Lumas wants to finish with another win over FAMU
Win or lose Saturday, don’t feel sorry for Ja-Quan Lumas when he walks out of Camping World Stadium for the last time as a football player.
Sure, it will be emotional for the Bethune-Cookman senior as he closes a chapter on one part of his life. A vast array of opportunities await, however, and he can smile big when he exits the stadium knowing that if he can endure life as a B-CU walk-on, he can do anything.
“It is bittersweet. This has been a great chapter of my life, but I definitely have to move on to bigger things, better things,” said Lumas, who used to walk to games at what was then the Florida Citrus Bowl when Jones High played all its home games there. “I’ve been thinking about it every day, so I’m excited, but at the same time I’m a little sad.”
He’ll still be able to smile, however, knowing an exciting adventure looms. Lumas, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end, will be headed to China within the next year to teach English to young Chinese students.
“I got a teaching job over in China,” said Lumas, who will graduate in December as a history major. “I’m excited to see new things. I’m a little nervous, but more excited than nervous. I’ve always wanted to travel and so that’s the plan.”
So as he’s been preparing and studying the game plan for Saturday’s battle with archrival Florida A&M, he’s also been boning up on his Mandarin Chinese language as he readies himself for a whole new world.
“It’s not a requirement, but ... I want to know the basics and then once I get over there I’ll improve on the language,” Lumas said.
Of course, his exit from Camping World Stadium on Saturday will be much sweeter if the Wildcats can hand another loss to FAMU.
A victory for the Bethune-Cookman seniors over the Rattlers in the Florida Classic means he and every other senior in a BCU uniform will have never lost to FAMU. The Wildcats have won seven consecutive meetings against the Rattlers.
“It’ll be exciting to be back,” said Lumas, who played his junior and senior years at Jones High after moving to Orlando from Tampa. “[Winning] would mean that much more. You can’t go home and just lose. You gotta finish out with a win, so that’s the plan.”
The seniors have made sure to let the rest of the team know how much this game matters for the 6-4 Wildcats, who are 5-2 in the MEAC and winners of their last three games.
“All the other players … they know the importance. They’ve seen it already, how much we don’t like FAM,” Lumas said.
Lumas, of course, as a tight end will never feel like the ball comes his direction enough in the passing game, but he’s seen more action this year than any other time in his career. During his first few seasons, he played primarily on special teams and the Florida Classic in 2014 was when he got Ja-Quan Lumas, Bethune-Cookman tight end
his first start at tight end.
This year Lumas has 13 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown. During his BCU career, he’s caught 33 balls for 441 yards and five touchdowns.
It wasn’t an easy beginning for him at Bethune, where he enrolled as a preferred walk-on in 2013, but he later earned his scholarship.
“My mom was ecstatic,” said Lumas, whose father, Rufus Redding, is the former band director and still a faculty member at Jones High. “I remember we were at a banquet and [head coach Terry Sims] said I’ve seen how hard you work and I want to offer you a scholarship.
“I wasn’t surprised, but I know Coach Sims and all the other coaches noticed my hard work . ... But once it came,I was like, you know, ‘Finally.’”
The finality of it will hit on Saturday, but he won’t spend too much time on the past because he knows his future is bright.
“Many students, they struggle with that, finding a way, finding a job after college, so finding this avenue … it’s exciting,” Lumas said.