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Once again Johnny Lamar has an uphill climb. It's nothing new. Lamar was scratching and clawing his entire college career. He slipped under the radar of big time college recruiters when he came out of Dillard high school in south Florida. So Lamar walked on at Florida."I walked on coming into my freshman year at '99, and just making the team I knew I was going to have to bide my time and hope to earn a regular role on special teams," recalled Lamar.
While Lamar made the team, he redshirted his first year and didn't see the field on a regular basis until the 2001 season when he earned a role on special teams and as a backup cornerback.
"By the time I was between my sophomore and junior year I was able to returns some punts and kickoffs," said Lamar who was named Most Improved player after the 2002 season.
But then the coaching staff underwent changes. Steve Spurrier left for the bright lights of the NFL, and Ron Zook took over as head coach. Fortunately all of Lamar's hard work as a non-scholarship player was finally recognized.
