Three lead for five-star Payne
Five-star defensive tackle Daron Payne lists a top three full of SEC flavor with Alabama, Auburn, and Mississippi State sitting at the top. He claims no leaders among his top three, but there are plenty of reasons the three programs are leading the way.
"Alabama and Auburn have been recruiting me hard since I started getting recruited, and I have a great relationship with the coaches," Payne said. "With Mississippi State I've been down there a couple of times and I've just started to grow to love it."
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While the three programs are at the top of the list he does have a few other schools in his plans. In fact one of the visits on his mind is to an SEC program not among his top three.
"Visits right now I'm not really sure but I knew I wanted to get out there to see Florida play Bama and maybe take a trip to Ole Miss but we'll see how it goes," Payne said.
He does not have any official visits scheduled at this point and he is not in a hurry to end his recruiting process.
While he continues to look over his options and set up his schedule, he does have an idea about when he would like to make his announcement.
"In January at the Under Armour game," Payne said.
Payne is currently focused on his senior season, and on Saturday night at the Battle on the Border in Shreveport, La., Shades Valley moved to 4-0 on the season with a 39-21 win over Lafayette (La.) Acadiana.
"We knew it was going to be a tough fight, but we worked hard in practice this week and came out prepared to win," Payne said.
Payne is currently ranked No. 20 in the Rivals100, No. 3 among the nation's 2015 defensive tackles, and No. 1 in the Rivals.com Alabama Preseason Top 40.