Tyler Payne brings freshman upside and tackling juice to BYU’s linebacker room
Tyler Payne is a 2025 BYU freshman linebacker who arrived with serious production baggage from Weber HS, where he set Utah’s 6A single-season tackle record with 174 stops in 2024 and finished with 352 tackles, 31 TFLs, and 10 sacks in high school. His appeal is obvious: physical at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, rangy, and built like a downhill thumper who already understands how to find the ball. He looks more like a future tone-setter than a stats-padding specialist, and that blend of instinct, contact courage, and proven production makes him a strong developmental fit for a program that loves hard-nosed defenders.
