first six games of the season without throwing an interception
He led the conference and finished fifth in the FCS in passing efficiency with a 172.1 rating
His 32 passing touchdowns were fourth most in the FCS.
Had 11 completions on 17 pass attempts for 248 yards and 4 touchdowns vs. Morehead State (8/27/22)
Completed 21 of 36 passing attempts for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns against Auburn (9/3/22)
Had most efficient outing of season at Wofford (10/1/22). Completed a season best 80 percent of his passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns in the win
Threw for a career-best five passing touchdowns against defending SoCon champion ETSU

2021 Fall

Started all 10 games
Threw for 1663 yards on 112 completions, 12 TDs
Slung for 353 yards and a season-best 3 TDs in the home win over Wofford (Oct. 23)
Threw for a season-best 375 yards in the SoCon Championship vs. ETSU (Nov. 20)
Caught one pass for 52 yards
Second in SoCon in passer efficiency
First quarterback in Mercer history to throw for two touch- downs against The University of Alabama (Sept. 11)

2020-21 Spring

2020 (Coastal Carolina) (Jr.)

2019 (Coastal Carolina) (So.)

Played in 10 games, starting the first six games of the season before suffering an injury
Led the team with 1,421 passing yards and 12 passing touchdowns on the season
Also recorded a team-high 1,602 total yards of offense
Was 119-for-187 through the air with seven interceptions
Completed 63.64 percent of his passes on the year
Also rushed 54 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns on the season
In the road win at Kansas (Sept. 7), Payton became just the eighth quarterback in CCU’s young history to pass for over 1,000 career yards

2018 (Coastal Carolina) (Fr.)

Played in seven games, starting four-straight contests at quarterback at Georgia State (Oct. 27), versus Appalachian State (Nov. 3), against Arkansas State (Nov. 10), and at home versus Georgia Southern (Nov. 17)
Named the BAM Offensive Player of the Week for the game at UMass (Oct. 20)
Was second on the team with 677 passing yards and six passing touchdowns
Completed 49-of-75 pass attempts for a completion percentage of 65.3 percent
Threw two interceptions
Also rushed 46 times for 142 yards on the year
Made his collegiate debut at Campbell (Sept. 12), but did not record a stat
Was a perfect 3-of-3 for 37 yards through the air versus ULM (Oct. 13)
Came off the bench to spark the Chants’ offense, completing 5-of-7 passes for 107 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, and rushed five times for 44 yards in the road win at UMass (Oct. 20)
Also completed a season-long 61-yard pass in the win over the Minutemen
Rushed a season-high 17 times for 62 yards in the win at Georgia State
Completed 12-of-17 passes for a season-high 222 yards and a touchdown versus the Panthers

Before Mercer
High School

A three-star recruit by 247Sports.com
Also tabbed the 49th-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation by 247Sports.com
Named the Gwinnett County Touchdown Club Quarterback of the Year
Named first-team 7-AAAAAAA All-Region at quarterback as voted by the region’s coaches
Led the Panthers to the Class 7-AAAAAAAA state quarterfinals as a senior
Threw for 2,444 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 630 yards and four scores on the ground his senior season

Personal