Bayside QB Lampley Decides
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>With his senior season a little over a month away,
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107%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Donte Lampley
107%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> felt the time was right.
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"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Even though he claimed just one scholarship offer,
Lampley was happy with that one and decided to give a verbal commitment to play
his College Football for Head Coach Oliver
'Buddy' Pough and the
normal'>South Carolina State Bulldogs from the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"The coaches felt like I throw the ball well and would
be a great fit for the system in which they run," Lampley told
VirginiaPreps.com. "I feel like I can
bring great leadership and talent from the quarterback to a program that
already has a great winning tradition in place.
I feel blessed."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Lampley drew interest from other MEAC programs close to
home like Hampton University and Norfolk State as well as Navy and VMI.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The 6-foot-1, 190-pound triggerman has had somewhat of
an arduous journey to get to this point to have a chance to play at the next
level.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Some players coming in are sincerely blessed.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Some others build themselves into it, like a
Donte Lampley," declared Bayside Head Football Coach
normal'>Jon White, a former All-Beach District linebacker with the Marlins
that went on to play College Football at Hampton University.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"He grew up from his sophomore to junior year and
didn't get a chance to start off his varsity career in a traditional
manner. The more and more people grew
around him, he did likewise."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Without any game experience, Lampley was thrust into
the fire as a starter in 2013. His
development was hindered when he suffered a stress fracture in his back that
got him pulled on the second day of two-a-day camp before being allowed
participate two days before the season opener against Landstown.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> To no surprise, things were rocky when he
returned to the field.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Through his first seven starts, Lampley threw 12
interceptions. The team had a record of
3-4 and at that point and was in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first
time since 2008.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>From there, the Marlins rallied to win their final
three regular season games before losing in the opening round of the regional
playoffs to Oscar Smith. That progress
made was carried over into the off-season and next season.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Lampley completed 110 of 157 for 1473 yards, 14 touchdowns
and nine interceptions last year as a junior on his way to being tabbed
Honorable Mention All-Coastal Conference.
Not only did Bayside finish 7-4 overall, but they saw a serious increase
in their offensive production from 17.5 points per game the year before to 28.7PPG.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Donte can throw a very strong outside ball, an
accurate deep ball and sits in the pocket well, which he credits to his
o-line. He understands defenses more and
more and he's working into his position," White remarked.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I personally think he's a lot like J.J. Williamson in
the fact he's a little bit on the shorter side.
Some people don't want to deal with a shorter quarterback and he
understands that, but he delivers the ball and deserves scholarship money for
his work ethic."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In the classroom, there's no short of success either.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Academically, he's up there with Henry Coley, E.J.
Manuel and Tra Nicholson.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He's brilliant in the classroom and that
obviously makes him more attractive to recruit," added White.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In 13 seasons under Pough,
the Bulldogs have gone 105-47 overall and posted a losing record only once.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Bayside will look to run their streak of consecutive
playoff appearances to seven this coming season.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Having his future sewed up should work to
Lampley's benefit, he believes.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Getting the commitment out of the way is a huge weight
off of my shoulders," Lampley admitted. "It
allows me to go out on Friday nights and just play football like I know how to
do without the pressure of not knowing if or where I would play College
Football next year."
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