Payton had one reception for seven yards and a carry for 23 yards rushing in the Hurricanes victory over FCS Bethune-Cookman in 2019. The reports about his play in practice last season have drawn raves and the expectation is he will challenge Pope and Wiggins for first-team snaps in 2020.
Payton is close to locked in as the fourth WR. With the new offense being installed by offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee there will be plenty of opportunity for the top four WRs on Miami. Behind Harley, Payton, Pope and Wiggins will be a quartet of true freshman signed in December and February.
Four-star 2020 WR signee Michael Redding and three-stars, Xavier Restrepo, Keyshawn Smith and Dazalin Worsham will have to emerge to provide Miami with depth this season. Smith was reportedly impressive during the spring and Restrepo is ahead of former Miami WR Braxton Berrios at the same point in his career.
Restrepo has been compared to Berrios and is being groomed to replace Harley as the slot receiver for Miami. The Lashlee offense is very WR friendly. Miami needs its receivers to become more of a part of the passing game in 2020. The Hurricanes 2020 passing offense was too reliant on Osborne and TE Brevin Jordan.