Colorado official visit gives OL Xavier Payne flip option 'to think about'
The Central New York native, now prepping at Miami (Fla.) Edison High School, took a midweek official visit to Colorado most recently and Coach Prime's program made a strong impression on the longtime Florida State Seminoles verbal commitment.
Advertisement
"It was great," Payne told Rivals. "The best part was being to sit down with the offensive line coaches and truly building that connection while getting to see their plan for me and how I fit into the program.
"As I was sitting in the room it really hit me how much NFL experience is on the staff. So not only do they know how to get there because they did it, but also because they have sent so many in their years of coaching."
It was the big blocker's first time in Boulder.
"The main coaches with me were the entire offensive line group and mainly coach Gunnar (White)," Payne said. "The place has definitely given me some things to think about.
Advertisement
"I meshed really well there. Don't count them out of my recruitment."
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
Payne even got to match wits with one of the most notable Buff players at the position in Jordan Seaton. The former five-star ran into the top recruit and something clicked.
"Me and Seaton actually got on the board for a little and compared my high school plays and showed me how they would run it," he said. "We both love the game deeply and love talking football. Like him sitting with me wasn't because of the coaches, he had just popped up in the offensive line room to hang a poster up and we just hit it off."
Advertisement
The Freshman All-American's time with the freshman-to-be emphasized how CU could potentially utilize the versatile blocker should he choose the program.
"They visualize me as a tackle and told me exactly what I have to fix to become a great tackle rather than interior," he said. "They also showed me to the drills on exactly how those issues would be fixed before college."
Payne, who has also taken an official visit to Syracuse and plans to return to Florida State this weekend, says the December pledge to the Seminoles remains a strong one.
"This weekend will reveal a lot," he said. "After FSU I'm done. And where I'm at is where I'm at. My recruitment will be shut down by the end of this month or early next month."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
5 position battles to watch at Steelers training camp
With just a few days until the Steelers report to training camp on July 23, fans have several positional battles across offense, defense, and special teams to look forward to. Here are the five biggest starting roles up for grabs in Latrobe this summer. Long snapper Although not the flashiest position in the NFL, Steelers starting LS Christian Kuntz will attempt to fend off journeyman LS Tucker Addington — who signed with Pittsburgh in June. Free safety While all signs point to FS Juan Thornhill as the go-to replacement for ex-Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, an undrafted rookie could push the two-time Super Bowl champion for the starting role — none other than standout Iowa Hawkeye DB Sebastian Castro. Fullback Hybrid player Connor Heyward may have hinted at a full-time switch to fullback this offseason — but he first needs to beat out undrafted rookie FB DJ Thomas-Jones, a sleeper to make the 53-man roster. Punter After Steelers starting punter Cameron Johnston suffered a season-ending knee injury last season, Corliss Waitman stepped up in a big way for Pittsburgh. Only one punter will remain in the Steel City — but whether it's the now-healthy Johnston or the talented Waitman who takes the role remains to be seen. Running back Jaylen Warren's time to shine as the Steelers' lead rusher could be in jeopardy — as Pittsburgh drafted one of 2024's best college running backs in Kaleb Johnson. Training camp will serve as the first of many battles to decide whether or not Warren can fend off the rookie third-rounder — and a strong outing in Latrobe could decide the fate of the starting running back position. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like. This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers training camp: 5 starting spots up for grabs in Latrobe
New York Times
4 minutes ago
- New York Times
WNBA All-Star Game winners, losers: ‘Pay Us' shirts, Napheesa Collier record, Indy as host
