Considering his name is a homonym of the all-time great and he plays the same position, TJ Peyton was asked if he was familiar with Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton.
The answer? Yes. Which is a bit surprising considering Payton died nearly 30 years ago, long before Peyton was born, and retired from football a decade before that.
Nonetheless, there was a little Sweetness in some of Peyton’s runs as he racked up a career-high 121 yards and two touchdowns in ETSU’s 48-14 win over Tusculum on Saturday evening.
Peyton, who grew up a Steelers fan, said he modeled his game after Le’Veon Bell: “That’s my favorite running back of all time. I actually got his signed jersey in the house, so that’s my favorite back. And growing up as a kid, I was always good at football.”
Peyton also shared that, when he was younger, he used to tell people that Walter Payton was his uncle.
ETSU coach Will Healy made a different comparison when discussing Peyton’s game and the way he runs the ball. “When I had a chance to recruit TJ, I felt like he was an Ashton Jeanty of the Group of 5, that if you showcased him and you gave him the amount of carries that Ashton had, then he could be that type of player,” Healy said. “And you know, I’m not trying to be any of these recruiting guys or MaxPreps or Tom Lemming, but I thought that guy was pretty special from the first time I saw him.
“He just runs really hard, he’s got great balance, he’s got really good vision, he’s patient, he catches the ball well out of the backfield, and he’s created some explosive runs.”
Peyton, who transferred to ETSU from Georgia State, got most of his work and his practice reps with the Panthers returning kicks. So, as he noted, it’s really been since his high school days
“It’s really been surreal. I haven’t really got a lot of running back reps since my senior year in high school,” Peyton said.
He’ll be getting plenty of them going forward, but he’s not the only back capable of generating positive gains. Sophomore Jaiden Daniels also had a career night running the ball, tallying 56 yards on seven attempts. D’Marius Rucker added 30 yards on eight touches with a TD in the final minute. Jason Albritton, the human wrecking ball of the backfield, had five runs for 26 yards including a short scoring plunge. Healy didn’t rule out using more two-back sets going forward.
Hold the Line
Two games into the season, and the offensive line looks like a significant strength for ETSU. The Bucs ran for 225 yards as a team against Tusculum and have allowed just one sack to date this season.
ETSU has used the same five starters up front against both ETSU and Tusculum: Kingsport native Sam Browder at left tackle, Micah Sumpter at left guard, Maddox Radcliffe at center, Isaiah Hall at right guard, and Ty Williams at right tackle.
“I’m very proud of our offensive line,” Healy said. “I think I felt really good about the talent level we have there. And I think the beauty of that line, too, is that they’re only going to get better.”
Healy shared that the O-line came up during a conversation with offensive coordinator Brian Blackmon following the Campbell game.
“A guy like Sam Browder is only going to get better. Josh Benson is only going to get better,” Healy said. “Micah basically played the entire last year on a labrum; now he’s starting. Maddox is starting for the first time.”
Healy added that backup linemen Frank West and Will McCraw were also coming off of injuries.
Don’t Call Him Star
ETSU has two games in the books and Mason Mims has connected with Suderian Harrison on a 55-yard pass in each of them. This week, Harrison’s 55-yarder went for a touchdown, as he took the quick slant from Mims and ran untouched for the end zone on the Bucs’ third offensive play of the game.
When Harrison’s name came up in the postgame press conference, Healy brought out a rhetorical question: “Did we call them Sudarian tonight instead of Star?” he said, referring to the public address announcer.
“Just make sure,” Healey quipped, still riffing. “Sudie was about to transfer. Sudie was on the way out.”
“I think that Sudie works really hard,” Healy added. “I think he’s got a really good grasp of football. It’s kind of Ephraim Floyd, taking that responsibility that he had for us last year, just really consistent. … I think Sudie and Mason have a really good connection. I think Mason has a really good connection with a lot of those wideouts.”
Davis Debuts
Bucs fans got their first look at Michigan transfer Jadyn Davis, the backup quarterback behind Mims, on ETSU’s final offensive possession. Davis engineered a scoring drive capped by Rucker’s run. Along the way he completed both passes he attempted for 17 yards.
Healy said that drive with Davis was “the toughest part about tonight.
“Wanting Jadyn to be able to run our offense because he deserves that opportunity to run our offense while also respecting the hell out of the guy on the opposing side. And that was hard. Because I want to do what’s right by Jaden, that’s my number one responsibility. … But I also love that dude that’s on the other sideline.”
With “that dude” being Tusculum coach Billy Taylor, a former player at ETSU and longtime defensive coordinator.
Speaking of Taylor, thanks to Mark Fleenor for passing along these pictures from after the game as the Tusculum coach caught up with Gaillardetz, Dre Delinois, and senior defensive lineman Josh Meltzer after the game.
On to Belichick
The three players to come to the postgame media briefing – Mims, Peyton, and linebacker Jarvis Johnson – were asked about heading to North Carolina this coming Saturday, (Noon, ACC Network) currently led by Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots.
Mims said he grew up a Patriots fan: “It’s pretty cool. To be able to know the greatest NFL head coach of all time is gonna be preparing against us, to beat us.”
Peyton, as mentioned earlier, did not. “For me, it’s a little weird because I grew up a Steelers fan,” he said. “I don’t really like the Patriots.
“It’s gonna definitely be cool,” Johnson said. “You know, talk about the greatest head coach in the league, coached the greatest quarterback of all time. So it’s definitely going to be a cool moment. Might be a little of the aura, but I feel it’s going to be a great experience.”
Tusculum locals
There’s a heavy local influence on the Tusculum roster. Two former ETSU players started: Javon Richardson at wide receiver and Malachi Jim-Lawson on the defensive line. Max Turan, a Science Hill product, handled the kicking, made both extra points, and missed a 42-yard field goal.
Specialist Quinton Brandon (Greeneville/ETSU) and linebacker Cameron Garnett (ETSU) also saw action.
Other locals and former ETSU players on the Tusculum roster include:
- QB Ty Engle (Unicoi County)
- LB Colten Suggs (North Greene)
- DB Raeshon Palmer (Cocke County)
- DB Thomas Lollar (Greeneville)
- RB Malachi Monroe (Morristown West)
- WR Jeriah Griffin (Greeneville)
- RB Jason West (Morristown East)
- OL Hunter Riddell (Daniel Boone)
- OL Eli Davis (Morristown East)
- DL Braylon Fugate (D-B)
- OL Gio Chavez (Morristown West)
- TE Marquis Davis (Morristown West)
- TE Concepcion Reyes Jr. (Greeneville),
‘North America’s Team’
Game captains for ETSU were senior long snapper Brock Winstead, senior linebacker Delinois, senior offensive lineman Micah Sumpter, and Fifth Year receiver Xavier Gaillardetz. Two of the four captains, Delinois and Gaillardetz, are Canadian, as Healy pointed out at the end of his postgame media session:
“Okay, we had two Canadians. So if anybody’s wondering, we do not discriminate. We are North America’s team.”
Buc Bits
Delinois led the Bucs in tackles for the second straight week, making 11 stops. Johnson had eight tackles with a sack. … Mason Ball (Elizabethton) started at defensive tackle for the Bucs for the second straight week. … Gaillardetz had 74 punt returns yards on four attempts, including a 33-yarder. His most promising return got called back for a holding penalty that appeared to draw the ire of Healy on the sideline. … ETSU wore white helmets, gold jerseys, and white pants with a gold and blue stripe down the leg. … Bucs players wore special E decals on their helmets designed by patients at Niswonger Children’s Hospital. Several ETSU players shared their personalized decals on their Instagram accounts.