A senior in 2012, Payton was then set to play for California, but changed his commitment after Tosh Lupoi, one of the top recruiters in the nation, left the school for Washington.

[7][8] Payton announced on national television on ESPNU that he had decided to go to Washington, but he changed his mind again and settled on UCLA the following day.

[8] He took a chance on Bruins coach Jim Mora, who was hired only months earlier, and a program that USC had recently shutout 50–0.

[10] As a junior in 2014, Jordan broke out in the season opener with eight catches for 98 yards, both career-highs at the time, in a 28–20 win over Virginia.

[16] Prior to the 2015 season, Payton made the preseason watch list for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's top receiver.

[12] After needing a few games to develop a rapport with Rosen,[11] he tied the single-game school record with 14 receptions, set originally by J. J. Stokes, for 152 yards in a 31–27 loss to Washington State.

[17] The following week, he had seven catches for 105 yards in a 17–9 win over Utah to pass Bragg (193) as the Bruins career leader in receptions.

[20] The victory kept UCLA in contention to win the conference entering their regular season finale against USC,[18] but the Bruins lost 40–21 to the Trojans for Payton's lone loss in the crosstown rivalry.

[28] Payton was suspended the final four games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.