Payne one to watch

Cleveland South pro-style quarterback Devontae Payne is one of the top passers in the Midwest this recruiting class. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder already has one offer on the table from Bowling Green, but he hopes to earn even more offers this spring.

"I haven't really gotten a ton of calls yet, but that's mainly because I've been calling them," Payne said. "I've talked to coaches at Ohio State, Indiana and Kansas State. I think the coaches from Kansas State and Indiana are going to be coming by the school sometime this week. I'm also getting a lot of letters and e-mails from schools, too."

Payne definitely has the talent to be heavily recruited. A raw, tall quarterback with a solid arm, Payne helped his team finish 8-2 on the season.

"I don't have any new offers, but I think most schools are waiting on my test scores," he said. "I should have no problem with that. I'm just working hard on that and then also working out for the football season."

Payne said he's working hard at a few important things that will help him get better.

"Footwork is the biggest thing for me," he said. "I need to get better feet. That's the worst part of my game. It's not like it's really bad, but I need to just get better at it."

When it comes to strengths, Payne said he feels his size helps him out a lot. He also thinks he's a smart quarterback.

"I'm really good at reading defenses," he said. "I'm also very accurate and I have the arm to put the spiral through the defenders."

Payne said he plans to hit a few camps and events this spring, including the big Elite Training Camp at Cleveland Brown's Stadium on May 6.

"That should be fun to go see how I stack up against the other top players in the area," Payne said.