Friends, coaches recall impact of Chris Payton-Jones

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Chris Payton-Jones, a former soccer star at Sandalwood High School who went on to play professionally and later returned to Jacksonville to change into a mentor and profitable content material creator, handed away in a automotive accident on Saturday night time. Jones was 30 years outdated.

Tributes to Payton-Jones flooded social media Sunday as information of his loss of life unfold. Family members have confirmed his passing.

Payton-Jones was maybe as well-known for his work as a photographer, videographer, and editor in recent times as he was in soccer. He continued into the content material creation trade whereas he was nonetheless enjoying and steadily constructed his model, flashflixright into a half powerhouse domestically. Payton-Jones’ YouTube channel had greater than 1.3 million views in a 12 months and a half, and he was consistently churning out high-quality content material throughout social platforms. Payton-Jones has been a relentless presence on the highschool soccer sidelines on Friday nights for the previous few years. He would mentor aspiring videographers on the craft simply as a lot as he would on explaining the nuances of the defensive again place to younger athletes.

At Sandalwood, Payton-Jones was a three-star prospect at cornerback and graduated in 2014. Payton-Jones’ remaining 12 months included a senior class loaded with high-profile recruits (LB Kain Daub and DL Blake McClain), however Payton-Jones was the one one in that class to succeed in the NFL.

Adam Geis, Payton-Jones’ highschool coach at Sandalwood, mentioned he was a real gem, real to the core, and had a piece ethic that was elite.

“He was one of my all-time favorites! The kid never missed a workout, never missed practice, and never wanted to come off the field. Everyone loved him,” Geis mentioned. “He was always unbelievably positive. I’ve never heard that kid ever say anything negative about anyone or anything. … It was always a pleasure to be around him. You were always happy to see him.”

Pat Clark, now the affiliate head coach at Central State University, coached Payton-Jones at Sandalwood and echoed what many have mentioned of their tributes.

“Chris was the hardest working human being I’ve ever been around, a great player but even better person. He was never the biggest or fastest, but he did things the right way, and the game paid him back for it,” Clark mentioned.

“Ultimately, he was going to make his biggest impact off the field as he was transitioning to a career of service in media and development of young athletes. I credit Chris as a huge inspiration to my coaching career as I moved up in the ranks. He is everything you want in a student athlete.”

Jones was well-known for his play on the sphere throughout his time in highschool and signed with the University of Nebraska. He spent 4 seasons in Lincoln, a rarity in at the moment’s school sports activities period, incomes his diploma in sociology in simply three and a half years earlier than embarking on his professional soccer journey. Jones went undrafted in 2018 however fought his approach into the NFL the great distance, signing onto the Arizona apply squad and finally making the 53-man roster.

Jones performed for 5 NFL groups between 2018-21, beginning six video games and enjoying in 29. Even after the NFL, Payton-Jones stayed linked to professional soccer, enjoying within the XFL and UFL. He was chosen by the St. Louis Battlehawks throughout the 2024 dispersal draft and performed for them till saying his retirement earlier this 12 months.

But it was Payton-Jones’ work outdoors of competitors that has left the neighborhood reeling. Friends and supporters of Payton-Jones mentioned that his ardour was following his calling to offer again in his hometown.

“I’ve trained him and worked with him,” mentioned James Coleman, a former fullback at Florida State who has pursued media, enterprise and training. “I’ve never been around a more genuine guy who has a big heart for kids in this community. Just a positive role model in action, not choice.”