MONROE, La. — It remains to be seen if Louisiana-Monroe can continue its unbeaten start in the Sun Belt Conference and earn its first-ever bowl bid. But for Warren Central product Otis Stamps, one career defining highlight is in the bag.

During the second quarter of the Warhawks’ season opening game against Texas, Stamps stepped in front and picked off a pass from last year’s Heisman Trophy runner-up Colt McCoy. It was Stamps’ first interception of the season, but it’s one that will forever be talked about in the growing legacy of his family’s football exploits.

“It’s a story I can tell my little brothers, cousins, and hopefully my children, one day,” Stamps said with a smile, following ULM’s 16-10 win over Arkansas State on Tuesday night. “To do that, in front of 100,000 fans, that’s something I can carry with me, until I’m old. I picked him (McCoy) off.”

McCoy recovered, leading the then-second ranked Longhorns to a 59-20 rout of the Warhawks. ULM recovered, too. It beat Texas Southern the next week 58-0. The Warhawks then lost to another big time school in Arizona State, but with Tuesday’s win over Arkansas State they have won three straight conference games to lead the Sun Belt.

Still, for Stamps, who came to ULM after starting two seasons for Hinds Community College, the McCoy interception has its own special place.

“They were trying to run a step and go to (Malcolm) Williams. We were in a zone, and I just read his eyes. He never looked me off. When I caught it and then ran for about eight yards, oh man, all I could think about was all the hard work I had done this summer to get to this point. It’s been my only interception here, which is kind of disappointing because I had 11 when I was at Hinds.”

Stamps wasn’t the only one impressed by his pick.

“It was huge. First game of the season, against the Heisman Trophy runner-up. To pick him off just gave him a lot of confidence to someone who was already a good player,” ULM defensive backs coach Darrell Perkins said. “But what I appreciate most about Otis is who he is as a person. You can count on him day in and day out when he’s on the field and off. He is consistent and he is there on every down.”

Warren Central coach Curtis Brewer said that describes the Stamps he coached when he was with the Vikings.

“Otis never backed away from a challenge. During his junior year, Murrah had a big time receiver and he burnt Otis twice during the game. The next year, Otis went up against that same kid, and when they threw on him, he was there to knock it down. You could just see him say, ‘not this time.’”

Being good at football is a Stamps family tradition. Otis’ uncle, Sylvester, is Vicksburg High’s career rushing leader. Sylvester Stamps went on to have a standout career at Jackson State and also played in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty big tree with Sylvester being my uncle, my cousin Billy, and now my little cousin Alvin, is coming up with Vicksburg High. But I always heard stories from my dad and my other uncles on what Sylvester did. Now, I hope they can start to say, well Otis did that,” Otis Stamps said.

Otis Stamps says he owes a lot to his time at Hinds.

“It’s very competitive. In high school, you may run up against one really good receiver. It was a big difference in junior college. It was good for me. I learned more about everything when I was at Hinds, playing in that league,” Stamps said.

Stamps is no stranger to the big time, big stadiums and hostile environments.

In his 1 1/2 seasons with Louisiana-Monroe he has already played at Auburn, Tulane, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas and Arizona State. Next Saturday, he and the Warhawks will head north to take on yet another Southeastern Conference foe, Kentucky.

Stamps has proven himself against that stout competition. He had one interception and 39 tackles last year, and has 19 tackles and the one pick this season. Still, he’s not certain he’ll follow in his uncle’s footsteps and play in the NFL. For now, he’s trying to help ULM win the Sun Belt, make the all-conference team and work toward his degree.

“I don’t know about the pros. I need to get my interceptions up. If that happens, I’ll look at it. If I don’t, I’ll have my degree in criminal justice,” Stamps said.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com