He played college football for Illinois and signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2014.

He has been a member of the Indianapolis Colts, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ottawa Redblacks, and BC Lions.

Lankford played wide receiver, defensive back, kicker, punter, and also served as a kickoff and punt returner for Paxon School for Advanced Studies.

[2] Lankford then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he played 43 games and recorded 70 receptions for 1,014 receiving yards.

[9] He played in three of the first four games of the season for Ottawa, but made a costly error on a punt return in Week 4 which lead to being dismissed from the team.