Payne eager to erase losing

By John Kovach

The oft-traded wide receiver has made an impact since joining the team.

YOUNGSTOWN — Quorey Payne didn’t know if he wanted to play for the Mahoning Valley Thunder because the team was losing too much.

But after being traded by the Green Bay Blizzard to the Corpus Christi Sharks and then to the Thunder, the wide receiver and kick return specialist from Clewiston, Fla., and Southern Illinois University is glad to be here.

Payne (5-foot-9, 182 pounds) made his debut with Mahoning Valley against one of his former af2 teams, the Louisville Fire, June 27 on Cortland Banks Field in the Chevrolet Centre.

The 25-year-old caught six passes for 120 yards from quarterback Shane Adler, including a 35-yard TD toss, to help the Thunder to a 42-41 win.

Payne said he played a good game but could have been better, and he wants to continue to help his new team any way he can.

He believes the Thunder can win its last three games of the season, beginning Saturday at the Manchester Wolves.

The Thunder also will play at the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Pioneers July 19 before returning home for the season finale July 26 against Green Bay.

“I hate to lose, so I am going to do my best to help this team win, even if I have to go in and play defense,” said Payne, who played 16 games with Louisville last season before being dealt to Green Bay.

He played six games for the Blizzard before being traded, a move he admitted he didn’t understand.

He was also “skeptical” about coming to the Thunder.

“I thought that the Thunder was not that good,” he recalled. “But we beat Louisville … a playoff team.

“I think we can win the last three, and I’m looking forward to the Green Bay game. I have a lot of friends on the Green Bay team. I was cool with them and a couple of the guys on that team I played with at Louisville.”

Payne said he was a starter for Green Bay and “playing pretty well” before he was benched.

“I had my best game according to the coach [Bob Landsee] — but I didn’t think it was my best — and then he stopped playing me and I didn’t go on the road trip, and two games later they traded me,” said Payne.

“When they traded me, they said they didn’t want to trade me to a losing team. So they traded me to the Corpus Christi Sharks and I stayed there two weeks. I had to learn a whole new offense and I didn’t get to play, and then I heard the Thunder wanted me.”

Payne said his main asset is his quickness and the ability to make some moves and get into the open. He said his fastest time in the 40-yard dash was 4.35 seconds.

Although he said he is fast, “I am more quick than fast. It’s rare that the guy following me can run me down.”

He said that when he is going out for a pass, “I don’t want [the defender] to get his hands on me. I want to get a step on him and get open.”

Payne didn’t begin playing wide receiver in college until his junior year. Then he played two seasons at that position, catching 22 passes for 480 yards and six TDs in 2004, and 19 passes for 234 yards and one TD in 2005.

“My first year in college, I started as a cornerback and defensive back,” said Payne. “Then in my sophomore year, I moved to receiver. I played a few games as a receiver but I actually didn’t start playing a lot of receiver until my junior season.”

A 2006 graduate of Southern Illinois, he has a major in recreation and a minor in psychology.

“I didn’t play in ’06. I was working out with teams [then],” he pointed out.

Payne is hoping he can stick around with the Thunder, but is hoping to climb to the next level.

“I want to keep playing and move up,” said Payne. “I really like Coach Hold, so if I don’t move up to [the Arena Football League], I wouldn’t mind coming back and play for him.”

kovach@vindy.com