Georgia State's Aubry Payne has made plenty of big catches at Center Parc Stadium. After all, the All-Sun Belt Conference tight end hauled in six touchdown receptions last season.

But he reeled in his best "catch" on the Panthers' home field over the summer, when he proposed to his girlfriend, Malory Oliver, and of course she said yes.

"She didn't know it, but I had the ring for a long time, and I was just trying to figure out how I wanted to do it and where I wanted to to do it," Payne said. "I wanted to make it memorable for her and for me."

"It was awesome. One of the best days of my life."

And no doubt also a great day for the future Mrs. Payne, a second-year law student at Mercer University.

Payne, a senior from Locust Grove, Ga., established himself as one of the top tight ends in the Sun Belt in 2019, his first season in uniform for the Panthers. He began his career at Western Carolina, where he was named to Southern Conference All-Freshman team in 2016.

After an injury-shortened 2017 season, he transferred to Georgia State but had to sit out the 2018 year.

Payne shook off the rust quickly when he was finally able to suit up for Georgia State. In his GSU debut at Tennessee, he caught a 6-yard touchdown from Dan Ellington in the Panthers' stunning 38-30 upset.

That was the beginning of a string of four straight games in which Payne reached the end zone. He caught a 20-yard scoring pass in the comeback win over Furman and then followed with scores at Western Michigan and Texas State.

His most memorable catch at home, before his proposal, came in the win over Army, when hauled in the go-ahead touchdown on a 8-yard reception with 7:41 to play in Georgia State's 28-21 victory.

One more touchdown against Troy, this one from 40 yards out, gave him six on the season as part of his 13 receptions for 204 yards.

Payne teams with senior Roger Carter to give the Panthers a strong tight end tandem. Both are not just excellent receivers but also strong blockers in Georgia State's potent running game.

Payne and the Panthers open the 2019 season by hosting Louisiana on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Center Parc Stadium. Kickoff is at noon, and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.