Hero of Alamo Bowl eager for opportunity to lead TCU’s running backs
TCU running back Jeremy Payne became a fan favorite with his heroics in the Horned Frogs’ Alamo Bowl win over USC on New Year’s Eve.
Payne’s game-winning touchdown where he broke multiple tackles in overtime was one of the top highlights of bowl season and was the perfect way to cap off a strong run to end his sophomore season.
Payne averaged 95.2 rushing yards in TCU’s final five games, including rushing for 103 yards against Houston and 174 against Cincinnati. He rushed for 73 yards and added 50 more as a receiver against USC.
Thanks to the way he closed the year, Payne will enter 2026 as TCU’s undisputed lead back, and it’s an opportunity the junior has been waiting for.
“It’s really exciting. It’s a big step,” Payne said. “There’s gonna be a lot of people counting on me, and I just gotta lead by example.”
Payne has taken ownership of the running back room during spring camp. The Horned Frogs have had a limited number of bodies available because of an injury to sophomore running back Jon Denman, who is expected to be the next man up behind Payne.
TCU’s two freshmen running backs, G’Ivori Graham and Amante Martin, also won’t arrive in Fort Worth until the summer. That left just Payne, transfer running back Landon Walker and sophomore Joe Pitchford to carry the load. With Payne being the veteran in the room, it allowed him to find his leadership style.
“I’m not really vocal. I’ll go behind the scenes and talk to them and say you need to fix this or fix that,” Payne said. “I’m not too much of a yelling guy, but they listen, I listen back, we all come together and just get better as a team.”
The Horned Frogs were selective with Payne’s reps in the spring, as the goal was to keep him healthy while also allowing him to practice his craft. Payne said the spring was mostly a success, with just one practice remaining on Tuesday.
“I’m feeling good. I’m feeling really confident of my guys,” Payne said. “Each day we get better and better on the details. If we mess up, we go back and fix it. That’s the thing we emphasize on our offense, and that’s why I like it.”
Another emphasis of TCU’s new offensive system under coordinator Gordon Sammis will be a heavy dose of the run game. Sammis rose up the coaching ranks in part because of how successful his rushing attack were at UConn and William & Mary.
In 2025, Sammis’ lead back Camryn Edwards rushed for 1,240 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. The year before, Sammis had three backs rush for over 673 yards, with each averaging at least 5.7 yards per carry.
Payne hopes to have similar production in the fall, especially with TCU incorporating more outside zone run schemes.
“There are a lot more opportunities,” Payne said. “I can show the world what I can do. ... [Outside zone] is really good. It keeps me healthy and gets me in space, which is good. You want a small guy like me to get in space and hit it. It creates more opportunities for wide receivers to block, and when they block too hard, [the defense] is going to worry about that, and now they could get a big pass off of it, too.”
TCU’s run game has been one of the standouts of the spring with a bigger and mobile offensive line meshing well with Sammis’ style.
Even with reduced touches, Payne has been consistent in producing runs of at least 10 yards, and he’s been impressive with his ability to find cutback lanes in the new zone scheme.
The development of Payne will be essential for TCU’s success in the fall with the Horned Frogs breaking in a new quarterback with Harvard transfer Jaden Craig and also replacing two of their top wide receivers and their leading tight end.
Early on in the season Payne could be the No. 1 option schematically as Craig gets adjusted to the Power Four level.
That opportunity is one reason why Payne has already moved on from his heroics in the Alamo Bowl.
“I don’t really think about it much,” Payne said. “People come up to me and will talk about it, but that’s in the past. We have a whole new season.”
And this new season could be the best of Payne’s career.
