Lampley a role model on and off of the field

ROCKINGHAM – Richmond Senior High School boasts four players on Sports Illustrated’s recently released watch list for its 2020 All-American team in senior quarterback Caleb Hood, senior wide receivers Dalton Stroman and Jakolbe Baldwin and senior offensive lineman Jaleel Davis.

Rising junior defensive lineman defensive lineman J.D. Lampley soon may become one of the next Raiders in line to draw similar accolades.

He recently participated in the ESPN 300 Elite Underclassmen Camp in Atlanta after receiving an invite from Demetric Warren, who is on the selection committee for the Under Armour All-America game.

“He played so many snaps for us at a high level last year,” said Richmond football coach Bryan Till. “He’s 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, and when you look at his videos, he’s explosive against those 300-315 pound guys. He’s squatting over 500 pounds, and when you put all that packaged together, obviously that gets people’s interests.”

Attending offseason camps like these are a vital part of the recruiting process for top-tier high school football players. College coaches and recruiters attend these camps to scout and meet new prospective players.

“I think it really just gave me some confidence going in there and knowing that I can compete with some of the best people,” Lampley said.

Lampley said the players that were invited went through a variety of drills and evaluations. They took height and weight, measured vertical jump, timed 40-yard-dash speeds and did various other strength and agility drills.

Typically, at other camps most of these drills would be done head-to-head against other players, but Lampley said they weren’t able to do that at this camp because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lampley said the opportunity to play college football would mean a lot to him because college sports run in his family. His Mom and Dad played softball and baseball, respectively, for Wingate University, while his sister currently plays Division I softball at UNC-Wilmington.

Even though he’s not even begun his junior year, he’s already received offers from East Carolina and Liberty.

“Some coaches will follow me on Twitter and send me questions and stuff to fill out,” Lampley said.

But, for now, Lampley is keeping his options open and is focused on preparing for an upcoming season that he hopes actually happens.

“I just want to play,” he said. “Whenever, whatever it is, I just want to play.”

Establishing a new norm

Lampley’s offers are just starting to roll in, and how his decision will play out still remains to be seen.

When Richmond players get noticed for camps and recruited by schools on a regular basis it builds and fosters a culture within the program where guys going to college and playing college football becomes the norm.

Till said Lampley is as a hardworking player, he “gets after it” and “has those kinds of intangibles” that are necessary to be successful at the next level. Plus, Till said Lampley is an outstanding student with a GPA near 4.0.

“I think what it does though, is it gives like those guys that are freshmen and sophomores, eighth graders the kind of the realization that you can do it, too,” Till said. “They see how hard those guys work for us.

“So they go, ‘Hey man, this guy has earned this, but look at what he’s doing. And I want that, here’s what I gotta do.’ Because of the type of kids we have who are getting those offers, they’ve established a norm of if you want this, here’s how you have to work for it. And I think that helps our entire team realize the amount of effort it takes to get to the college level and the amount of talent you have to have.”

Till said consistent success in the classroom helps students prepare for college.

“While I don’t think college is right for everybody, I think if your grades in school give you an opportunity, then can you decide if that’s an opportunity you want,” Till said. “But in order to do that, you have to put the work in the classroom and we talked about that with kids. When they see these guys who’ve done that reap the benefits, I think it brings that point home so much more to our other guys.

“So, and that’s the thing as a coach, you love to have competition in practice and guys trying to push each other. I think it all goes a long way to helping our program get better from it.”