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A first-team All-Ivy pick in 1996 and a second-team honoree in both 1994 and 1995, Payne remains the school career record-holder in sacks (19). As a senior, he had a career-best nine sacks and ranked among the top five on the team in tackles (84) from his defensive line position. Payne was the recipient of four Big Red individual awards his senior year. A team co-captain his final season, he was later named to Cornell's All-Time Football Team by the Cornell Football Association, and selected by Vanity Fair magazine to its 1996 Ivy All-Star defensive team. Chosen by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL draft, he spent 10 years in the NFL with Jacksonville and the Houston Texans. Payne was voted by his teammates to receive the NFL Player's Association Unsung Hero Award and was selected to the USA Today's 11th annual "All-Joe Team" as one of the most underrated players in the NFL.
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