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Oklahoma's Top 20 recruiting what-ifs, No. 3: Moe Dampeer

Originally posted on FanNation All Sooners
By John E. Hoover | Last updated 2/1/21

The saga of Lawrence “Moe” Dampeer lasted just two seasons at Oklahoma.

But for Dampeer, the struggle continues today.

Dampeer arrived at OU in the 2003 recruiting class out of MacArthur High School in Decatur, IL, as ESPN’s No. 1 defensive tackle in the nation, a fun-loving, kind-hearted, broad-smiling kid who would carry Tommie Harris’ torch as he wrecked Big 12 offenses on his way to the NFL.

But after redshirting that first season, Dampeer struggled to contribute consistently. As a redshirt freshman in 2004, he made just 10 tackles — and yet, five of those were tackles for loss — and he also had a fumble and an interception, three QB hurries and two passes defensed.

Moe Dampeer could flat-out play — when he could play, that is.

“Moe Dampeer is the real deal,” Bob Stoops said on signing day 2003. “We’re excited to finish off a great recruiting class with one of the best defensive tackles in the country. He brings more strength, quickness and speed to our defensive line. … He also has the personality and attitude that fit perfectly with our team and our defense.”

Dampeer was a SuperPrep All-American, a CNNSI.com All-American and a two-time Illinois All-Stater. As a junior, he had 89 tackles, 10 quarterback sacks and 12 tackles for loss as a junior, and despite missing time with a sprained ankle during his senior year, he still had 68 tackles, 9.0 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in just seven games.

Dampeer reportedly ran a 4.8-second time in the 40-yard dash, and was a stellar basketball player too, averaging 14.7 points and 9.3 rebounds during his senior year, according to his local newspaper.

He chose OU over Illinois, as well as offers from Miami, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, UCLA, Oregon, USC, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Iowa, Boston College, Virginia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Missouri. Illinois State and Eastern Illinois offered him in basketball.

But at Oklahoma, Dampeer’s offseason plans never quite meshed with those of strength and fitness guru Jerry Schmidt, and he couldn’t keep his weight down enough to stay on the field.

“I love him as a young man,” Stoops said in 2004, “and I believe he’s got a great future if he’s willing to do the things necessary when you’re a college athlete.”

He told the Decatur Herald & Review in 2004 that the toughest things about college football were the academics, growing up and being responsible, and having the mentality to want to practice and work out every day.

When Dampeer left in spring of 2005, Stoops cited Dampeer not “doing the things we feel are necessary to play … that’s going to class, workouts, all of those things.”

Dampeer returned home to Illinois. He enrolled at Joliet Junior College and played juco ball, then spent three years out of football before resurfacing at Division II Northwest Missouri State.

“This is his last chance,” then-Bearcats coach Mel Tjeerdsma said. “It’s not something w’’re going to do. It’s something he is going to do if he is going to make it.”

Dampeer has been called the most gifted athlete ever to come out of Decatur, but at one point at Northwest Missouri, he tipped the scales at close to 450 pounds and his health began to decline. Dampeer has battled kidney disease and even had a transplant in 2016.

Dampeer’s football career didn’t take him where he thought it would, but today he’s a youth league football coach (“I think I found my passion because this means more to me than anything,” he told the Decatur Herald & Review in 2018), and that’s not all.

This spring, Dampeer will be inducted into the Decatur Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame.

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This series

National Signing Day is around the corner, so SI Sooners is examining Oklahoma’s biggest recruiting what-ifs of the last 20 years.

This is about players who arrived (or almost arrived) at Oklahoma but then, for whatever reason, left well before they reached their potential.

This is what college football recruiting is all about: the risk-reward that comes with not knowing a prospect's potential. For every Adrian Peterson, there's a Rhett Bomar. For every Tommie Harris, there's a Moe Dampeer.

The time period is since 2000, when online recruiting services and the current "star" system became prominent.

The rankings were compiled by SI Sooners publisher John Hoover, Sports Animal host Al Eschbach, KREF host James Hale and Sooner Spectator publisher Jay Upchurch.

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How Hoover voted:

I ranked Moe Dampeer No. 6 on my top 20. Nobody wanted Big Moe to succeed more than Bob Stoops did. But Stoops put up with a lot due to Dampeer's sheer talent and game-changing ability. Dampeer missed workouts, he missed class and he even missed the 2004 summer while back home in Illinois. Finally, Stoops laid down a standard for Dampeer, and Dampeer decided to pursue other interests.

No. 3 on my list was Brent Rawls, the 2001 quarterback who was a high school All-American but never played for the Sooners. You can read about Rawls at the link on the list below.

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