New York Jets Steve Serby VJ Payne’s long-awaited Jets arrival is an early Mother’s Day gift By Steve Serby Published May 8, 2026, 6:56 p.m. ET Jets defensive back V.J. Payne talks to the media during the Jets rookie minicamp. Bill Kostroun/New York Post She was the woman shrieking with unbridled joy in the background while her son was on the phone with Aaron Glenn congratulating him on being drafted in the seventh and final round.
And there on Friday was her middle child, her only son, safety VJ Payne, chasing a dream out of Gainesville, Ga., and Buford High School and Kansas State, all the way to Jets rookie minicamp in Florham Park, N.J.
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And here Tywonna Whelchel-Payne was on Thursday, her voice cracking from Gainesville after her daughters had driven VJ to the Atlanta airport for the beginning of his NFL journey, attempting to put into words what this Mother’s Day, the official Mother’s Day, will mean to her.
“I can’t without crying,” she said. “I’m so blessed to see his dream come true, I’m just so proud of him; he just doesn’t know. I still can’t believe all this is happening, I still can’t believe it.”
