More than once in Kevin Lalin’s college football career, the opportunity presented itself to just walk away or quit.
But that would suggest the 5-foot-9, 197-pound running back was built to do either, which he apparently isn’t.
Lalin didn’t start playing his current position until he was a senior at Overhills High School in Spring Lake, North Carolina, and the only offer he had at the next level was from Limestone University, an NCAA Division II program in Gaffney, South Carolina. In two years with the Saints, he rushed for 1,433 yards and nine touchdowns, doing so despite a broken foot in his second season.
A few months later, though, the 180-year school closed, leaving Lalin among the former Limestone student-athletes in need of a new program. He chose North Carolina’s Catawba College — which competes in the same South Atlantic Conference that had included Limestone — due in part to its location in Salisbury, a drive of some two hours from his hometown.
He was as successful there as he was at Limestone, amassing nearly 1,000 yards and scoring four touchdowns for the Indians on his way to All-SAC recognition as a second-team selection a year after being a first-team honoree with the Saints.