River Rouge (Mich.) High three-star tight end Lee Payton doesn't hold a Michigan offer at this time but he still stopped by Ann Arbor earlier this week to get a feel for what's going on at U-M. He got a chance to spend some time with a few coaches and plans to remain in contact moving forward.
"We took a tour of the building and the museum," Payton said. "They took us around a little bit. I got to talk to a couple of the coaches for a while — Coach [Greg] Frey, Coach D [Tim Drevno], and Coach [Brian] Smith. It was good to talk with Coach D as the offensive coordinator and Coach Frey as the tight ends coach.
"They are basically saying that they want me to come up for camp. They just told me to stay patient and wait a couple of weeks and they can let me know about how scholarships are going. The just want me to wait it out and see how things go."
With tenders in hand from Florida, Syracuse and Western Michigan among others, Payton isn't quite a scorching commodity at this time but his profile is growing. If U-M were to get involved it would be a huge deal for the 6-3, 210-pounder.
"Michigan would be a top offer," he said. "It’s obviously close to home, which I like. I don’t really think I want to go too far away from home. You can’t beat a Michigan degree either so it would be big. I grew up a Wolverine fan. It’s the hometown school and my home was a Michigan environment so I’ve been a fan."
The schools that have offered are all making Payton feel like a priority and he's enjoying the process. No one is really standing out to him yet and he's just letting things play out.
"Pretty much every school that has offered me is giving me attention," he said. "Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Syracuse and Florida. I recently picked up Buffalo and I picked up Western Michigan today. They’re all making me feel wanted."
As he finishes up his junior year and prepares for his senior season he plans to hit as many schools and camps as he can. His name is picking up momentum on the recruiting trail but he plans to work as hard as possible to speed up that process.
"I really just plan on camping as much as I can," he said. "I’ll be at The Opening regional on April 9. I’ll be at the Rivals camp and the Under Armour camp too.
"I also do plan on camping at Michigan. I'd like to take another visit up there. I plan on reaching out to Coach Frey and getting that information."
Payton is a bit undersized but possesses a lot of athleticism and is also very well built. He's got a chance to shoot up recruiting boards into the spring and summer with solid camp performances and by being more visible.
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