We have a real-life version of a Ryan Reynold’s character on our hands. Georgia State tight end Aubry Payne is trying to do his best rendition of Van Wilder. It was reported by On3 that Payne is entering the transfer portal and seeking to play for his third team.
Payne was granted an NCAA waiver for the 2022 season, his seventh year at the collegiate level that began in 2016. In the movie Van Wilder, Reynold’s character was a seventh-year senior. It appears Payne is looking to top that.
The former two-star recruiting in the 2016 class first played for Western Carolina during the 2016 season appearing in 10 games at the FCS level. He would play in one game his sophomore year before an injury sidelined Payne and he eventually left the program for Georgia State. The Georgia native would play for the Panthers from 2019 to 2022.
He accumulated 49 receptions for 529 yards and 13 touchdowns during that span. Payne appeared in just three games last season and caught one pass for three years. He will be 26 years old in October and would be older than some assistants around college football. Nebraska assistant Garret McGuire is just 24 years old.
It remains to be seen if the NCAA will once again grant Payne another season of playing college football.