ACA's Lassiter Representing Tuscaloosa In AL/MS All-Star Game

TUSCALOOSA, AL. — American Christian Academy's do-it-all gridiron star Kamari Lassiter will take the field as a defensive back in Saturday's annual Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Game in Montgomery and will also do so as the only player selected from his hometown.

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Lassiter, who's listed at 6-foot, 185 pounds, has committed to play defensive back for Kirby Smart at the University of Georgia and helped lead the Patriots to the 4A semifinals in his senior year. During the 2020 campaign, which saw the Patriots finish the regular season undefeated before falling to eventual state champs Handley, Lassiter played on both sides of the ball and on most of the Patriots' special teams units.

"The opening kickoff of the entire year he takes back for a touchdown and that just set the tone for the dynamic playmaking ability that he has," ACA head coach Chris Smelley told Patch on Friday. "Especially just making those 'wow' plays — taking a short pass and juking guys out and turning it into a long touchdown run or coming up with a big hit and getting the crowd riled up."

A four-year letterman for the Patriots, Lassiter put up big numbers for ACA over his career as he would go on to also emerge over time as an offensive threat. Over the course of his senior year, he snagged 32 passes for 833 yards and 11 touchdowns. But on the defensive side of the ball, he notched 74 tackles (10 for a loss), caught two interceptions and forced a fumble.

When looking at career marks, it would be difficult to understate his impact for the Patriots, finishing his high school career with 2,488 receiving yards and 35 offensive touchdowns, in addition to over 200 career tackles and 10 interceptions.

"Any given Friday night, I always tell people Kamari is going to do something that just sort of amazes the crowd," Smelley said. "He’s going to do something electrifying and he didn’t come off the field for us very often."

Smelley praised Lassiter's contributions during his time with the Patriots and said he was looking forward to watching him play in Saturday's all-star game.

"I feel like the best players in the state are really looking forward to getting to play in that game and represent their state," he said. "So I’ve been keeping up with him a little bit throughout the week and he’s telling me things are going really well, it’s great competition and he’s excited."

The Patriots' coach also pointed to Lassiter's work ethic helping the young athlete achieve such a high level of success, which was already complimented by his natural ability and character.

"He’s a 4.0 [GPA] student and everything he does he puts his best into it and I know it's really going to help him move on and play at a great school like Georgia," Smelley said. "Kamari’s definitely worked himself into the position he’s in. He’s got a lot of God-given talent and ability and is very blessed and I’ve really watched him put in the work from being a really skinny ninth grader to developing and eating right and working his tail off in the weight room and putting in the extra work to really set an example as a leader on our football team and really earning the right to get to where he’s been."

The Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Game is set for kickoff at noon on Saturday at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. A live stream of the game can be accessed by clicking here.

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