VJ Payne: S · Kansas State · #7.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
VJ Payne
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Fourth year in the Kansas State secondary. One game to point at: 11 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Arizona — Week 3, 2025.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
59 tackles. 3 passes defended. 1 interception. 3 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kansas State | 59 | 40 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | Kansas State | 64 | 40 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 2 |
| 2023 | Kansas State | 57 | 44 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2022 | Kansas State | 14 | 10 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 194 | 134 | 10.5 | 1.0 | 9 | 4 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-24vs No. 22 Iowa State | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 1 | W 38-35vs North Dakota | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 21-24vs Army | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-23@ Arizona | 11 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 5 | W 34-20vs UCF | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 34-35@ Baylor | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 41-28vs TCU | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 42-17@ Kansas | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | L 20-43vs No. 13 Texas Tech | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 14-6@ Oklahoma State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 47-51@ No. 13 Utah | 10 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 24-14vs Colorado | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 40 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%3 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
59tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%3 TFL59 tackles · 3 for loss · 3 pass breakups · 1 interception.
4 seasons under Chris Klieman — 34-18 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 5.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 4.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Chris Klieman
Pass share
46.4%
342 pass / 395 run
Plays / game
61.4
12 games
Team sack rate
3.6%
361 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2025
59 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #214 at the position.
The No. 1,090 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Big 12 as a senior.
How it ended
Four seasons at Kansas State, 194 tackles — drafted at #228 overall by the New York Jets.
A stat line in 44 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
1 coachPlayed every college season under Chris Klieman.
Next stop · NFL
New York Jets2026 NFL rookie season
New York Jets2026 NFL rookie season
