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$85 USDJACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY X WALTER PAYTON
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About — Jackson State University X Walter Payton
“When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.”
A historic institution with the world’s most famous marching band — the Sonic Boom of the South — providing the soundtrack to the heart of Mississippi. It was here that the man they called “Sweetness” came of age on the football field.
From 1971-75, Walter Payton revolutionized the running back position while playing for the Tigers, carrying the ball in one arm and a chip on his shoulder on the other. Though he was a blue-chip player from Columbia just 85 miles to the south of Jackson, Payton wasn’t recruited in the SEC. So, he stayed home. Defiantly. And it wasn’t long until he became a campus legend.
Walter could fly. He could glide down the sidelines as if his feet were barely in contact with the ground. Yet for all that beauty in his stride, his real game was punishment. To put a shoulder into a defender and bowl him over. To stiff arm, bounce off, trample, and ultimately gallop through the secondary. Running through the deep sands along the banks of the Pearl River in his hometown made him next to impossible to bring down.
He was grit and grace.
“He runs so sweet that it gives me cavities just watching him,” a reporter at the time said.
How good was Sweetness? He broke the SWAC single-game record with seven touchdowns in a single game against Lane. He ran for 3,563 yards in his career, a JSU record, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. He scored 65 total touchdowns, and an NCAA record 464 points. He was a three-time Black College All-American, and a two-time FCS All-American. He set Mississippi Veteran’s Memorial Stadium ablaze.
We all saw what Walter did after that. Chicago. Hall of Fame. Rewriting the record books.
But his roots run through Jackson State. That’s where it all began.
Introducing the Jackson State x Walter Payton collection, as part of our Campus Legends Program! Also available at the JSU Campus Bookstore.
By degrees of greatness, we sing. All class. All game.
These are the Campus Legends.
