Ferris State Football's Jake Lampman Signs With NFL's New Orleans Saints!
Big Rapids, Mich. - A third member of the back-to-back Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Champion Ferris State University football squad has inked a National Football League (NFL) free agent deal as former Bulldog receiver Jake Lampman (East Lansing/Haslett) announced late Sunday he has signed with the New Orleans Saints.
The Bulldog senior wideout joins fellow FSU teammates Jason Vander Laan (Frankfort, Ill./Chicago Christian) and Justin Zimmer (Greenville), who signed free agent deals with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, respectively, following the conclusion of this year's NFL Draft.
Lampman recently took part last week in the Baltimore Ravens' NFL Rookie Camp, but did not sign a deal prior to joining the Saints.
The three FSU standouts to sign with an NFL team this year are the most of any GLIAC member school and among the most of any NCAA Division II institution this season.
This year marks the fourth-straight year in which at least one Bulldog senior has received a chance to continue his career on the professional level. Last year, in 2015, former defensive tackle Marcus Cribbs was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent soon after the NFL Draft. Former defensive back Marvin Robinson inked with the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 and before Cribbs was the first since free agent cornerback Angelo Williams with the Minnesota Vikings in 2010. Previously, in 2013, former defensive end Jordan Morgan received a rookie tryout with the New York Giants, but did not sign.
The select group also consists of running back Dave Gagnon (1974-Chicago Bears), outside linebacker Monty Brown (1997-New York Jets), defensive tackle Ed Philion(1994-Buffalo Bills), defensive end Dave Zuiderveen (2001-Atlanta Falcons), flanker Clarence Coleman (2002-Buffalo Bills), tackle Matt McCoy (2004-Detroit Lions), wide receiver Carlton Brewster (2006-Cleveland Browns) and defensive tackle Jake Visser (2009-Houston Texans).
Two other former Ferris State players, offensive guard Bill Bourdlais and safety Patrick Wells, received tryout invitations from the Cleveland Browns in 2008 and participated in the team's rookie minicamp, but did not ink a deal. Several others have also had NFL tryouts including wide receiver Andre Johnson (1989), quarterbackDave DenBraber (1987) and receiver/returner Fred Kirkland (1981). Defensive back James Skodak (2006) also had tryouts with several NFL organizations among other past Bulldog standouts.
Lampman wrapped up his Bulldog career this past fall as one of the top wideouts in school history. He claimed first-team All-GLIAC accolades in his final campaign after leading FSU with 731 receiving yards on 52 catches in 12 contests. He averaged 14.1 yards per catch in 2015 and tallied eight TD's in the air. Last fall, he also carried the ball 14 times for 125 yards and four scores on the ground.
The Bulldog senior returned for his final season after missing most of the 2014 campaign due to injury. He was a four-year letterwinner in the Bulldog program and finished his career ranked sixth all-time in receiving yards with 2,201 total yards. In addition, he played a valuable role on special teams as a dangerous return man in his five seasons in the Ferris State program.
Last fall, the Bulldogs finished with an 11-1 overall record for the second-straight year and captured the school's second GLIAC Championship in the last two seasons while capping off back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons. Ferris State also stretched its regular-season win streak to a current 25-game stretch and posted the first playoff victory in 19 years.
FSU has posted the GLIAC's best league record over the past four seasons (34-6) and the squad owns the top overall four-year record of all 21 collegiate programs in Michigan (37-9).