Payton Werner joined the Northeastern State Football coaching staff in January 2019 and works with the RiverHawks’ wide receivers.
Before arriving in Tahlequah, Werner spent the previous five seasons as a coach at former in-state rivals Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant, and two seasons as a student-athlete for the Savage Storm.
At Southeastern, Werner held the role of Director of Sports Performance and Running Coach for two seasons.
In 2018, the SE running backs had 1,308 rushing yards and were led by Kenneth Burks, who was sixth in the GAC in yardage.
The Savage Storm in 2017 under Werner’s guidance saw his group pile up 1,728 yards rushing, led by Rashod Polk and Kenneth Burks, who combined for over 1,000 yards combined.
While working with the wide receivers in 2016, his group was led by all-conference honoree Kaymon Farmer, while the Southeastern passing game piled up 2,369 yards and 19 touchdowns as part of SE’s record-breaking offensive season.
The 2015 receivers featured a pair of 60-plus catch performances by Franky Okafor and Farmer, who tallied 121 catches for 1,385 yards and 14 touchdowns between them. Okafor would be a first-team All-Great American Conference selection before signing with the Arizona Cardinals.
In 2014 the team’s top five receivers combined for 175 of the team’s 225 receptions along with 2,160 yards and 14 TD’s, led by an All-Great American Conference effort by Anthony Foster.
In his first season working with the team’s wide receivers, SE posted 3,079 yards receiving combined and saw its top two receivers each surpass the school record for receptions in a season, with Kaymon Farmer hauling in 77 and Anthony Foster turning in 75.
Foster also earned All-GAC honors while picking up the school’s fourth 1,000-yard receiving effort with 1,036 yards and six touchdowns.
Werner, a native of Broken Bow, Okla., graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Social Science, History from Southeastern, and a Master of Sports Science in Athletic Administration from Southeastern.
