Jarrett Payton earns MVP of Orange Bowl in last game of college career

Jet, Jan 26, 2004

Miami running back Jarrett Payton, the son of the late football legend Walter Payton, ran for 131 yards in Miami's 16-14 victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Payton earned the Most Valuable Player Award for his incredible display of speed while bursting past opponents.

At 6-feet-2 and 220 pounds, Payton is a fifth-year senior who got his first start as tailback midway through the season when a teammate was sidelined with a knee injury. While proudly wearing his dad's No. 34 on his jersey, Payton stepped up for his team and hasn't looked back since.

"I tried to make the most of my opportunity," Payton told the Chicago Tribune. "It was just one of those things where I had to wait. You never know what's going to happen, so you have to be ready when the opportunity is in front of you."

Payton, who finished the season with 985 yards and a team-leading eight touchdowns, also wants the opportunity to play in the NFL next season, preferably the Chicago Bears, where his father played his entire Hall of Fame career.

"I just want to play, to be honest," Payton said in the newspaper. "But I'll go anywhere, it doesn't matter. I just feel my game is improving and improving."