After rollercoaster year, Pheldarius Payne is ready for a big jump at OLB

Pheldarius Payne was one of the more pleasant surprises for Nebraska in 2020, finishing with 21 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, and two pass breakups while playing in all eight games outside linebacker.

Considering how his debut season as a Husker started, it makes that performance even more impressive.

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound native of Suffolk, Va., committed to NU as a transfer from Lackawanna (Penn.) Community College. Upon his arrival, he underwent shoulder surgery and spent his first two months on campus rehabbing.

When he was finally cleared to join offseason workouts, Payne essentially had to start from scratch in rebuilding his upper-body strength.

“I had to hurry up and lift weights,” Payne said. “I was benching – I don’t think 135 (pounds). I was benching like 25 (pounds) on each side.”

Slowly but surely, Payne worked his way back into playing shape. Then came another setback, as he tested positive for COVID-19 and had to quarantine for nearly three weeks.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, Payne was also adjusting to a new defensive scheme at a brand-new position after moving from defensive end to outside linebacker – a role he had never played in his football career.

But Payne took it all in stride and became a fixture in Nebraska’s defensive rotation. His development, despite all that adversity, was something NU outside linebackers coach Mike Dawson definitely noticed.

“He got some good experience last year getting the reps that he got,” Dawson said. “I’m hoping that he can build on that and continue to grow. Another season with Zach (Duval) and his staff for him is huge, getting bigger and stronger, getting all kinds of change in his body. He’s doing a good job with that.

“Then also, knowing the calls, the terminology… There’s that little click where it registers what that’s saying to me or making me do in my job. Now that you don’t have to think about that, you just react, and it happens. I think that makes you step quicker, makes you a little bit stronger, you can anticipate a little bit better.

“I’m hoping that he can gauge that and have a great spring and use that as a stepping stone into a great summer.”

Payne said he’d reshaped his body over the past year, going from 265 pounds down to 250 this spring to better suit his responsibilities at outside linebacker.

Finally healthy and settled in at his position, Payne expects to make a big jump on and off the field in 2021.

“Oh, I expect to do a whole lot better because now I know the system and how things run,” Payne said. “I can just play, like actually just run to the ball, make plays. Last year, I was playing like a robot and just trying not to mess up. But now I know the play, so I can just run.”