Leonard Payne Jr.
Leonard Payne Jr.
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Leonard Payne Jr. has played for three head coaches across three seasons and two programs. One game to point at: 3 tackles, 1 sacks against Oregon State — Week 10, 2023.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
How it ended
Three seasons at Colorado, 8 sacks — his college career is complete.
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2023
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Karl Dorrell, Mike Sanford Jr., and Deion Sanders. Multi-era developmental context.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Deion Sanders
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 1 · 2-deepR03 · Backup
Spot duty on defense. Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Colorado | 10 | 6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Fresno State | 9 | 5 | 4.5 | 1.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Fresno State | 22 | 10 | 5.0 | 3.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 41 | 21 | 12.5 | 7.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
How he plays
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
3-Tech Penetrator
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
His 2023 production profile sits closest to Marley Cook’s 2021 season.
Matches Marley on
Differs from Marley on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Kameron Hamilton's senior season at Tulane (2024).
Matches Kameron on
Differs from Kameron on