Sweetness_ The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton - Jeff Pearlman [34]
Signing with the University of Southern Mississippi was Steve Stewart, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Stewart. While visiting in Columbia last week, Coach Barney Poole of USM said he was extremely proud that Steve had decided “to cast his lot with us.” Stewart, a 6’2” end weighing 190 pounds, played mostly defensive end but also played some offense, doing a good job at both.
Edward “Sugar Man” Moses, five foot seven and 150 pounds, played halfback. He is the son of Mrs. Laura Moses and the late Willie Moses. He signed with Jackson State College.
Another Jackson State signee was Walter “Spider Man” Payton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Payton. He stands six feet tall, weighs 193 and played fullback.
Alvin L Benson, director of public relations at Jackson State, said he was extremely glad to see the two Wildcats come to Jackson State, as both were outstanding Wildcats. Then, in his call to the Columbian-Progress, he voiced what must be the sentiments of many Mississippi coaches when he said, “They’ll be playing with us instead of coming back to plague us with an out-of-state team.”
Because the year was 1970 and the ten schools of the Southeastern Conference were still dragging their feet when it came to recruiting black athletes (the legendary Bear Bryant signed Alabama’s first black player in 1971, and Ole Miss waited until 1972), Southern stalwarts like Walter Payton—an all-state running back whose size-speed combination made him an undeniable Division I talent—went largely ignored in their home regions. The few SEC–or Mississippi-based schools that might have considered Payton were turned off by his antics from the Prentiss game, when he held the ball aloft and jogged backward into the end zone. “When I was talking to Southern Miss, the recruiter asked me if I would like to have Walter as a college teammate,” said Stewart. “I told him, ‘Heck yeah!’ But the man refused to get over him holding that ball in the air. They had one of the best running backs in the country completely available, and they ignored him. Holding that ball up became Walter’s signature.”
With Columbia High, a small school in an oft-overlooked portion of the state, very few colleges actually knew of Payton. The members of the historically black Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) sent scouts, but only one NCAA Division I program went after Walter Payton.
“We had him,” said Vince Gibson, the head coach of Kansas State University. “Walter Payton was going to be a KSU Wildcat. It was a done deal.”
Indeed, before the Columbian-Progress announced his intention to attend Jackson State, Payton was being strongly pursued by a rising power from the Big Eight. In the fall of 1970, a Kansas State assistant coach named Frank Falks received a list of Southern prospects from some of the more obscure high schools. “I had never heard of Walter Payton,” said Falks, a former all-American linebacker at Parsons College. “Didn’t know the name, didn’t know the statistics. But we needed a running back, so I went down to Columbia to watch him.”
Every so often, a college recruiter stumbles upon a gem who—for one reason or another—falls through the clutches of rival schools. It doesn’t take much to recognize when it’s happening. The town has one gas station, a dive bar, and a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Traffic lights are scarce, as, for that matter, is traffic. You’re the only person with a notepad at a game, and when the kid runs or throws, nary a camera flash bursts.
That was Falks’ experience at Columbia High. As the Wildcats’ No. 22 dashed up and down the field, no other recruiters could be found. Falks was all alone. “Once you saw him, there was no question he’d be great,” said Falks. “No question whatsoever.”
Falks approached Payton after the game, then returned to his house on Hendricks Street to meet with Alyne and Peter. He sat down at the kitchen table, sipped a cool glass of iced tea, and made his