After competing the past two seasons in the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, JaVonta Payton has decided to use his final year of football eligibility in the SEC East.
Payton, a Mississippi State receiver the past two years who began his college career at Northwest Mississippi Community College, announced Wednesday afternoon on social media that he will play the 2021 season at Tennessee. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder is a former all-state selection at Nashville's Hillsboro High School.
"I was always meant to be home," Payton posted on Twitter.
In 21 career games with the Bulldogs, Payton amassed 28 receptions for 372 yards and a touchdown. Most of that output transpired last season, when he racked up 19 catches for 225 yards and the score.
Payton opened last year with a six-catch, 122-yard performance in Mississippi State's 44-34 upset win at LSU, and his touchdown occurred the following week during a home loss to Arkansas.
His two seasons at Northwest Mississippi yielded 67 catches for 840 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he was the nation's No. 28 junior-college prospect in the 2019 signing class, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
As a Hillsboro senior in 2016, Payton had 24 receptions for 452 yards and seven touchdowns, and he also rushed 63 times for 484 yards and six scores. He received scholarship offers from Kentucky, Ole Miss and Tennessee before having to head to junior college.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.