The WNBA's midseason showcase is officially over after Indianapolis took center stage. The festivities were capped by Team Collier's 151-131 victory over Team Clark. From Friday night's skills competition and 3-point contest to Saturday night's record-breaking performances, the All-Star Game mostly delivered — even without Caitlin Clark, whose injury prevented her from competing in the events as her Indiana Fever played host. But there's always room for improvement. Here are the winners and losers from 2025 All-Star Weekend. Lynx guards Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman provided fans with a behind-the-scenes look at All-Star festivities. They streamed the entire few days on Twitch, broadcasting everything from conversations in their hotel room to parties to locker room scenes. Among the highlights: • 'Stud Budz' capturing commissioner Cathy Engelbert dancing to Crime Mob's 'Knuck If You Buck' at a party on Friday night. Advertisement • Storm star Nneka Ogwumike walking into Williams' hotel room Saturday morning to alert her to an upcoming WNBPA meeting. • Fever star Aliyah Boston taking a drink away from Caitlin Clark at a party while Clark was on-screen, and Williams providing an almost-instant reaction to Thursday's CBA meeting. ''Stud Budz' has been the highlight of everybody's weekend,' Collier said. That's a sentiment felt by many. Continuing with the Lynx theme, Collier was the star of Saturday's All-Star Game. Not only was she efficient, making 13 of her 16 shots en route to setting an All-Star single-game points record, but as captain she picked a winning team that also set the record for most points. Collier has been one of the two MVP front-runners in the first half of the season, and Minnesota has the league's best record. Collier continued her positive momentum in Indianapolis with another standout performance. One play, two WNBA All-Star Game records 🔥 ◽️ Napheesa Collier — Most PTS in the ASG (36+) ◽️ Skylar Diggins — Most AST in the ASG (12+) 🎥 @WNBA — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 20, 2025 Though the women's basketball world descended to Indy for the All-Star Game, Unrivaled also had a strong presence around the festivities. Saturday was an important day for Unrivaled, as it announced NIL deals with 14 of the top players in college basketball: LSU's Flau'jae Johnson, JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd and Olivia Miles. Strong, Hidalgo, Fudd and Texas' Madison Booker told reporters that they hope to play in the league once they enter the professional ranks, as the upstart winter league continues to show signs of longevity in the basketball landscape. Unrivaled launched last year as a winter professional women's 3×3 league, co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Collier. NEWS: Unrivaled is signing 14 women's college basketball players to NIL deals. The signing class includes players such as JuJu Watkins, Lauren Betts, Hannah Hidalgo, Azzi Fudd and Flau'jae Johnson. — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 19, 2025 Even amid Caitlin Clark's absence from all of the competitions due to injury,downtown Indianapolis was still the epicenter of the women's basketball world. Fever three-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell assumed the de facto host role, welcoming fans to the game on Saturday, but by that point, the city had already made a strong impression. Advertisement 'It was an incredible weekend,' Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum said. 'This is my fourth time, and I thought by far it was the most packed, not just from the game standpoint, but 3-point contest, skills contest. The Orange Carpet was live. Every event that I saw that a player was doing was absolutely packed.' There was WNBA-related signage all over the city — in the airport and on streets — with the city putting up speciality street signs for all 13 teams. It would have been almost impossible to miss the presence of the event. Ionescu had 12 points in 20 minutes of All-Star Game action, but her performance on Friday night in the 3-point contest will be one of the lasting memories. She made 11 3s in a row at one point in her final round and dazzled the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd. After becoming only the second multi-time 3-point contest winner, Ionescu called Stephen Curry after her performance to celebrate, and she created a viral moment when discussing what she plans to do with the $60,000 bonus she receives from Aflac and the WNBPA for winning. (She's going to give half to Mystics rookie Sonia Citron.) Players recognized an opportunity and used it to highlight their case for increasing salaries as part of the ongoing CBA negotiations. They wore shirts during pregame warmups that read, 'Pay Us What You Owe Us.' During the on-court trophy presentation, fans broke into a 'Pay Them' chant, and Mystics guard Brittney Sykes stood behind Engelbert with a sign that said 'Pay The Players,' which was clearly visible on the ABC broadcast. For the players, getting this messaging out more broadly is a win. The talks between the WNBA and the WNBPA loomed over the events. The sides met Thursday afternoon, with more than 40 players — a record, per the WNBPA —at the bargaining session. Liberty star Breanna Stewart characterized the meeting as a 'wasted opportunity,' while Plum said the sides still have a 'long way to go.' WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert called the meeting 'constructive' and said she still has confidence a deal can be reached before the Oct. 31 deadline, but the labor situation appears tense. 