Troy University Athletics
Trojans Golf Welcomes Great to Town
10/27/2009 9:45:00 PM | General, Golf (M)
Almost 32 years to the day, Eddie Payton joined an illustrious group of NFL players who have run a kickoff and a punt back for touchdowns in the same game. Today, Payton is the golf coach for Jackson State University in Mississippi and promoting the game of golf on a daily basis.
But long before Eddie became the golf coach of the Jackson State program, the name Payton has become synonymous with the word success. The elder Payton is the older brother of NFL Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, overshadowing the success that Eddie had on the playing field and continues to do today on the golf course.
“When people think about Payton they immediately go to Walter Payton,” he said. “Somewhere down the line they get to Eddie Payton. We were just blessed to be brought up and raised by a community, and to take what little bit of athletic ability we had and parlay that into a decent career. It is a blessing and a tribute to hard work, nothing special, just hard work.”
Although most people associate football and Payton to Walter, Troy coach Matt Terry knows Eddie as Eddie Payton; not because of something his brother did.
“Eddie is a great guy,” Terry said. “He coaches both teams at Jackson State and does a great job with them. He always has a great attitude, he is always trying to teach them and to be a great leader and a mentor. I have never talked to him much about Walter, and Eddie is such a great guy that you want to talk to him about himself.
“I think it is neat that he played in the league for so many years and the things he did. I was able to watch him growing up. He is a quality individual, and being overshadowed sometimes is not always a bad thing. It allows you to do your thing, and you can make your mistakes and you really don't get hounded as much for it. It is interesting being around him because we talk about golf more than anything.”
Terry gets a kick out of watching Payton on the golf course, especially since he doesn't come off as a golf coach when you know his background.
“It is neat watching him,” Terry said. “He likes to hunt and fish, but he also likes to be out on the golf course. I know for his sake they win their league every year, and have won some minority championships and been to some regionals. It has been interesting to see a guy who has played in the NFL being associated in golf. He has played in numerous celebrity golf tournaments, and that is huge.”
Eddie's name has come up recently with the conclusion of the San Diego-Denver game last week when Eddie Royal returned a kickoff and punt for a touchdown for the Broncos.
“Up until he did it there were only two of us,” Payton said. “I rank number two in total yardage, so it something fun to watch. When they make such a fuss about it, you realize how special the event was. When you do it you are happy, but when someone does it 20 years later and become the 10th person, you realize how special it was. I was proud for him to become number 11 in NFL history for the rest of his life.”
Payton achieved that feat on December 17, 1977 against the Minnesota Vikings; and on October 27, 2009 he continues to coach golf at his alma mater, Jackson State University.
“Having an opportunity to do things I love is special,” Payton said. “I love doing what I do at Jackson State because they made me who I am today, and having the opportunity to go back and give something back to the university is special.
“Some people make large cash donations, and I have given them 25 years as a golf coach trying to do it the right way in an attempt to give back for the support, encouragement and guidance they gave me when I was there. If not for Jackson State, the Payton name would not be what it is today.”
Terry is a firm believer in what Payton has done for the game of golf, and what he has done for the school as a whole at Jackson State.
“I have asked him why he doesn't become the athletic director,” Terry said. “He has been there so long, but he doesn't want to take away from his hunting and fishing. They don't have to worry about anything with that program, they can let him go. He is going to run it clean, do it the right way and not have any NCAA violations. He is going to raise money and create awareness for an historical black university.
“For a team that is promoting golf with a minority is huge, and you can see it with what Tiger Woods has done. The game of golf is growing and evolving, and he has played a part in that. There is no doubt about that.”
Since Payton got into coaching golf, the women's game has evolved particularly on the women's side. He has a chance this season to coach his daughter and try to lead Jackson State to another SWAC championship.
But he remembers a time long before today when getting women's golfers out was an issue.
“If we could get five girls out who could break 85 we thought we had a chance to win,” Payton said. “That was when I first started. Now it has evolved to where if you don't have a girl or two who can shoot par or better, you are not even going to be in the hunt. I can remember when 320 was the standard, and now you have eight teams in the field this week in Troy who broke 300. There are more and more female teams out there that are capable of doing that, and it is going to be interesting to see how good it gets.”
This week, Jackson State made the trip to Troy to play in the annual Troy Women's Invitational. This year the tournament was held at the Troy Country Club, while in years past it has been held in Montgomery and Prattville.
“Matt does a great job with this tournament,” Payton said. “He works really hard, and he has a lot of support in the community especially here at the country club. They welcome you with open arms, and as a guest and a competitor it makes you feel real good.”
Payton and Terry have become close over time, with both coaching the men and women's teams at their university. And this tournament has only drawn them closer.
“I am proud of Matt for what he has done here,” Payton said. “We have played here, in Montgomery, in Prattville and he moves it to great places every time we play. We enjoy coming over to this tournament every year.”
Terry knows there will be at least one team in his tournament each year because of the relationship that has been built over time. He knows he can pick up the phone and call Payton, and his team will be on a van headed to play in the tournament.
“He will call or I will call just to talk,” Terry said. “He always shows up, his kids are act right and who their class. He has one now that is in the final stage of LPGA school and has a chance to make it, so that shows his caliber. He has some good players go through his program, and he continues to recruit those kids. They are always eligible and they are always doing what they are supposed to do, and they act well. We love playing with them in tournaments.”
Payton has one simple legacy that he wants to leave, and it is not on the gridiron.
“When I look back I did everything I could to help those who couldn't help themselves,” he said. “I have tried to enrich their loves, and try to give them a goal to aspire to. Plus we have educated a lot of people. Hopefully people will remember me as a good person, not as a good football player.”
