By Nick Woods
Media Services Student Assistant
Campbell University Athletics

Payton Brady prefers the SEC over the ACC, blondes over brunettes, and California over Carolina.

Growing up, the Campbell backup quarterback also preferred basketball to football. Brady always envisioned himself on the hardwood when he grew older.

"Basketball was my first love," said Brady, who started for his varsity team as a freshman in high school and played against the likes of former Davidson star Stephen Curry. "I was strictly set on basketball growing up. The head coach at our school said, 'Hey, I think you should come play football for us.'

"So I gave it a shot from my sophomore year on, and the tides changed. I started to realize that the opportunity was a lot greater with my size in football than it was in basketball and from then on, I fell more in love with the game of football and had a lot more passion for the team."

Brady's path to Campbell hasn't been a run-of-the-mill adventure. Originally recruited out of high school by Campbell, Brady, a native of Lincolnton, N.C., instead opted to pursue a modeling career in California after his graduation.

"We recruited him pretty hard," said Landon Mariani, Campbell's passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. "We liked him as a player, and we liked his character and athletic ability. But he decided to pursue other avenues after high school."

Brady, the redshirt-freshman, didn't get into Columbia University as he had hoped, and left for California. Three days after arriving, he signed on to play a recurring role in the Oxygen Network's Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, which is seen in over 100 countries around the world. He starred in seasons three and four, and thoroughly enjoyed and learned from his experience on the show.

"It's funny-I have tons of Facebook friend requests all the time from people in the Philippines, Malaysia, and South Africa," said Brady, who flew over 50,000 miles in a year doing various modeling projects. "It's pretty far away from home at 18, living by yourself. It was something I had to do for myself. I fell into the real world real fast.

"I always want to give something a try-I want to give it my best shot, no matter how big of a challenge it is and no matter what the circumstances are. I feel like I'm mature for my age based on everything I've been through."

Brady began to miss football and his family, and came home after a year in California, where he enrolled at Charleston Southern to play football for the scholarship I-AA program.

"It seemed like it would be a good fit," said Brady. "I was like, 'I'll go give it a shot,' and didn't even look at the school and think about the school aspect of it. Football was okay, but the environment wasn't a good fit for me at all."

Brady remembered Campbell from his earlier recruitment, and after having been granted his release from Charleston Southern, he came to Campbell and was welcomed to the football team by head coach Dale Steele and the staff and players.

Steele commended Brady for the versatility he showed through spring practice and through this season as well.

"He does a lot of different things for us," said Steele of Brady, who has played wide receiver, fullback, and long-snapped in addition to serving as a backup quarterback. "He's got good speed, and good size, and he's a mature athlete. When you have a limited number of players to travel with, he's very valuable.

"His role is to contribute to the team in all the ways he can and he does that. He's doing everything we ask him to; therefore, we're trying to find as many ways as we can to get him on the field."

Mariani echoed Steele's praise of Brady's skill set and touted his eagerness and work ethic.

"He's a jack-of-all-trades," said Mariani. "He's come forward to the coaching staff and said 'I'm willing to help the team however I can at whatever position.' He's done a great job when we've plugged him in here and there.

"He's chomping at the bit to play quarterback, and if he keeps working hard, I think he'll get that opportunity. Good things always come to people who work hard, and he's one of those people."

Brady claimed that the camaraderie was his favorite part of playing football at Campbell.

"It brings new friends and brings you a lot closer to people, especially your teammates," said Brady, who cited LSU basketball legend "Pistol" Pete Maravich as his favorite athlete. "I think all my friendships are strongly based in football. We always have a good time together, and it has brought me closer to a great group of guys."

Brady, currently an international business major, is weighing his options and strongly considering changing his major to trust and wealth management in hopes of gaining immediate job placement after graduation. He remains unsure of what his future holds, but would like to return to California and pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

"I'm not sure how much my family will like it, but I really see myself back out in California," said Brady. "I definitely plan on going back after graduation. Doing what? Well I guess that's to be determined."