The ‘it’ factor: Lamar-mania takes Baltimore for Ravens training camp

Jake Lourim | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson's path to the Baltimore Ravens A look at the seasons leading to Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson's selection in the first round of the NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — They started to gather about 20 minutes before practice ended, about 100 kids lining up one by one along a rope stretching from the Baltimore Ravens’ offices to the bleachers on the opposite side of the practice fields. They waited.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson lifted his helmet off, grabbed a marker from a team official and started at the front.

As captivating as Jackson can be on the field, he can be just as fascinating to fans in an autograph line. He is still Joe Flacco’s backup here, but he drew perhaps the biggest crowd of signature-seeking children on the grounds.

He always has — at the NFL scouting combine in March when he was not the highest-rated quarterback, at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December when he was not the winner. In Louisville, and in South Florida before that, Jackson became a star. Baltimore is starting to get its first taste.

“Everywhere you go, there’s a Baltimore fan showing you love, just like you’re family,” Jackson said. “It’s great to have, out in an environment where you’re not from.”

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He signed footballs and jerseys and T-shirts and towels and helmets and hats. He signed every item in front of him. Team staffers had to move him along to keep the line going, but parents standing behind their kids wanted pictures. So Jackson stopped and obliged.

“Lamar, have you seen Joe Flacco?” one child asked. Unfazed, Jackson smiled and swiveled his head around, looking for the franchise quarterback. He finished that line and then visited a crowd against the wall of the building, signed more, posed again. He encouraged a boy in a wheelchair. He draped a purple towel over his head near the end.

The Ravens listed 91 players on the roster they distributed Sunday. Only two lingered on the field longer than Jackson. Bystanders said that was not unusual.

Kamal Adams, who lives in nearby Rosedale, just bought a Jackson jersey for his son, Camron, on Sunday. He was sitting and expressing excitement about Jackson when Ravens staffers came by and took Camron to the autograph line.

Alex Packett, from Charlotte, North Carolina, flew north for a birthday party and for this practice. He grew up in South Carolina but became a Ravens fan because of family from Baltimore. He ordered his Jackson jersey two days after the NFL draft.

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Mother’s Grille in Federal Hill, a half-mile from M&T Bank Stadium, was fairly quiet on a rainy Saturday night, but on fall Sundays it is one of the most popular Ravens bars in town. The “Purple Patio” outside, bar area, back room and upstairs can fit more than 1,000 people, in Dave Pollitt’s estimation.

“The city is electric,” said Pollitt, the restaurant's general manager. “Everybody is really excited to get the season started.”

Much of that excitement comes from Jackson, one of the Ravens’ two first-round picks in the NFL draft. Since they won the Super Bowl in 2013, the Ravens have an even 40-40 record, making the playoffs just once.

Recently, Baltimore has been a city without a football superstar. Despite going 9-7, the Ravens did not have a player whose jersey sales were among the 30 most popular during the 2017 season, according to the NFL Shop. In the rankings released for April 1-June 23, 2018, Jackson cracked the list at No. 22.

“He’s got a skill set that I feel like we haven’t had in one guy in a while,” Pollitt said. “… He just offers that ‘it’ factor that we just haven’t had.”

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Though the Ravens were headed for the playoffs last season until the final minute of the final regular-season game, Pollitt said the atmosphere in his restaurant at times seemed “lifeless.”

“I think everybody understood that if we had made it in, we were backing in,” Pollitt said. “The majority of opinions was that it would be a surprise if they made it, but I think everybody was expecting them to falter.”

Jackson may be a fresh start for the Ravens at some point. For now, he is at least an infusion of energy.

“I think they just have a little bit more swagger on offense, and that’s what we’ve been missing,” Adams said. “Lamar Jackson brings that element of speed, which is going to help out when the play breaks down.”

Off the field, Jackson has never sought out attention, though he does not shy away from it. As he left the 2017 Heisman Trophy ceremony — after learning that he had lost — he agreed to photos with fans even as security guards flanked Jackson attempting to keep them away.

In Baltimore, Jackson seems to have settled in well again.

“Just like it was when I was in Louisville,” he said. “Just to see them shout your name and stuff like that, like you won an award or something like that. Not an ambassador or anything like that, but just knowing that kids look up to you and they admire you is great. That’s a great feeling.”

Jake Lourim: 502-582-4168; jlourim@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jakelourim. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jakel.