'Pay them!' WNBA All-Star fans drowned out commissioner Cathy Engelbert during her presentation of the game's MVP award. With several CBA conversations in Indy this weekend, players warmed up in shirts that read 'Pay Us What You Owe Us.' — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 20, 2025 Friday night's events to kick off All-Star Weekend were undoubtedly successful and exciting. Natasha Cloud won the skills challenge and Ionescu won the 3-point contest. But the two events wrapped up in 70 minutes, leaving a feeling that fans deserved even more. There are more than enough WNBA stars who would be interested and eager to participate in more events. Engelbert acknowledged that change might be coming. Advertisement 'We'll definitely be looking at different ideas, different formats beyond the skills and 3-point (contest),' Englebert said. 'We're going to look at that and hopefully deliver something in the future on that.' The WNBA has come a long way since broadcasting such events on Friday afternoon of All-Star Weekend, as was the case as recently as 2023, but more can be done. Perhaps the league should copy Unrivaled's one-on-one tournament. Welp. If fans wanted to see a competitive All-Star Game, they should have elected to watch last year's exhibition between Team USA and the WNBA All-Stars instead of the 2025 showcase. Of course, the formats are different, and last year's exhibition — won 117-109 by Team WNBA — served as an important tune-up for the U.S. Olympic team before the Paris Games. But it's still hard to avoid comparing the contests. Team Collier and Team Clark combined to score 142 first-half points on Saturday, and Team Collier's 151 points set an All-Star Game record. Stewart said afterward that the quick turnaround between the first half and the second half of the season contributes to the quality of Saturday's play. 'Our game is a little bit competitive, but not as much as you probably want or the viewer wants, but we play on Tuesday, and it's Saturday,' Stewart said. 'So it would be lovely to be able to have a little bit more time to rest and relax, because what we do this weekend is a sprint.' The streak is finally over! Record breaking performance 🏆 Napheesa Collier is your #2025WNBAAllStar MVP!#PhantomCam — WNBA (@WNBA) July 20, 2025 For the first since 2013, a guard did not win All-Star MVP. The Athletic asked Plum about the streak pregame. 'Don't jinx it. They get all the love,' she said, while knocking on the floor. There were some standout guard performances: Skylar Diggins recorded the first triple-double in All-Star Game history, Mitchell scored 20 points, and Allisha Gray had 18 points, but Saturday night was about the forwards. In addition to Collier's performance, Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen posted a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double, Valkyries All-Star Kayla Thornton had a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Ogwumike scored 16 points to move into second place for most career All-Star points. (Photo of Napheesa Collier: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
New York Times
4 minutes ago
- New York Times
WNBA players wisely use All-Star spotlight for CBA leverage: ‘Pay us what you owe us'
INDIANAPOLIS — The WNBA All-Star Weekend represented the league at its peak: a massive mid-season showcase featuring the best players in the world, hosted in a city that has become synonymous with the rapid explosion of women's sports. But the celebrations took place in front of a backdrop of labor uncertainty. The league and the players' union remain far apart in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, with the current CBA set to expire on Oct. 31, 2025. With all eyes on the league, the All-Stars emerged for pregame warmups Saturday to reveal a message on their shirts: 'Pay Us What You Owe Us.' The players had a breakfast meeting the morning of the All-Star game when they collectively decided to make the shirts. The shirt is available for sale on the players' union's Instagram account, with all proceeds going to the WNBPA and the players. A post shared by WNBPA (@thewnbpa) After years of fighting an existential battle for the survival of the league, WNBA players enter this bargaining cycle with a rare power: leverage. The league is generating record revenue, it's expanding, and it's become part of the national consciousness. Now is the time for the players to cash in on what they have brought to the table. They want a business model that allows them to share in the growth of the WNBA and direct more of the revenue towards salaries and player experience. Advertisement 'We see the growth in the league and as it stands, the current salary system is not really paying us what we're owed,' said union president Nneka Ogwumike, a Seattle Storm forward. 