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Texas Longhorns: Why Charlie Strong Didn’t Release Du’Vonta Lampkin from NLI

By Chris Okrainetz

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Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong did not want to set a dangerous precedent with the Du’Vonta Lampkin recruitment saga.

Accountability, character, integrity.

Those are just a few common terms you’ve probably heard thrown around since head coach Charlie Strong stepped on the scene in Austin. To be blunt, it’s been a full-out culture shift at Texas, where throwing up the infamous horns initially became a privilege, not a right.

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Whether you agree with Strong’s approach or not, you have to admire some of the life lessons he is teaching these young men. A prime example of this can be seen through the recently concluded eligibility saga of former Texas Longhorns defensive tackle signee Du’Vonta Lampkin, who recently enrolled with the Oklahoma Sooners.

After signing with Texas this past winter, Lampkin had a change of heart at the end of May and decided to announce that he would not join the Longhorns’ program. However, the NCAA denied his appeal to receive a release from the National Letter of Intent that he signed with Texas, which forced the Cyrpess Falls native to wait until UT denied his enrolment before he could pursue other options.

Head coach Charlie Strong explained on Saturday why the program chose not to grant Lampkin an immediate release.

“We recruited Lampkin,” Strong said. “There was so much time that we placed into Lampkin and then he understood what it took to get into school here. What I don’t want to see happen is that all of a sudden that we just set this standard where if a young man says, ‘Hey, I had to finish this course and I don’t finish it and I can go somewhere else.”

Dec 29, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong before the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 2014 Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The problem with releasing Lampkin wasn’t the actual release process. It was the potential ripple effect it could’ve had with other recruits, where a dangerous precedent of devaluing the word “commitment” could ensue.

“Now we’re opening up the doors for other recruits for that to happen,” Strong said. “So if you open up the door for one, what if it happens next year? Where there’s another guy? Or it could be two guys.

“You knew what the requirements were to get in here. It’s the state system. We know this, when you pass one part of the course, you’re going to tell me you can’t go back and pass the other part of it? Not that I would ever stop a young man from getting a college education – I wouldn’t. Once you have standards and you know what you have to go do, just be accountable. Just be a responsible young man. That’s all I’m asking you do.”

Again, you have to admire coach Strong’s approach to this situation. In a recruiting world where who can compose the coolest announcement of where they will be playing next year dominates the headlines, basic practices such as accountability to your actual commitment are long forgotten.

It doesn’t sound like coach Strong held a grudge towards Lampkin, or was bitter that he wanted to transfer. He wanted to simply protect basic practices of his program, where things like commitment matter greatly. That’s something you have to admire, regardless of whether you’re a UT fan or not.

I’m sure these are all things Lampkin knew when he signed his LOI back in February, so to flip-flop almost three months later is a mysterious decision. Yes, he was not able to pass the second two semesters of his spanish courses in his high school, which left him unable to complete his foreign language requirements to enrol at Texas. But he knew what those requirements were upon signing his LOI, so who let who down here?

Strong said that he doesn’t know if any tampering from Oklahoma took place, but regardless of that, his greater message of accountability is one all recruits should strongly consider when they decide about their future and the Texas Longhorns.

What’s your stance on coach Strong’s decision Longhorns’ fans? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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