Colonel Crawford's Payne DeGray commits to University of Saint Francis

NORTH ROBINSON ― The recruiting process can be an arduous journey.

For Colonel Crawford senior Payne DeGray, though, it was a no-brainer where he wanted to go from the moment he stepped on campus at the University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne.

“(It) is beautiful, and the stadium is right on a lake — it’s perfect,” DeGray said.

Surrounded by friends and family, teammates and coaches, he inked his commitment to continue his football career as a Cougar on Wednesday, Feb. 4.

“The coaching staff there is unbelievable, great people, they put off a great impression right away,” DeGray said. “And when I went for my game day visit, it was a great atmosphere. It was almost like high school; when I was there on visit, I could stand on the sideline and I was helping them give out plays … I liked that feeling, really family oriented.”

As a freshman, it was never a matter of if he could make an impact on the varsity team, rather when that would be.

“We had a really good team in ’22, and we couldn’t block him consistently running the ball in practice,” Colonel Crawford coach Jake Bruner said. “So, he earned his way pretty quick because we noticed that he’s going to be a dude. He was pushing kids like Parker Ketterman in practice … we knew he was going to be good, but we worried as a sophomore how he was going to do with the pass rush — he answered that question pretty quickly.”

From going toe-to-toe with All-Ohioans as a freshman to capping off his football career as a state semifinalist and the Division VI Defensive Player of the Year is just a testament to the hours DeGray has invested into bettering himself.

“He’s put a lot of work in,” Bruner said. “Yes, he’s a big guy, but the amount of work he’s putting in the offseason — and not just football, the kid plays basketball — the last couple years he has drove to Columbus and worked on his hands and feet. Not only that, but in the summertime, he’s helping our other kids.

“All of our kids have had to sacrifice something, and he was a tight end for us until Aden Spence went down, then he went to tackle. He did what was best for the team and now what was probably best for him. Statistically, he put on a show the entire year. Everybody in our league for the most part found him and ran the other way, which is what I would do, too.”

DeGray, boasting a 3.9 GPA, plans to study business finance with a minor in sports management with the hopes of someday working with a sports franchise. But coaching at the collegiate level is a potential fallback he wouldn’t be too disappointed with.

“I think that’d be pretty cool,” he said. “I can’t wait to go out there and learn from (my new coaches). I’m always thinking about becoming a coach eventually. I want to implant it into other players coming up in the future.”

He gets it naturally; his dad Brett is the defensive coordinator at Colonel Crawford.

“Plus, it’s hard playing for your dad,” Bruner said. “He’s handled a lot of criticism over the years, so it’ll be good to see him have a lot of success in college.

“His class is the most successful senior class that has gone through here in football, and probably will be in basketball, too. Which says a lot, he has been a focal point of both. His legacy will live a little longer because he’s helped a lot of our younger kids in the summer … he’s a coach and we’ll probably try to squeeze a little more out of him in the summer before he leaves.”

And it’s quite a legacy he leaves behind. DeGray was named Northern 10 Defensive Player of the Year twice, Northwest District Lineman of the Year as a junior and Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, a three-time All-Ohioan on the gridiron, and the program’s career leader in tackles for loss (235), forced fumbles (9), and sacks (28) along with single-season sacks (14.5).

Now, he’s eager for a new challenge.

“Over the past three years, I’ve been a starter at Colonel Crawford, which has been amazing,” DeGray said. “But I’m a process guy, starting over a little bit, earning my spot on a different team and building myself up from there.

“I want to be the best football player I can be and this is the next step.”

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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Colonel Crawford’s Payne DeGray to continue football at Saint Francis