Source: Greensboro News and Record - July 17, 2020
Payton Page, a Dudley football recruit that has committed to Clemson, has been training with VertiMax equipment to increase explosiveness in his football game.
College coaches told him what they wanted to see from him and he addressed that with VertiMax training, consistency and conditioning. “Explosiveness and a motor. They say I’m doing everything else right. … Consistency goes along with ‘motor,’ of course, and motor goes with conditioning, of course. That’s what I’ve been working on, my motor. The VertiMax (a training platform with bungee cords attached) and three sets of 10 20-yard sprints three times a week. I wish you had a video of that. I’m about sweating bullets.”
The recruiting process began for Dudley football player Payton Page after his freshman season and “got ridiculous.” That’s what happens when you’re a consensus four-star recruit ranked No. 30 in the nation by Rivals.com, No. 31 in the ESPN 300 and No. 80 in 247 Sports’ rankings for the Class of 2021.
“We had to look at distance right away, so a lot of schools were out of there because my Momma has to see my games no matter what. Then, it was where I was comfortable (based on unofficial visits). Then it was the D-line coaches, how comfortable I was with them. I have to be able to be myself. I’m really goofy. Everybody knows that, so I need somebody to mess around with. I couldn’t handle somebody who was mad-serious all the time. I know when to get serious, but I can’t do that all the time for three to four years.”
“It’s about heart. My ninth-grade year I got hit so daggone hard. (Coutize) Pope hit me so hard! I shed a couple of tears. I was crying just a little bit. Every joker started laughing at me on the field. Mind you, I didn’t know anybody because it was my first two or three practices, and everybody was laughing. After that day I always had a chip on my shoulder because I didn’t like that kind of stuff. I just kept earning my respect going against people like Pope, Reggie (Robertson), Caleb (Matthews), a whole lot of big jokers. I earned it every day. Every day. In my head it was, ‘I want my respect. I want my respect.’ It made me a whole lot better, because I was working so hard to get my respect out of them.”
“I’m not really focusing on stats this year. I’m trying to work on leadership in general. Not by yelling but by setting the tone, the example. Pass rush is what I’m working on. I want to be a three-down guy. I don’t want to be a one-down guy on third-and-short, goal line (in college).”
Update on Payton's Clemson Commitment here.