Former Indiana RB signee Gi’Bran Payne to officially visit Notre Dame
Notre Dame will host Cincinnati La Salle class of 2022 running back Gi’Bran Payne for an official visit this weekend, he informed BlueandGold.com via text message.
Payne originally committed to Indiana back in the summer of 2021 and signed with the Hoosiers last December. But Hoosiers’ running backs coach Deland McCullough left the program for the same position at Notre Dame. A few weeks later, Payne announced on Twitter that he had been released from his National Letter of Intent with Indiana.
“I just want to explore options more,” Payne told the Cincinnati Enquirer after releasing the news of his release. “Relationships weren’t the same and kind of faded. There wasn’t much communication there, and it didn’t feel as good anymore.”
Payne is currently at Kentucky for an official visit, so the Irish have competition for Payne, but with his strong relationship with McCullough, Notre Dame should be considered the team to beat.
Because Payne did not enroll early at Indiana, his release does not affect his eligibility. If he chooses Notre Dame, he’d get to South Bend this summer and join a scholarship running back room of junior Chris Tyree, sophomores Audric Estime and Logan Diggs and freshman Jadarian Price.
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According to the On3 Consensus, the four-star recruit is the nation’s No. 334 overall player and No. 27 running back for the 2022 class. He’s also the No. 12 player from his home state of Ohio.
During his junior and senior seasons in which he battled injuries, Payne totaled just 509 rushing yards and 11 total touchdowns (eight rushing and three receiving).
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His sophomore year was his best, as he helped lead La Salle to a 2019 Ohio Division II state championship. Per the Enquirer, he rushed for 790 yards and nine touchdowns. He also added eight receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns and was a key linebacker for his team, posting 41 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions – one of which he returned for a touchdown.
During his recruiting process, Payne held offers from the likes of Alabama, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan, Kentucky, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Northwestern, Louisville, Minnesota and others.
He was a part of the La Salle 4×100 relay team that won a state championship last year and is running track again this spring.
Payne currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $15k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.
