MEAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR (2017)
2X CELEBRATION BOWL WINNER
1st team ALL MEAC (2017)
2nd team All MEAC (2016)
26-0 AS A STARTER
2017 -2018 Season : Passer Rating : 161.7
Yards : 2932
TD/ INTS: 31/7
STRENGTHS : WINNER (26-0), Elite Decision Maker, Clutch, Strong Arm, Accuracy from the Pocket and On the Run, NFL size, Good Mechanics, Ball Placement. Makes all the throws
WEAKNESSES : Lean, Durability concerns, could improve footwork inside pocket
NFL COMPARISON : Less fleet footed Deshaun Watson
DEVELOPMENT : NFL starter
SCOUT TALK : Smart. High football IQ and character. A very accurate and a low mistake maker as a thrower. Doesn’t throw interceptions. High reward, low risk player. Smart with the football Exceptional ball placement. Throws it where only the receiver can catch it. Can make all of the throws. Back shoulder, front shoulder, right at the numbers or anywhere. Accurate in the short and medium passing game. Also accurate throwing the deep ball, hitting receivers right in stride. Puts his receivers in position to make plays and has trust in his receivers with one on one coverage. Can throw with touch and force. Has good NFL size being 6’4 but must put on some weight during off season. Hard to bring down for defenders. Scary accurate throwing on the run. Makes multiple plays out of the pocket. A dual threat, more of a powerful runner rather than speedy. A winner, that comes up big in the clutch time. Good mechanics and throwing delivery, keeps the ball high. Athlete played basketball in HS. Fluid throwing motion. Expect a dominant 2018 season.
THANOS IS THAT YOU ?
If you have yet to witness North Carolina A&T’s Quarterback Lamar Raynard play football then you simply haven’t lived yet. With the combination of arm talent, clutchness, and leadership ability, #7 from High Point NC, is the best Quarterback to ever rock the blue and gold.
Why do I call him Thanos? Because at a snap of his fingers, he can destroy the whole universe. (Or at least the game at hand) Plus he got a little Infinity Guantlet of his own.
In 2014 as a High school senior Raynard, alongside current NCAT running back star Marquell Cartwright, led T.W. Andrews High school in High Point, North Carolina to a 14-1 record and a 18-14 win over Monroe in the NCHSAA 2-AA state title game; throwing a 38-yard go ahead touchdown pass with only 1:02 remaining in the ball game . And from here is where the legend of Lamar Raynard begins.
Coming out of high school Raynard was severely underrated. Not being ranked nationally or even in the state. This could hurt a young player’s confidence, but no not Raynard. He’s cut from a different cloth.
“It really didn’t matter to me. I just knew I was going to ball wherever I went.”
And oh did he ball. After red shirting his freshman season, Raynard got his first taste of playing time during the 2015 college football season, getting his first start on Sept 5 at home against Shaw University. Raynard threw for 188 yards on 14 completions and 3 Touchdowns. Raynard also showed his dual threat ability running in a touchdown en route to the 61-7 win over the Shaw University Bears.
The next season the 2016 Aggies were loaded with talent. After 9 games and 8 starts Raynard and the Aggies started off the season hot; with Raynard winning all of his games as starter. Raynard was on a tear throwing for career highs in passing yardage, touchdowns and completions .Raynard was so accurate that season he broke the single season passing percentage record completing 64.6% of his passes.
Unfortunately the injury bug managed to get a bite out of Mr. Raynard as he suffered from a chest injury which resulted in the end of his 2016 campaign.
" It felt good winning those first games, but when I injured myself I was hurt inside”"
"Lamar just continues to get better," former Aggies head coach Rod Broadway said at the time ."The four games prior to him getting hurt (last season) he was playing at a really high level. He started this season right where he ended last season, and we expect great things out of him."
And great things did come out of Mr. Raynard as he would take that hurt from the 2016 season and turn it into a unbelievable 2017 campaign. Would you like a little undefeated season, 31 total touchdowns and 63.7 completion percentages with your 161.7 QBR sir?
So you don’t believe Raynard is a winner huh? Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Here’s the scene.
It’s A&T vs. Grambling State for the 2017 Celebration Bow down at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The North Carolina A&T Aggies and GSU have been in a slugfest all game.
It’s all tied up 14-14 in the 4th quarter. After uncharacteristically throwing 2 interceptions; Raynard just needs to get the ball back in his hands. After great defensive play from the A&T defense forcing Grambling into a 3 and out; Raynard and the Aggies gets the ball back late with a chance to win the game.
Now this is the stuff legends are made of.
With just over 1:31 on the clock. Raynard finds Marquell Cartwright over the middle for a 19 yard gain to get the Aggies within Grambling’s 20 yard line as the clock continues to tick. Tick tick tick tick..The pressure is mounting. A celebration bowl is in grasp and history is on the horizon.
The next play Raynard drops back and connects with standout Wide Receiver Elijah Bell as Bell makes an amazing contested catch on the left sideline to get A&T to the 5 yard line. After a short run on 1st & Goal by Cartwright there’s only 46 seconds left on the clock. Now It is now or never for Raynard and the Aggies. As the ball snaps, Raynard lowers his head bulldozing through into his offensive line.
At first the play looks bleak like Raynard will fall short of the end zone, but that good ole reality stone Thanos had done came in handy, because with a little determination and whole lotta push by his offensive line, Raynard made it into the promise land for the game winning touchdown.Capping off an undefeated 12-0 season with a 2017 Celebration Bowl Championship.
“I told the D if you give me the ball back I’ll lead the troops down to score, you know that’s what I did. Man I want to shout out my offensive line, shout out my receivers, running backs everybody man [because] this is a team effort, they deserve this as well as me. The fans. Everybody man”
Humbling words from a leader who just cemented his legacy in HBCU football lore.
When asked why a NFL franchise should draft him, Raynard spat nothing but facts saying,
“I’m a winner and I’m a competitor.” As Raynard enters the 2018 season expect big things both out of him and the whole A&T football team.
The Aggies open their 2018 football season against one of the best teams in FCS football in the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at a neutral site in Montgomery, Alabama.
The following week Raynard and A&T hits the road to travel to Greenville, NC to face off against the Division 1 ECU Pirates.Seems like tough competition, but do not expect Raynard to fold under the pressure. And please don’t expect him to lay back and rest on the accomplishments of last season.
When asked if he ever sits back and thinks about the how he and the NCAT Aggies made history this past season being the only MEAC football team to finish a season undefeated; Raynard simply replied
“ Sometimes I do but it’ll be better if we do it again.”
Those are words I like to hear from my Quarterback.
If Lamar Raynard was playing ball in the SEC he would easily be a projected Day 1 or Day 2 NFL prospect heading into the 2018 college football season with all of his production, but because he’s not he’s getting slept on by both fans and NFL scouts. But that’s okay, because in 2018 Raynard will wake everyone up.
A big shout out goes to Lamar Raynard for putting on for his HBCU, and I have confidence saying that I would bet my first born son that Lamar Raynard will be a great NFL quarterback.