ROCKINGHAM — The first official Division I college football offer J.D. Lampley received was from East Carolina University last May when he was a sophomore in high school.
Fast forward to just over a year later, and a total of 15 DI offers on the table to choose from, Lampley announced Sunday that he was verbally committing to the Pirates.
Lampley, a rising senior defensive tackle at Richmond Senior High School, broke the news on Twitter writing, “Excited to say that I am committed to ECU! #ARRGGGHHH”
The three-star recruit and 29th-best prospect in North Carolina’s class of 2022 according to the 247Sports Composite, Lampley went to ECU on an official visit this weekend. After meeting with head coach Mike Houston, he said the decision to commit was a simple one.
“I didn’t go into the weekend knowing I was going to commit,” Lampley explained. “ECU was the first school to take a chance on my talent and offer me, and that was in the back of my mind on my visit.
“When my parents and I met with Coach Houston, it just clicked that this is where I wanted to play,” he continued. “Coach Houtson said the team really liked me and that’s when I told him I wanted to be a Pirate.”
A starter for the Raiders at defensive tackle since his sophomore season, and touted as one of the top recruits in the state, Lampley had plenty of options to choose from.
He received official offers from Air Force, Army, Campbell, Coastal Carolina, Duke, Elon, Furman, Georgia Southern, Harvard, Liberty, Navy, Richmond, South Carolina and Yale.
Lampley also received heavy interest from other schools across the state, including Appalachian State, N.C. State, UNC and Wake Forest.
Earlier this month, Lampley went on an official visit to Coastal Carolina and an unofficial visit to Duke, which he said were in his top-three schools along with ECU. Of why those were his top three picks, Lampley said he believed each school presented the best opportunities for playing career.
“I’m thankful to have received as many offers as I did, especially during the pandemic year,” Lampley said. “But at the end of the day, I can only pick one and ECU is the right choice for me. I’m appreciative of all the schools that offered me and showed interest.”
During his official visit in Greenville, Lampley met with Roy Tesh (defensive tackles coach) and Blake Harrell (defensive coordinator), who spearheaded the recruitment of him.
He also spent time with his player host Elijah Morris (sophomore DL), who played for current Richmond head coach Bryan Till when Till was at Terry Sanford High School. Lampley went on a tour of the campus, viewed the Pirates’ training facility and stadium and participated in a photo shoot.
Some of the sticking points in his decision to verbally commit with ECU were the coaching staff, the players and the facilities.
“ECU’s coaches and players, and their facilities, all really impressed me,” Lampley explained. “There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about the program. The whole time I was there everyone made me feel like I was meant to be a Pirate.
“Coach Houston has won everywhere he’s been and he brings a winning tradition and mentality I want to be a part of,” he added. “Coach Tesh is a good coach, he’s very personable and I look forward to learning from him.”
Houston, who is entering his third year as the Pirates’ head coach, led James Madison University to back-to-back Division I FCS Football Championship appearances in 2016 and 2017, winning the title in 2016. He’s recorded an 87-39 overall record as a head coach, including six combined conference championships.
ECU, which competes in the American Athletic Conference, finished its pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a 3-6 record, including a 3-5 mark against conference opponents.
This past spring, Lampley and the Raiders played just three regular season games but made it to the second round of the NCHSAA 4A state playoffs. In that span, Lampley recorded 18 tackles (12 solo, six assists), averaged 3.6 tackles per game and led the team with seven tackles for loss.
His eight quarterback hurries were the most on the team, six of which came against Middle Creek in the first round of the playoffs, and he swatted down a pass in each of Richmond’s two playoff games. Lampley contributed two quarterback sacks and caused a fumble against Hoke County.
Till took to Twitter to congratulate Lampley, saying “Congratulations! You’ve earned everything so far and your continued hard work will keep paying off. We are proud of you bud!”
Knowing he still has his senior season with the Raiders, which is set to open in mid August, Lampley said he plans on “focusing on doing everything right with my technique and try to win a lot of ball games this fall.”
Some of those techniques he wants to fine tune are his hand placement, footwork, speed and explosion off the line. He added that playing for Till and defensive line coach Milton Swinnie helped him get recruited because of their guidance in the weightroom and on the field.
“It feels really good now that I’m committed because ECU is the perfect fit for me for football and academics,” Lampley said. “I’m also glad to see my hard work pay off, and this creates a little less pressure for me going into my senior year.
“I’m excited and I hope to be able to make an early impact with the program and help stop opposing offenses in the future.”
