Three things I like about Notre Dame RB #3 Gi’Bran Payne

Tough Ohioan

The Notre Dame football roster is full of great players — known and unknown. No matter the place on the depth chart or the recruiting ranking a player had attached to him before his arrival at Notre Dame — there are probably some things I really like about him. So over the course of the next few months, let’s take a positive approach to running down the roster.

Almost daily (just being honest) I’ll list three things I like about a single player on the roster, and as an additional bonus, I’ll post some extra pics over on the OFD Instagram account (be sure to follow RIGHT HERE).

Next up…

#3 Gi’Bran Payne — Running Back

The 5’3” 203 pound senior from LaSalle High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a late addition to the 2022 recruiting class (and a bit of an afterthought for some fans), but quickly found an important role at Notre Dame in his sophomore season.

Here are three things I like about Gi’Bran Payne:

1. Ohio Forever.

Sorry, but I’m not sorry. Notre Dame players that come from the Buckeye state just hold a special place in my heart. While Cincinnati has long been a fertile recruiting area for the Irish, LaSalle High School rarely sends the Irish a football player — so that’s pretty sweet.

2. He’s a wood carver.

After a redshirt freshman year, Payne carved out a role as a short yardage back — and that even expanded into an overall role of a third down back. All of that with Audric Estime, Jeremiyah Love, and Jadarian Price on the roster. That’s eye-opening.

3. He’s ready to go.

Before Payne got hurt last spring, he was a real looker. He looked and ran like a different running back — a better running back. He already had a role on the team, but he was primed to make an even bigger impact. While the question marks of “coming off of an injury” will still be there, I think he gets back to where he left off last spring which makes Notre Dame’s running back room the best in the entire nation.