Menu
Lamin looks to follow trail blazed by NFLers
Around this time next year Abu Lamin will be competing at the highest level college football has to offer: the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Lamin, a redshirt freshman playing for Fort Scott Community College, committed to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks and legendary college football coach Steve Spurrier during the summer.
"I've talked to the (S.C.) coaches and they're all just anxious to get me in there and compete for a starting position," Lamin said
Lamin, a 6' 5", 315 pound defensive tackle, is a Rivals.com four-star recruit. Lamin, once considered to be only a marginal Division I prospect coming out of high school, has since developed into an elite talent during his two years at Fort Scott.
"He has tremendous upside," Greyhound head coach Curtis Horton said. "He's big, he's physical and he's athletic. We all wish we were as big and moved as fast as he does. I told him I wished I was 6' 6" and had SEC schools calling me every other day."
Earlier this year, in addition to South Carolina, Lamin was heavily recruited by major Division I football programs such as Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Nebraska, Tennessee and others. With 14 scholarship offers on the table, South Carolina edged out Arkansas, Auburn and Tennessee for Lamin's services.
"It was a good process," Lamin said of his recruitment. "But I just wanted to get focused on the season and end the recruiting process early."
Lamin, who made four official recruiting trips (Arkansas, Florida, Nebraska, South Carolina), eventually decided on South Carolina, citing proximity to his hometown of Fayetteville, N.C., as well as a fondness for the South Carolina coaching staff, and assistant coach Deke Adams, who was the lead recruiter on his recruitment.
"Staying closer to home so my mom can come and see me play was a big factor in my decision," Lamin said.
Lamin hopes to make an instant impact with South Carolina, as current S.C. starting defensive tackle, junior Kelcy Quarles may enter the 2014 NFL Draft, potentially opening up a starting spot for Lamin. Lamin was also comfortable with the Gamecocks style of play, indicating he will be playing out of the 3-technique on South Carolina's defensive line. Lamin currently plays out of the 3-technique with the Greyhounds.
"South Carolina was his dream school," Horton said. "He's handled the recruiting process well. He has handled the attention and has stay focused on school and finishing here. A lot of guys, they can't handle the positive. We're all good at handling adversity, but a lot of times when you have success, you have to learn how to deal with that to. And we expect him to do great things at South Carolina."