Wanting to be hometown hero
for me.”
From playing on Plantation High School football team under longtime coach Steven Davis from 2011-14 to four seasons at South Carolina under Will Muschamp, Lammons joined the Dolphins practice squad on Nov. 28, 2018 after stints with the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints.
In the past year, he has developed, impressed Flores and his new coaching staff, and made the Dolphins initial 53-man roster at the beginning of the season.
And he’s still standing.
“He really did a good job from OTAs to training camp to most of this season,” Flores said of Lammons.
“This is a kid who has worked hard, made the most out of his opportunities. Not perfect. He had the interception last week, which was good for him and a big play for us. He also had two penalties. So, we have to correct the mistakes and obviously highlight the successes.
“But he’s done a good job, and hopefully he continues to play well and contribute.”
Lammons may play in limited action, but he has appeared in all 12 games, playing some on defense and mostly on special teams.
His interception was the validation he needed to see his hard work paying off.
Lammons has seen his fair share of struggles on the field, including Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Juju Smith-Schuster snatching what could have been an interception for a touchdown during game on “Monday Night Football” earlier this season.
Lammons has also seen his first-year defensive back teammates such as Jomal Wiltz, Nik Needham, Steven Parker and Ryan Lewis all get their first career interceptions during the season.
His highlight play was a long time coming. More important for Lammons, however, was the fact his game-ending play helped the Dolphins come back from a 28-14 deficit to beat the Eagles 37-31 last week.
“It was very exciting, because overall the whole team worked hard coming back — offense, defense and special teams,” Lammons said. “Everyone just worked extremely hard, and just to end right there it was relief for me and the whole team.”
Lammons celebrated his interception with Aikens, Cobert, Needham, Wiltz, safety Montre Hartage and Dolphins mascot T.D. in the end zone at the end of last week’s game.
Lammons kept the football, too, with plans to put it in a display case in his apartment.
Whenever Lammons takes a moment to reflect, he will think about his journey and how his parents never left him along the way.
“They’d be very proud of me right now. I know they’re looking down on me and smiling,” Lammons said. “I never get low on myself or anything because I know they’d be proud of me.”