As his team readies for Grayson, Jae Lamar refocused after mid-season ‘mistake’

HOSCHTON — Colquitt County star running back Jae Lamar hasn’t had the senior season he imagined.

When Lamar has played for the Packers, he has dominated, including four touchdowns in a 35-24 playoff win at Mill Creek on Friday.

But the four-star prospect had a three-week hiatus in October after violating team rules and quitting the team, which was ultimately penalized with a suspension.

“I will never make a mistake like that again,” Lamar said of walking away from the team.

Lamar, who committed to play for the University of Georgia in June, had a strong start to his senior season. He was a national recruit and the face of a South Georgia powerhouse program.

But it got to his ego. Lamar was late to team events, he would lash out in practice, and he hurt Colquitt County in games with emotional personal foul penalties.

“It was simple things, right? Don’t be late to practice, can’t have a blowout, you know what I mean?” Colquitt County coach Sean Calhoun said.

Part of the reason Lamar struggled this season goes back to his past. Lamar was regularly in trouble growing up and early in high school. Personal choices — including one that ended with a gunshot wound in his leg his freshman year — led him to be ineligible to play varsity football for his first two years of high school, which meant his recruitment didn’t look like most four-star SEC-caliber prospects. Lamar didn’t make his name at 7-on-7 camps every summer or produce eye-popping film as an underclassman.

He had a meteoric rise his junior year, rushing for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns on 112 carries. Suddenly, Lamar had offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Miami and Alabama.

The sudden national attention was great for Lamar’s future, but it also caused him to lose focus of the present.

“I can’t put myself in his shoes because he went from a no-name to a big recruit, offers and this and that and everything coming your way,” Calhoun said. “And there’s probably a lot of young people or just people in general that wouldn’t know how to respond to that, you know?”

Lamar, one of four siblings raised by a single mother, also said he felt the pressure of giving back to his family.

“I had never been in this position that I’m in today, and there’s a lot coming on me due to the fact of where I come from,” Lamar said. “I felt like my head was kind of getting too big, and I mean, I never disrespected a coach in there once, you know what I’m saying?

While his decision could’ve ended his already shortened high school football career two months ago, he opted to face consequences in order to return to the team.

Calhoun didn’t have to think up a plan for Lamar’s return. Several senior leaders on the team gave Calhoun a list of things they wanted to see from Lamar before he could play again.

“Everybody wants him on the team. Everybody wants each other, but when you’re a distraction to the team, nobody wants you around,” Calhoun said.

The Packers are undoubtedly better with Lamar, but they survived for three weeks without him. Colquitt County beat eventual Region 1-6A champion Valdosta and thumped Tift County before Lamar made his return against Camden County.

Lamar didn’t wait to make his presence felt, either, rushing for 147 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries in the 45-20 victory.

Lamar had a new attitude toward his team, and Colquitt County had its star back.

“It’s going to bode well for him in the future, in my opinion, and that’s the number one reason why I had to do it, right?” Calhoun said. “He needs to get to Georgia, you know what I mean? Get there and be a great Georgia Bulldog.

“Well, if you can’t be a great high school teammate, player, or person, it’s going to be hard to do that in college, too.”

Lamar shut down his recruitment hours before his four-touchdown night against Mill Creek. Lamar led the Packers to a road win, flashed SEC speed on a 65-yard touchdown and made it to Sanford Stadium on Saturday to watch Georgia beat Texas.

“It makes a big statement, and I feel good for what I’ve done,” Lamar said. “I kind of knew I was going to go for something big, and I was just eager this week.”

Colquitt County heads back to Gwinnett County this Friday, with a chance to upset nationally ranked Grayson.

Lamar sees it as another chance to reintroduce himself after a tumultuous season.

And though his attitude has changed, Lamar still runs with the same motivation at heart.

“It’s like something in my body feeling that I’ve just got to pay my mom back, and whatever that is, I’m going to do that,” Lamar said. “I don’t care if it’s running the ball 80 times a game, I’m going to do that to make sure my mom is proud of me.”