From “Touchdown Jesus” to “First Down Moses” and other football statues and traditions associated with Notre Dame, Jack Lamb felt fortunate to get a chance to play for the Fighting Irish.
He is now, however, embracing a new opportunity to play for the Colorado Buffaloes.
An inside linebacker, Lamb will join the Buffs in June as a graduate transfer after three seasons with the Irish. He has three years to play with the Buffs.
“When I made a decision to transfer, CU was one of the first places that reached out to me and it was a place that I’ve been thinking about for a while anyway,” said Lamb, who grew up in Temecula, Calif. “I like the area, I like the proximity to home. I think it’s a program in the right direction in terms of reaching towards winning more games and possibly towards the Pac-12 championship and giving yourself a shot at the national championship. I think they have all those attributes, and that’s important to me. All those things added up.”
Lamb played for a national championship contender in South Bend, Ind., as the Irish were among the four teams in the College Football Playoff semifinals twice in his three years. Notre Dame is 33-5 over the past three years.
Health, including a broken hip in 2019, kept the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Lamb from his full potential, however.
“I dealt with a lot of injuries at crucial times, where I was trying to really prove myself, and missed a lot of opportunities because of that,” he said.
“(After last season), I looked at it and said I have three years left. They had kind of decided who they wanted to move on with in the program and if wasn’t going to be me, I knew I had time to go make an impact somewhere else.
“It’s disappointing at first when you realize, ‘OK, things didn’t work out here like I thought. I thought I had this perfect plan that’s gonna work out: play four years in college, go to the league and that’s your life. But, it doesn’t always work out like that. There are injuries, there are other circumstances that happen. It’s unfortunate, yeah, but I see this as a whole new opportunity for me.”
Lamb, who graduated with his Bachelor’s degree last week, likes the opportunity at CU. He joins a linebacker group that is led by senior Nate Landman and junior Jonathan Van Diest.
Oklahoma transfer Robert Barnes, junior Quinn Perry and redshirt freshman Marvin Ham II are also competing for starting roles and playing time.
“(Competition) is part of the game,” Lamb said. “I’m excited to go in there and battle it out and honestly just have a good time doing it.”
Shenault case resolved
Earlier this month, CU receiver La’Vontae Shenault resolved a case from when he was arrested on July 5 by Fort Collins Police on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a license violation and driving without headlights at night.
On May 10, Shenault, who was 19 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to possession of alcohol by a minor and was given a three-month deferred sentence. If he can avoid other trouble through Aug. 13, he can withdraw his guilty plea and have his record kept clean.
Shenault, a redshirt freshman, caught 17 passes for 193 yards last season. He was suspended for the 2020 season opener because of his July 5 arrest. He was also suspended for the Valero Alamo Bowl for a violation of team rules but was praised throughout this spring by coaches for his leadership in a young receiver room.
