College football: Keystone standout Gideon Lampron looking to do big things at Bowling Green

Gideon Lampron is living up to his middle name. After putting up quite a highlight reel during his redshirt sophomore season with Dayton, Lampron — whose legal middle name is ESPN — is getting ready to contribute at Bowling Green. And perhaps put up some highlights on the very network he was named for. "Bowling Green put it on the roster for the team and some places saw it and it blew up a little bit," Lampron said. "I've got to go make some plays now. I can't let people down, especially since we have a few games on ESPN. I never wanted to change it. There are pictures of me as a kid with an ESPN jersey on. I bet most people thought nothing of it, but it's actually my name." His middle name isn't a gimmick for publicity or a nickname that stuck, it was given to him by his father, Marty Lampron, who slipped it past his wife Jennifer while she was recovering from giving birth. It received attention when Bowling Green listed his name on the team roster. If he manages to earn playing time, he'll get an opportunity to play on ESPN, but Lampron is keeping it all in perspective. "The main thing now is there may be hype for different things, but I haven't done anything at this level yet," he said. "I'm earning my spot right now. I'm just excited to go show what I can do." It turns out the name was appropriate because Lampron looks like he's belonged on ESPN throughout his football career. He left Keystone as one of its most decorated players with three All-Ohio selections and a winner of three All-Lorain County League defensive player of the year awards. He finished his career with 3,150 rushing yards, 41 touchdowns, 350 tackles, 19 sacks and three interceptions. He continued that success at Dayton, enjoying a breakout season last year. At the conclusion of the regular season, Lampron was second in FCS tackles for loss (2.1 per game), tied for sixth in blocked kicks (two), 13th in fumbles recovered (two) and tied for 25th in solo tackles (5.1 per game). He was sixth in the Pioneer Football League and led Dayton with nine solo tackles per game. With his help, the Flyers allowed the fewest yards (242.9 per game), the fewest passing yards (122.9) and the fewest first downs (12.9) in FCS. His efforts earned him a spot on the All-Pioneer Football League first team. Lampron won four weekly PFL awards, defensive player of the week three times and special teams player of the week, in addition to two national player of the week awards. He was named to two NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All-America teams, a first-team selection by the Associated Press on Dec. 17 and a third-team honoree by Stats Perform on Dec. 18. "What Dayton really taught me was the power of your relationships with your teammates and all the friendships you develop," Lampron said. "It makes the game what it is for all of us. The big thing at Dayton, I learned football. I learned the Xs and Os of the game and it made my transition (to Bowling Green) a lot easier. Transitioning to this level now gives me the standard to do what I need to do to get the defense going." Lampron is moving to the Mid-American Conference, and FBS, where the Falcons are set to face Lafayette, Cincinnati, Liberty and Louisville in non-conference games. Bowling Green's coaching staff experienced some turnover after he committed. The school hired former NFL and Ohio State great Eddie George to lead the program after Scot Loeffler left to become the quarterbacks coach for the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. Lampron said the new staff has been phenomenal. "I couldn't believe it when I heard he got hired," Lampron said of George. "My mom and her family went to Ohio State, so they're die-hard OSU fans. We were all pretty shocked when we heard he got the job. I was super happy, excited to meet him. And my brother told me to tell Coach George that he used to play as him in Madden back in 2001. So it's pretty cool." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.