CHAPEL HILL – Even though he arrived at North Carolina a year-and-a-half ago, Willie Lampkin is already one of the UNC vets along the offensive line.
He’d be an old head no matter what program the 23-year-old was in, but even as still somewhat new to UNC, he is the made man of a rebuilt unit that is both young and fresh with faces that came in from other schools.
Lampkin’s unique position might work out as a positive for the Tar Heels. He is a leader in that room, along with Georgia transfer Austin Blaske, and his leadership is fueled by always first being noted by his diminutive stature for an offensive lineman at this level.
“I still have a chip on my shoulder because of my height, and that’s just how I play, with a chip on my shoulder,” Lampkin said. “That’s all I know.”
At 5-foot-10 and 290 pounds, Lampkin is nowhere close to possessing typical specs one generally sees from Power Four offensive linemen. But if you ask Blaske, who knows a thing or two about what great o-linemen look like, Lampkin might as well be the same size as everyone else.
“I love playing next to Willie,” said Blaske, who is UNC’s center, and Lampkin its left guard. “He comes with that chip on shoulder every day, comes to work, just goes out there and balls out every day. That’s all you can ask. He’s 5-10, 290 pounds, but he plays like he’s 6-8, 340.”
In every way, the chip never leaves Lampkin. It travels through his veins, and he never hesitates discussing it. It hovers over him, fairly easy to see, especially when looking for it.
After an early spring practice, when Lampkin was set to field questions from the media, his jersey was noticeably torn and dinged in multiple places. Were the Tar Heels getting after it so much, Lampkin’s jersey went all to heck in a March workout?
“They didn’t want to give me a new jersey, wanted me to rock the old one,” he said, slightly laughing.
Perhaps it was a tactic by UNC’s equipment folks to keep fueling the whole chip stuff on the more established Coastal Carolina transfer?
“I guess, man, I guess,” Lampkin replied, leaning forward and laughing. “I always got a chip on my shoulder. I will always have a chip on my shoulder.”
Traditional size or not, Lampkin wasn’t overlooked last fall. He was third-team All-ACC after earning a PFF grade of 76/2. He played 816 snaps for the Tar Heels, with 622 coming at right guard, 141atleft guard, and 53 at center.
Lampkin allowed only three sacks on the season and just eight hurries. By every statistical measure, he had an excellent campaign.
This season, Lampkin’s mandate is to again perform at a high level, but to also lead. A new guy in the winter of 2023, a veteran driving the o-line room’s vibe in 2024. But he can handle it.
“I’ve got a bigger leadership role on the team,” he said. “When I came in last year, I was like a first-year vet player, but I really didn’t have a leadership role because you had all those guys that were older and they were here previously.
“So, I would say that’s the biggest difference; being a leader this year.”
Blaske was lauded all spring for his leadership, drawing comparisons to Corey Gaynor, who finished his eligibility last fall. Part of the tag is that Blaske is new, plays the same position as Gaynor, and because he has natural leadership skills and a role in the unit that affords him that respect.
But Blaske doesn’t want to hear about him being the offensive line’s leader. He won’t embrace the notion. It’s him and Lampkin, he says.
“In that room, a lot of people say that I’m the leader, but me and Willie are the leaders in that room,” Blaske said. “Don’t get mistaken about that, because that’s how that is, we’re both leaders in that room.”
And Lampkin is a proven commodity. He was a three-time All-Sun Belt player, twice as a guard and once as a center. In fact, he was the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year as a center in 2022.
Now, he’s UNC’s starting left guard and o-line leader.
