Ridley receiver Payton chooses Maine

Marcus Payton, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound wide receiver from Ridley, committed to Maine on Tuesday.

Payton, a senior and a member of The Inquirer's all-Southeastern Pennsylvania first team in football, took an official visit to the Black Bears' campus this past weekend.

He left the Philadelphia area expecting Antarctic-type weather.

"I know people think it's cold up there," Payton said, "but it's not much different than down here. I thought it was beautiful."

Payton's host was another Delaware County product, Sean Wasson of Interboro, who is now a sophomore linebacker at Maine. Part of the trip involved a seven-on-seven pick-up game with Wasson and some of the current Bears.

"I caught a few passes," Payton said, "and they were like, 'We got to get this guy up here.' "

Payton, who caught 45 passes for 711 yards and 11 TDs this past season, chose Division I-AA Maine over a number of Division II schools.

Division I-A Temple wanted Payton to walk on as a freshman to earn a scholarship.

"But I was I like, 'I got a full scholarship, no thanks,' " Payton said.