Purdue's Payne Durham Looks to Leave Behind Legacy That Goes Beyond Play on the Field

Before the 2018 season, Purdue took a chance on Payne Durham. The Suwanee, Ga., native didn't begin playing football until he was a senior at Peachtree Ridge High School. 

The former lacrosse player didn't think he would so quickly get the opportunity to prove himself on the field and has since grown into one of the best tight ends in the Big Ten Conference after five years with the Boilermakers. 

Durham, among the 27 student-athletes who may be competing in their final game at Ross-Ade Stadium, will be honored on Senior Day when Purdue hosts Northwestern on Saturday. 

The 6-foot-5, 255-pound redshirt senior has had his fair share of memorable moments. But for Durham, football has been more than just filling up the stat sheet and winning games. 

"I would say it's the people," Durham said after being asked about the highlights of his college football career. "We've had great memories on the field, but the people I've met going through it are probably the best thing that I've taken away from it."

Purdue harps on its young players to watch and learn from the veterans on the team, and Durham was no different when he joined the program. He sat behind tight ends Cole Herdman and Brycen Hopkins, absorbing the knowledge of what it took to succeed on and off the field. 

Durham is touted by both teammates and coaches as one of the most upstanding leaders for the Boilermakers. Other players turn to his voice and follow his example. Throughout the 2022 season, he's taken that responsibility and run with it. 

"Payne really learned a lot as a young guy from those two and kind of took it to another level," Purdue tight ends coach Ryan Wallace said. "I mean, he's been kind of the straw that stirs the drink a little bit with Aiden [O'Connell] and some of the other seniors on offense.

"He's done a tremendous job with that, especially with the young guys, and he's so relatable for a lot of people on our team."

In his fifth season with the program, Durham has recorded 48 catches, 481 yards receiving and six touchdowns, which all rank second on the team. Among all tight ends across the country, those numbers rank third, fourth and second, respectively. 

He has recorded 1,196 receiving yards over his career, and his 19 touchdowns rank ninth in program history and second among tight ends at Purdue.

"I can't commend him enough for how hard he's worked to put himself in position to where he is now," Wallace said. "When you come in playing five months of high school football, playing lacrosse, we spent six months teaching him not to run like he's carrying a stick."

He'll look to follow in the footsteps of Hopkins, who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams and was part of the team's victory in Super Bowl LVI, catching four passes for 47 yards. 

Durham has proven he has the skill set and work ethic to play at the professional level, too. He accepted an invitation to participate in the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 2, 2023, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. 

"He's worked his butt off," Wallace said. "He's obviously got the size for it, he's a good blocker. He understands the game, he's got a real high football IQ, and he's just one of those guys that's as coachable as it gets. He's gonna do whatever you ask him, and he's gonna have a chance to have a long career, I think."

For now, Durham said he's trying not to think about the season soon coming to a close. The task at hand is to claim a victory against Northwestern on Saturday before moving on toward a matchup with in-state rival Indiana. 

But when the day comes that he leaves the Purdue football program behind for bigger and better things, Durham wants to be known for the person he was for his teammates, not just the numbers he tallied at the tight end position. 

"I hope I left behind a good example of being a good friend, being a good teammate and being a hard worker," Durham said. "Just trying to do everything right, obviously I've made mistakes and I hope they can learn from my mistakes, but I just hope to be a guy that's remembered as a good person and a good teammate."