'We want to be able to have that fair share moving forward, especially as we see all of the investment going in, and we want to be able to have our salaries be reflected in a structure that makes sense for us.' The league is in a period of hyper growth, as commissioner Cathy Engelbert illuminated in her annual mid-season address. Viewership is up 23 percent year over year, attendance 26 percent, and merchandise sales 40 percent. Money is pouring into the league — via media rights, expansion fees and other avenues — but players need to secure a piece of the growing business before the WNBA enters a sustainability mode. Their prominent message on one of the league's biggest nights, and their commitment to a united front, shows that the union understands its strength and is taking control of the narrative. Doing so on All-Star weekend isn't just about getting all of the players in one room together, though the breakfast meeting composed mostly of union leadership couldn't have happened if the players weren't all in one place. The timing is also important to engage fans when they are paying attention and when players are speaking to a nationally-televised audience on ABC. This effort allowed players to tap into the community that supports them and wants to help. At a panel earlier Saturday, fans asked Dawn Staley, Sydney Colson and Kate Martin how they could make a difference in the negotiations. Fans brought 'Pay the Players' signs to the game, and Mystics guard Brittney Sykes displayed one visible on the broadcast behind Engelbert during postgame interviews. The crowd also drowned out Englebert's speech with chants of 'pay them.' 'Pay them!' WNBA All-Star fans drowned out commissioner Cathy Engelbert during her presentation of the game's MVP award. With several CBA conversations in Indy this weekend, players warmed up in shirts that read 'Pay Us What You Owe Us.' — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 20, 2025 'It's huge to have the fans backing us,' union vice president Napheesa Collier said. 'A lot of things are the court of public opinion, and it does matter what people think, they of course, at the league recognize that as well, so adding that pressure is really great for us.' Players are not new to public activism. As WNBPA first vice president Kelsey Plum said, this is a resilient group that was politically outspoken during the Georgia Senate race in 2020. They understand the unity it takes to achieve a desired outcome. Advertisement Fashion as a visual forum for protest is a familiar tactic. The Minnesota Lynx wore T-shirts that said 'Change starts with us' and 'Black Lives Matter' on the back after the police killing of Philando Castile in 2016. The entire league wore Breonna Taylor's name on their jerseys in the 2020 WNBA bubble after she was killed by a police officer. And in 2022, the WNBA All-Stars changed at halftime into Brittney Griner jerseys to bring attention to her detention in Russia. At a moment that is critical to determine their future, players don't want to leave any stones unturned. They need participation from throughout the union, which is why a record number of players showed up to the bargaining meeting. For instance, Satou Sabally was unable to play in the All-Star Game but flew to Indiana on Thursday to attend the negotiations. Players have to publicly apply pressure on the league, using their collective, consistent messaging and their fan bases to rally behind them. They are preparing for a lockout, putting money away in case negotiations stall. They are appealing to Engelbert's legacy: Does she want to be the commissioner who presided over the most significant growth in women's sports history, or the one who oversaw a work stoppage? The wording of 'owe us' on the T-shirts was clarifying. The players have talked about getting what is fair, but this was a crucial change in the strategy to signify that a piece of the business already belongs to them. 'We're going to continue to push for everything that we've earned,' Liberty guard Natasha Cloud said. 'The word earned is something that needs to be highlighted. I think a lot of times you get told to just continue to take crumbs and be thankful for what we have,and that's just not the case anymore.' By hijacking a tentpole event for the league, players are expressing that they will not settle. They can't afford to do anything less. (Photo of Brittney Sykes: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
