Titans Thrive on Payne Despite Drubbing at Hands of Aggies

You can get the attention of either Cal State Fullerton quarterback by calling out the same name, although the spelling does differ a bit.

The freshman is P-A-Y-N-E.

The senior is P-A-I-N.

You also know Paul Schulte by other assorted aliases. Leader of the Sacked. M.C. Hammered. Bruised, Brother.

For 10 games behind Fullerton’s decimated offensive line, Schulte’s limbs went out on a limb every time the quarterback went back to pass. They paid for it, too. Where does Schulte hurt? You name it--collarbone, rib cage, kidneys, upper torso, lower torso. Most weeks, Schulte doesn’t practice on Tuesday. That day is usually reserved for the healing waters of the Titan team whirlpool.

But finally, after 30-some sacks and 60-some hits after releasing the football, Schulte’s body got the message: Give it a rest. Mercifully, doctors confined Schulte to street clothes on Saturday, which meant young Terry Payne had to be thrown to the blitz-crazy Utah State Aggies instead.

It didn’t take long for Payne to learn what, precisely, is in a name.

Utah State Coach Chuck Shelton turned his Aggies loose on Payne and didn’t let up until the freshman couldn’t get up. That took Payne into the game’s final five minutes, when Utah State cornerback Eric Salter came crashing in and smashed Payne under the chin.

“I blacked out,” Payne reported, just as soon as the brain cells were able to reassemble. “I didn’t know where I was. I just decided to stay on the ground, because I knew that if I got up, I was going to fall right back down.”

The sack was Payne’s fifth of the afternoon. For a few moments, it also looked to be the end of his afternoon.

While Fullerton trainer Jerry Lloyd knelt over Payne near the Titan 30-yard line, Coach Gene Murphy had kicker Phil Nevin taking snaps on the sideline.

“That’s it,” Murphy said. “We don’t have anyone else.”

Eventually, when Payne began to stir, seemingly able to leave the field on his power, Murphy called timeout.

He wanted to check out Payne for himself.

He wanted to buy Payne a few more seconds to clear the cobwebs.

“I didn’t want the third baseman in there,” Murphy said, nodding toward Nevin.

The timeout was well-spent. Payne returned to the field and groggily one-hopped his first pass to Richard Harrison. But after that, Payne completed three of his next four attempts, including a 10-yard connection with Gary Lendennie for his second touchdown pass of the day.

The score might have been meaningless for Fullerton--a 45-10 rout became a 45-17 rout--but it was filled with meaning for Payne.

It meant he had endured.

It meant he had weathered the firestorm.

It meant he would finish his first college start with 20 completions in 29 attempts for 214 yards.

Not bad, Murphy concluded.

“For a first game, he ran the gamut of emotions,” Murphy said. “He cried, he got the wind knocked out of him, but he demonstrated that he’s a competitive individual. . . .

“That’s one thing he and Schulte have in common. Both have big heartlights.”

As soon as the final gun popped, Payne got up from the sideline trainer’s table, took a few steps and then stopped. His legs wobbled, his head bowed and he began rubbing the bridge of his nose.

The cranium still needed some defogging.

“I’m a little tired,” was Payne’s explanation. Tired, apparently, of trying to remember what day of the week it was.

Gradually, the memory returned. Soon, Payne was able to recall his first eight passes (all completions), how his first drive ended (a touchdown) and his present age (19).

“I’m happy for myself,” Payne said. “I thought I played pretty well. Experience-wise, this was a great game for me.”

Murphy seconded that emotion. Schulte’s collegiate career ends next week in Las Cruces, when 1-10 Fullerton meets 0-10 New Mexico State for, as Murphy says, “bragging rights for last place in the world.” Payne, however, could be the Titans’ quarterback through 1993, the first Fullerton player to throw a pass in the due-by-’92 Titan Sports Complex.

Health permitting.

“It was a blessing in disguise, for him to play this football game,” Murphy said. “Our future is next year and Payne is an important part of that future. He still has a lot to learn, but he learned a lot today.”

Up to and including being able to take a hit.

And at Fullerton, that’s no small talent. That’s why Murphy recruited Sgt. Schulte to man the foxhole this year and Payne after that.

Long ago, the Titans faced consumer reality. They can’t afford to shop for the Rolexes of the quarterback world, so they decided to make do with the Timexes instead.

At Fullerton, quarterbacks need to be able to take a licking and keep on ticking.