Illinois receiver draws his first offer

Gurnee (Ill.) Warren Township state ranked wide receiver prospect Marcus Lewis (6-foot-2, 198 pounds) added his first scholarship offer on Wednesday afternoon from the Northern Illinois Huskies.

"I called and checked in with the coaches at Northern Illinois on Wednesday," Lewis said. "I had a nice talk with assistant coach Mike Sabock and he told me that the NIU coaches were very impressed with my one-day camp workout. He also offered me my first scholarship offer."

Lewis, who's been juggling both football and basketball camps this summer, is definitely excited to land his first offer from the Huskies.

"It feels really good right now to get my first scholarship offer from NIU. I thought I did pretty well at the NIU one-day camp, and I just wanted to go out there and show the coaches what I can do on the field. I'm really impressed with the NIU football program overall. They have had great success on the field, they draw great crowds and they also play a killer schedule every year against some of the biggest programs in the country. Getting an offer from NIU tells me that they believe in my abilities and that they also believe in me as a person and a player."

Lewis is hoping to get a chance to check out NIU in the early fall for a game this upcoming season.

"I really got along with the coaches at NIU, but I also didn't get a chance to see the campus or the town too much when I camped at NIU. I'm going to hopefully make an unofficial visit to NIU in the late summer or during the season for a football game."

Lewis, who has camped so far this summer at Northern Illinois and Illinois, is looking to check out at least one more one-day camp this summer.

"I'm juggling my team basketball and football camps, but this coming Friday I'm heading to Bowling Green for a one-day camp. It's one of the few weekends that I don't have team requirements."

Has Lewis ever thought about hanging up his Chuck Taylor's and devoting his time strictly to football?

"Naw, I love both sports and I really feel that basketball helps me a lot in football. Basketball helps me stay in shape, plus it also translate well with football with things like body control and just helping me with my overall game. I know that I'll need to decide on one sport once I get into college, but why not enjoy both sports in high school?"