For Florida State defensive end Patrick Payton, the confidence in his ability is growing.

The redshirt freshman is playing a larger role for the Seminole pass rush the last couple of weeks.

Against Boston College and Wake Forest, Payton played 42 snaps, earning more time with starting defensive end Jared Verse battling a left knee injury.

The Miami native recorded five tackles and a sack against Wake Forest and three tackles and a sack vs. Boston College.

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“The confidence does grow over time when you know you can do it, when you know you can play,” Payton said. “Just being a smart player and making sure you do everything you are supposed to do on the assignment, the tackles and plays come to you.”

Payton played just 16 total snaps in 2021. He played in 11 against Duquesne, seven against LSU and then when Verse went down against Louisville, the snaps jumped to 35. The last two games he's played a larger role.

He has 11 tackles and two sacks on the season across 137 snaps.

Payton will likely be called upon again this week when FSU (4-1, 2-1 ACC) travels to No. 14 NC State (4-1, 0-1) at 8 p.m. Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.

ACC Network will broadcast the game.

“He played a very clean game the other day,” defensive ends coach John Papuchis said at his weekly press conference Monday. “He plays hard. He’s getting better every time that he is out there. Pat has a knack to be productive. And some guys have it differently than others.

"Pat finds himself around the ball. That is a quality that you can’t always put your finger on exactly, what makes that happen for him differently than other guys. But he has good instincts.”

The defensive lineman is still a work in progress, but here is how Payton rose to a prominent role at FSU and why he could be a star for the Seminoles down the road.

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Breakout high school junior season

Payton began his career as a safety at Miami Senior, and he played that position through his sophomore season.

But with Payton's size and length, the decision was made to move him to the defensive line before his junior season to see how he would progress there.

"It started with a little league coach I had," Payton said. "He joined the coaching staff for the team I was playing for, Miami High. He joined the coaching staff and he was telling them, 'Patrick is a D-end, Patrick is a D-end.'

"At first no one listened to him, but one day I just made up my mind I was going to do it because he said I could do it, he said I could be someone. I listened to him and took that chance. It worked out."

Indeed it did.

Listed at 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, he broke out with 17.5 sacks.

His biggest game of the season was a five-sack performance against Miami Columbus in 2019.

“I had like five sacks that game,” Payton said. “After that, I knew.”

Payton was named to the Miami Herald All-Dade 8A-5A first-team selection and named a top performer by 247Sports at the Legend's Football All-Junior Showcase.

But his rise as a prospect had only started.

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Transferring to Miami Northwestern

Following his junior season, Payton made the decision to transfer to powerhouse Miami Northwestern and play for head coach Max Edwards.

He also committed to Nebraska in that period, with Florida State showing interest.

Payton had already garnered interest from 247Sports as a prospect, but his star started growing the more time he got on the field.

In his first two weeks with the Bulls, he racked up 4.5 sacks and scored twice defensively for Miami Northwestern.

247Sports moved Payton up 150 spots in its recruiting rankings following the first two weeks.

"That's thing to me is he just kind of came into his own and you know, by the end of his senior season at Northwestern he was it was without a doubt one of their top pass rushers," said Andrew Ivins, 247Sports' Southeast recruiting analyst. "And he really turned into a commodity late in the recruiting process."

Payton helped lead the Bulls to the region quarterfinal round of 5A state playoffs. While Payton's talent was evident, something else about him stood out to Edwards.

"He was one of my leaders," Edwards said. "He came to practice every day and worked hard. He is a great guy, a great player. I am glad he played for me."

247Sports pegged Payton as a four-star recruiting, ranking him as its No. 18 player in Florida, No. 15 linebacker and No. 155 overall player in the 2021 class. Rivals considered Payton to be a three-star recruit, ranking him as its No. 26 outside linebacker and No. 66 player in Florida.

Could Payton have risen even more in the recruiting rankings if not for the pandemic?

"He was kind of a late bloomer, down in Miami Dade," Ivins said. "And this recruitment came at an interesting time because it was kind of in the middle of the COVID shortened season."

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Flipping his commitment to Florida State

Payton originally committed to Nebraska on May 21, 2020. FSU stayed in on his recruitment the entire time. He was originally offered by Willie Taggert's staff on June 8, 2019, but Mike Norvell and his staff stayed on him.

He decommitted from Nebraska on Dec. 5, 2021, with Ivins predicting the next day he'd be Tallahassee-bound. Payton committed to FSU on the 7th.

"It was really FSU, Miami and Penn State," Ivins said. "I think Miami was kind of on the fence for him."

Edwards said two things played a big role in Payton's flip from the Cornhuskers to the Seminoles.

The first was his primary recruiters, Papuchis and defensive coordinator Adam Fuller.

The second reason?

"At the end of day I think it was his parents," Edwards said. "They wanted him to stay in-state."

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Impact as redshirt freshman

Payton saw the field very little as a freshman, playing behind Jermaine Johnson II and Keir Thomas, who both left for the NFL following last season.

He began the depth chart behind Verse, redshirt junior Dennis Briggs Jr. and redshirt sophomore Derrick McLendon.

The path for playing time needed to be earned at practice.

“He knows when to take a chance, and when not to in terms of within the scheme and maybe a little outside of it,” Papuchis said. “I think he is starting to develop confidence, which leads to going out and playing fast. I have liked his progression over the past couple weeks. We need to see him continue to stay on this path. Because if he does, really good things are going to happen for him and for us.”

Payton's second career sack against Wake Forest came with 6:30 left in the third quarter. The Seminoles had just scored to cut the lead to 28-13 and needed a big defensive play.

Payton beat the Demon Deacon left tackle off the snap and found his way to the backfield to take down quarterback Sam Hartman. On the next play Joshua Farmer picked up a sack and forced a three-and-out, opening the door for FSU to get back into the game.

The play gave a glimpse of Payton's growth from week-to-week.

"It felt great, just being able to come through for the team," Payton said. "Especially since against Boston College, I had the (quarterback) in my hands, but I let go. Coach Norvell told me to do what I had to do to make it next time.

"The whole practice time I focused on making sure I get the tackle, making sure I get the wrap up."

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GAME INFORMATION

Who: FSU (4-1, 2-1 ACC) vs. No. 14 NC State (4-1, 0-1)

When/where: Saturday, 8 p.m.; Carter-Finley Stadium

TV/Radio: ACC Network/94.9 FM

Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @CarterKarels on Twitter; @Ehsan_Kassim on Twitter; @JimHenryTALLY on Twitter

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Seminole football: How Patrick Payton turned into' next promising defensive end