“I just thank God,' Inside Vanderbilt Football's Jamezell Lassiter's First Career Touchdown

“Touchdown Vanderbilt,” ESPN play-by-play announcer Kevin Fitzgerald said on the broadcast. “A 35-yard touchdown for the sophomore from Providence, Rhode Island, his first ever carry is a touchdown!”

It took Lassiter lunging towards the pylon and using all of his wingspan to get the ball there, but the smallest guy on the field was in the end zone dancing, running around and seemingly not knowing what to do with himself as Vanderbilt receiver Boski Barrett and Vanderbilt tight end Emmanuel Adebi followed behind him. 

Lassiter beat his chest a few times before being lifted up by Vanderbilt tackle Isaia Glass, was embraced by Vanderbilt guard Sterling Porcher and took a second to conduct a handshake before addressing the crowd in what looked to be an out of body experience. 

The moment was Lassiter’s and nobody was going to take it from him. 

“I had a goal for myself the whole week and being on the travel list I was just prepared as if I was going to go out there and start the game,” Lassiter said. “Whenever my number was called, I was able to respond and help the team finish the game. I had a feeling I was going to score a touchdown in this game.” 

As Lassiter went through his pregame prayer and meditation routine, he envisioned the run that he went on from the north end zone back to the sidelines. He envisioned the joy. He envisioned the feeling of accomplishment that he had just experienced. 

When Lassiter got to the sideline, he told his teammates “it’s already written” and that his faith in God propelled him as he waited for his time to come after a season of sitting behind a group of scholarship running backs. 

Turns out one of those running backs already had this in mind, too. 

“Before he got the ball I knew he was going to go score. I said “he’s gonna go score, he’s gonna go score right now.” All Gabe [Fields] had to do was block,” Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander said. “Once he gets to the sideline, gets them burners going, it’s going to the end zone.”

35 yards later, Alexander was proven right and he was celebrating with Lassiter as if he’d just scored himself. Lassiter has consistently asked Alexander questions in regard to how he can improve and pick up things within Tim Beck’s offense more quickly. He’s embraced the culture that Vanderbilt has looked to build within its locker room. 

If there’s a chip on the shoulder player in Vanderbilt’s locker room, it’s Lassiter. The Rhode Island native says he held scholarship offers from Navy, Army, a few Ivy League schools and a few FCS programs. Lassiter felt like he “had more” left in him than going to a group of five school and “not betting on” himself. 

Lassiter believes he was underrecruited partly because of the area of Rhode Island he comes from, where players often fly under the radar. The Rhode Island native saw his cousin Naeshaun Montgomery go off to Florida while he was often passed by. He eventually came to Vanderbilt and sat down with general manager Barton Simmons before telling Simmons that he’d make it happen rather than looking to find an excuse to go elsewhere. 

The Vanderbilt running back hasn’t seen the field much as a college player, but those who saw him make his case to schools in his past, join Vanderbilt as a receiver and change positions saw his work pay off for him on Saturday. 

“I grew up with Zell and seeing that happen, I felt like I scored the touchdown,” Lassiter’s longtime quarterback Avani Rodrigues said from the stands at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday night. “That was crazy. Surreal moment.” 

The Vanderbilt running back had the moment that most walk-ons aspire for on Saturday, but there he was in a white practice jersey and pads on Tuesday morning after practicing at Vanderbilt’s McGugin Center. Those surrounding the Rhode Island native don’t believe that this is all he has in the tank. 

Lassiter came to Vanderbilt for more. He came to see if he could find a way on the field. He came to win. He came to prove himself. Vanderbilt appears to support that vision. 

“I hope that’s a sign of things to come,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said of the touchdown on Saturday night. “We feel like he has the opportunity to have an impact, to have a set of plays, to get some touches throughout the game. I think it was the first scrimmage that he maybe had 15 plays, but he scored a couple times. It felt like every time he touched a ball, it was an explosive. That's what he can do physically.”

The rest of Lea’s answer–which spanned over a few minutes towards the end of his postgame press conference–sounded like he was referring to a scholarship player that has still yet to break through the depth chart rather than a walk-on that just had the best moment of his career. 

Lea isn’t often naive to the way that he needs to speak about a player publicly, in this case it appeared as if he thought criticism was the right button to push to indicate his confidence in Lassiter. He spoke about the need for his running back to show consistency, the “ability to handle himself down in, down out, to expand his role.” He spoke about Lassiter developing his process and attention to detail. 

Lassiter says that he’s travelling with Vanderbilt for its matchup with Virginia Tech over the weekend and that he’s “excited to be in a new environment,” to “just be there with my teammates to help us win.” 

Vanderbilt brings players that it feels can impact it on its trip and it feels as if Lassiter–who Vanderbilt Razor Miles Capers says stands out in practice–is a piece that can give it something. It’s not over for the Vanderbilt walk-on, but he’s still taking a second to stop and smell the roses. 

“I just thank God for him just giving me that opportunity to go out there,” Lassiter said, “And I’m looking forward to making some plays on Saturday.”