Missouri State

2021
Played in all 12 games in his second season at Missouri State ... Caught 4 passes for 58 yards on the season with one touchdown ... Caught 2 passes for 29 yards, including a 17-yard TD, at Youngstown State (10/9/21) and also had a tackle in that game ... Snagged passes in each of last two games of season, including a 16-yard reception at Dixie State (11/20/21) and a 13-yard catch vs. UT Martin (11/27/21) in NCAA FCS Playoff game at home.

2020-21
Played in 9 games as a true freshman ... Ranked 10th in the MVFC and 66th nationally in kick/punt return yards (151) ... Caught 8 passes for 77 yards as a true freshman ... Made his debut at No. 11 Central Arkansas (9/26/20) and had 5 receptions for 57 yards with a long of 25 yards ... Had 3 touches in MVFC opener at Western Illinois (2/27/21) with a pair of rushes and a 6-yard pass reception ... Also caught passes in wins at UNI (3/20/21) and vs. Southern Illinois (3/27/21) ... Returned 5 kicks -- 3 kickoffs and 2 punts -- in NCAA FCS Playoff game at North Dakota (4/24/21), including 32-yard kick return and a 32-yard punt return at the Alerus Center ... Also credited with a pair of special teams tackles in playoff game at UND.

High School
Helped lead Fort Zumwalt North High School in suburban St. Louis to four straight conference and district titles as starting defensive back, quarterback and wide receiver … Helped coach Joe Bacon's Panthers to a 12-1 record in 2019 while earning GAC Player of the Year honors … Passed for 984 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior while rushing for 1601 yards and 26 touchdowns … Also racked up 52 total tackles in 2019 while earning all-district and all-conference honors at both positions and all-state second team honors at QB … As a junior, he tallied 62 tackles with 963 all-purpose yards, averaging 15.3 yards on 26 pass receptions as an all-state WR … Posted 671 all-purpose yards his sophomore season with 7 TD receptions … FZN was 46-6 in his four seasons, earning all-conference and all-district honors three times … Also competed in basketball and track in high school.
 
Personal
Cairo Jordan Payne was born 9/20/01 in Bell County, Texas … Son of Calvin Payne Jr. and Paris Vaughn of O’Fallon, Mo. … Has two brothers, Cameron and Calvin, and two sisters, Kayla and Cherub… Undecided on academic major.