Even though he's a veteran of Tour of Duty and Florida State's offseason conditioning program at this point, Patrick Payton brought a different approach to this year's program.
Because while he's gradually gained weight during his time as a Seminole, going from lanky defensive end prospect to impactful edge-rusher, he made a sizable jump this offseason.
After playing the 2023 season at a listed weight of 239 pounds, he's now listed at 254 pounds entering spring camp.
"It feels good knowing that I have little bit more pop in my punch..." Payton said after Tuesday's first spring practice. "It's been a goal for three years for real, since I got here. I came in at like 200 pounds so to see myself go from 200 to 250-something, it feels real good because that's been my goal since I've been here. It's been a long time coming of trusting coach Storms, training, nutrition, everyone has been a part of that. I'm just thankful for it all."
Payton has been happy with the strides he's seen in his physical growth over the last few months. However, he needed to see how he carried his added weight in a football practice before truly believing this could play at a weight over 250 pounds.
Thankfully, Tuesday's first spring practice confirmed that Payton's new 15 pounds won't change how he plays. Even though he's now 39 pounds heavier than he was when he signed with FSU in December 2020 at 215 pounds, it hasn't changed his play style.
"Even though I got a little bigger, I'm still moving at the same speed. That's what I was really trying to see, see if I am still moving the same," Payton said. "I feel the same. I was trying to see if I was fatigued at all, but no, I feel really good. It feels like a regular day for me."
That's significant for Payton as he's been remarkably effective over the last two seasons while being a bit undersized for a traditional defensive end. Over the last two seasons, Payton appeared in all 27 games and recorded 20.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.
He also used his long arms and 6-foot-5 frame to rack up 10 batted passes, the most recorded by any FBS player since Pro Football Focus started tracking the stat in 2014.
There's belief both from Payton as well as his position coach, John Papuchis, that this added weight will round out Payton's game entering his fourth season with the program.
"For one, the run game. You want him to have an opportunity to be able to be a little bit more physical at the point of attack. That added weight creates a lot more of a physical presence," Papuchis said Monday when asked how that added weight will help Payton. "But then, I think also durability. I think last year was the first time that he played a true 14-game season, which is a physical grind. Having that weight and being able to maintain that is going to be crucial for him to be able to have another season like he had and continue to grow and get better."
Channeling a few former FSU defensive linemen who are headed to the NFL in the coming weeks, Payton is also working on improving his motor this offseason.
"That's something I always looked up to with (Jared) Verse and (Braden) Fiske. They always never stopped, no matter if there was a block, no matter if there wasn't a block, no matter if the ball is 40 yards down the field," Payton said. "That's really been my mentality, having that same mindset of look at Verse and look at Fiske now. I'll be right there with them next year."
Before that, though, comes an upcoming season where Payton must step into a role as the leader of FSU's defensive end room. Even though FSU's three transfer additions at the position have experience in college football, Payton is now the elder statesman of the position group.
That's something he noticed during Wednesday's practice, stating it feels "very different." He also noticed that each of the three transfer edge-rushers, Marvin Jones Jr., Tomiwa Durojaiye and Sione Lolohea, even while still learning the intricacies of their new defensive scheme, could give the Seminoles another impactful group of defensive ends with the right approach this offseason.
"They're very good. They've still got to get acclimated into the plays and stuff like that, but they're catching on really good," Payton said, "I feel like we're going to have another very special year. We've just got to take the time to put the work in. We can't just expect it because of last year."
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