Jackson State has a special place in the heart of Eddie Payton, but Eddie Payton has a special place in the hearts of the people he has come in contact with. He is a man who will leave a legacy no matter where he goes or what he does, because he is Eddie Payton - man who stands for what he believes.
But long before Eddie became the golf coach of the Jackson State program, the name Payton has become synonymous with the word success. The elder Payton is the older brother of NFL Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, overshadowing the success that Eddie had on the playing field and continues to do today on the golf course.
“When people think about Payton they immediately go to Walter Payton,” he said. “Somewhere down the line they get to Eddie Payton. We were just blessed to be brought up and raised by a community, and to take what little bit of athletic ability we had and parlay that into a decent career. It is a blessing and a tribute to hard work, nothing special, just hard work.”
Although most people associate football and Payton to Walter, Troy coach Matt Terry knows Eddie as Eddie Payton; not because of something his brother did.
“Eddie is a great guy,” Terry said. “He coaches both teams at Jackson State and does a great job with them. He always has a great attitude, he is always trying to teach them and to be a great leader and a mentor. I have never talked to him much about Walter, and Eddie is such a great guy that you want to talk to him about himself.
“I think it is neat that he played in the league for so many years and the things he did. I was able to watch him growing up. He is a quality individual, and being overshadowed sometimes is not always a bad thing. It allows you to do your thing, and you can make your mistakes and you really don't get hounded as much for it. It is interesting being around him because we talk about golf more than anything.”
Terry gets a kick out of watching Payton on the golf course, especially since he doesn't come off as a golf coach when you know his background.
“It is neat watching him,” Terry said. “He likes to hunt and fish, but he also likes to be out on the golf course. I know for his sake they win their league every year, and have won some minority championships and been to some regionals. It has been interesting to see a guy who has played in the NFL being associated in golf. He has played in numerous celebrity golf tournaments, and that is huge.”
Eddie's name has come up recently with the conclusion of the San Diego-Denver game last week when Eddie Royal returned a kickoff and punt for a touchdown for the Broncos.
“Up until he did it there were only two of us,” Payton said. “I rank number two in total yardage, so it something fun to watch. When they make such a fuss about it, you realize how special the event was. When you do it you are happy, but when someone does it 20 years later and become the 10th person, you realize how special it was. I was proud for him to become number 11 in NFL history for the rest of his life.”
Payton achieved that feat on December 17, 1977 against the Minnesota Vikings; and on October 27, 2009 he continues to coach golf at his alma mater, Jackson State University.
“Having an opportunity to do things I love is special,” Payton said. “I love doing what I do at Jackson State because they made me who I am today, and having the opportunity to go back and give something back to the university is special.
“Some people make large cash donations, and I have given them 25 years as a golf coach trying to do it the right way in an attempt to give back for the support, encouragement and guidance they gave me when I was there. If not for Jackson State, the Payton name would not be what it is today.”
Terry is a firm believer in what Payton has done for the game of golf, and what he has done for the school as a whole at Jackson State.
“I have asked him why he doesn't become the athletic director,” Terry said. “He has been there so long, but he doesn't want to take away from his hunting and fishing. They don't have to worry about anything with that program, they can let him go. He is going to run it clean, do it the right way and not have any NCAA violations. He is going to raise money and create awareness for an historical black university.
“For a team that is promoting golf with a minority is huge, and you can see it with what Tiger Woods has done. The game of golf is growing and evolving, and he has played a part in that. There is no doubt about that.”
Since Payton got into coaching golf, the women's game has evolved particularly on the women's side. He has a chance this season to coach his daughter and try to lead Jackson State to another SWAC championship.
But he remembers a time long before today when getting women's golfers out was an issue.
“If we could get five girls out who could break 85 we thought we had a chance to win,” Payton said. “That was when I first started. Now it has evolved to where if you don't have a girl or two who can shoot par or better, you are not even going to be in the hunt. I can remember when 320 was the standard, and now you have eight teams in the field this week in Troy who broke 300. There are more and more female teams out there that are capable of doing that, and it is going to be interesting to see how good it gets.”
This week, Jackson State made the trip to Troy to play in the annual Troy Women's Invitational. This year the tournament was held at the Troy Country Club, while in years past it has been held in Montgomery and Prattville.
“Matt does a great job with this tournament,” Payton said. “He works really hard, and he has a lot of support in the community especially here at the country club. They welcome you with open arms, and as a guest and a competitor it makes you feel real good.”
Payton and Terry have become close over time, with both coaching the men and women's teams at their university. And this tournament has only drawn them closer.
“I am proud of Matt for what he has done here,” Payton said. “We have played here, in Montgomery, in Prattville and he moves it to great places every time we play. We enjoy coming over to this tournament every year.”
Terry knows there will be at least one team in his tournament each year because of the relationship that has been built over time. He knows he can pick up the phone and call Payton, and his team will be on a van headed to play in the tournament.
“He will call or I will call just to talk,” Terry said. “He always shows up, his kids are act right and who their class. He has one now that is in the final stage of LPGA school and has a chance to make it, so that shows his caliber. He has some good players go through his program, and he continues to recruit those kids. They are always eligible and they are always doing what they are supposed to do, and they act well. We love playing with them in tournaments.”
Payton has one simple legacy that he wants to leave, and it is not on the gridiron.
“When I look back I did everything I could to help those who couldn't help themselves,” he said. “I have tried to enrich their loves, and try to give them a goal to aspire to. Plus we have educated a lot of people. Hopefully people will remember me as a good person, not as a good football player.”
Jackson State has a special place in the heart of Eddie Payton, but Eddie Payton has a special place in the hearts of the people he has come in contact with. He is a man who will leave a legacy no matter where he goes or what he does, because he is Eddie Payton - man who stands for what he believes.
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