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Lampkin Preparing for Cotton Bowl Showdown

Playing with some of the most talented prospects in the Houston area over the past few years provided Houston Cy-Falls defensive lineman Du'Vonta Lampkin with plenty of first hand knowledge on how to handle the recruiting process. That said, for whatever the 6-foot-3, 278-pound Lampkin may have learned from teammates Jacorey Warrick and Otaro Alaka he apparently didn't pick up the habit of which side of the Red River to play on.
While Warrick is already in Austin playing for the Texas Longhorns, Alaka is committed to follow suit.
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On Monday evening Lampkin decided to take himself in the opposite direction by choosing to commit to the Longhorns Cotton bowl rivals.
Du'Vonta Lampkin Dominates
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"I just decided with my family to commit (to Oklahoma)," Lampkin said. "I liked that I could just get it over with and I know I have somewhere good to go and I can focus on my academics and won't have to do worry about my recruiting any longer."
Lampkin's draw to Oklahoma wasn't just the simplicity but the Cy-Falls defensive end sees a chance to fit into a defensive scheme that is overly familiar with.
"I see that they changed their front into a three-man front I was hoping I could play in that when I get to college. I can focus on my academics now and now I've found the right fit for me," he said. "They see me playing defensive end and that's what I'd prefer to do."
All business aside, Lampkin has built a strong early bond with Oklahoma's first year defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery; he has even had a chance to talk with Oklahoma head man Bob Stoops and the rest of the staff.
"I have a good connection with coach Montgomery, a good connection with coach Stoops and a lot of the staff. I just really see myself going to Oklahoma," he said. "With coach Montgomery I see that he interacts with his guys a lot and he checks up on me a lot and I can tell that he really wanted me there. It gave me the opportunity to see that I should be at Oklahoma.
"He told me that he liked the things that I'm doing now and he says that he likes that and he gave me the offer. I told him the only thing that I wanted was to have somewhere to go and focus on my academics and he started working with me and just thought about it and this is where I want to be.
So what was Montgomery's response to his first class of 2015 commitment?
"He just said that it was an early Christmas present."
Lampkin has been working on a trip to Norman for over a month and though he won't be able to make it in time to be an actual early Christmas present for Montgomery, he has plans to get by in the winter. In the meantime he and his family are simply enjoying the potential of being a Sooner commitment.
"They are on board, they see that I liked them and that I fit in and it fit into what they do defensively," he said.
Lampkin, who SoonerScoop.com saw last October, said that his junior season may not have gone as he wanted to with Cy-Falls posting a 2-8 record in 2013 but his own game improved considerably over the course of the last year.
"I could see that my hips were maturing, and my hands were better and I could feel a difference with me playing this year," Lampkin discussed.
In his sophomore season Lampkin faced one current Sooner, freshman running back Keith Ford. On the night Lampkin's defense helped stifle Ford to the tune of just 22-carries for 82-yards but afterward the two had a chance to catch up. A conversation that Lampkin hopes to continue when he makes his trip to Norman.
"I've talked to Keith Ford before when we played together and I've talked to him from time to time but going up there I'm going to have to meet new people too," he said.
As mentioned, Lampkin is now headed in the opposite direction of former teammates and good friends Alaka and Warrick and he has already considered playing in the Cotton Bowl opposite his burnt orange friends.
"Man that's going to be pretty fun but I haven't seen any trash talk yet."
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