On Friday Lamar Jackson made a surprise visit to Morgan State, an HBCU that is the largest in Maryland. He surprised a bunch of students, as no one was expecting to see the former MVP and superstar QB for the Baltimore Ravens show up.
Lamar decided to spend one day of his offseason at the HBCU campus, riding around on a motorized scooter, according to CBS Baltimore. Not a stretch that Lamar would eventually show up to the largest HBCU in the state, considering the campus is only 6 miles away from Ravens Stadium. It sounds like Lamar woke up and decided he’d give Morgan State a visit and a good time.
He also took a pit stop to meet with the women’s lacrosse team and posed for pictures with them while also autographing their equipment.
He also tried a stick out himself, and while playing with the lacrosse stick Lamar, according to CBS Sports, said he was “channeling the skills of professional lacrosse player turned Premier Lacrosse League President Paul Rabil.”
Paul Rabil also happens to be a Maryland native as well, being from Gaithersberg, Maryland.
Jackson was also seen at a day party on the campus. Later the Louisville product was noticed while working the day shift at Chick-Fil-A serving students in the student center. According to Lamar, they also “ran out of Polynesian sauce.”
👀 @Lj_era8 on the yard, showing the #NationalTreasure some love! 💪🏾 https://t.co/ycsMYYvZ7s
— Morgan State University (@MorganStateU) April 2, 2022
Morgan State twitter talk was all about Lamar Friday night, with everyone tweeting about what the former NFL MVP was doing and how cool he was for popping up on the campus.
“Lamar Jackson up at Morgan showing he really for the people” one fan said. Another tweeted “Lamar Jackson’s just casually walking around Morgan State blending in wit the students,” there was ton of love shown to Baltimore’s signal caller on Friday, and he is leaving his mark in this city.
Later that day Lamar was at the dining hall handing out flyers for a friend’s music, and according to Elissha Leach, a student at Morgan State University:
“He was talking to a group of boys that might’ve been football players, taking pictures with everyone, and signing jerseys,” Leach told The Shadow League.
“I didn’t know who he was at first, but I quickly figured out after.”
As elusive as Lamar is, Elissha was able to nab a photo with him.
Lamar definitely made these students’ day and was able to motivate some young athletes that attend Morgan State University. Whether sports fans or not, he definitely made some Lamar fans Friday.
While questions swirl about Jackson’s future and his slow negotiations with Baltimore on a contract extension, it’s clear that Jackson’s career is rooted in Baltimore on and off the gridiron. He’s also connected to the Black college culture and could be popping up at an HBCU near you.
Jackson seems to enjoy the element of surprise. No one knew that Lamar was going to grace the historic campus with his presence, and he hasn’t tipped his hand at all about when he will get an extension done or how much he wants from the Ravens to be content.
Maybe that was just the first stop in a LJ8 HBCU tour.
