Lewis recruitment blowing up recently
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Brookhaven (Miss.) 2015 linebacker Leo Lewis has seen his recruitment take off over the last month. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound defender flew under the radar for most of his first season at linebacker, but he now holds five SEC scholarship offers and one from the Pac-12.
Ole Miss was the first to extend an offer in November.
"At the time, it was like a dream come true," Lewis said. "I've been playing ball my whole life. I'm a Mississippi kid from a small town with big dreams. When it came, it was unbelievable - a Division I, SEC school that was interested in me like they were."
The same day as Ole Miss, offers came from Mississippi State and Oregon State. Then after a weekend unofficial visit to LSU to watch the Tigers host Arkansas, he received his fourth scholarship offer from LSU.
The visit to Baton Rouge was his first and has been his only visit to date.
"I had fun," Lewis said. "I had a great time. It was pretty exciting. I liked everything about it - the crowd, the fans, everything."
Then Arkansas and Tennessee extended offers. Lewis' recruitment continues to grow with UCLA showing strong interest, and Auburn and Alabama also taking a close look at the standout linebacker.
All of the interest has come quickly, and he is soaking everything in at this point.
"It's been great," Lewis said. "Once again, it's been a blessing. I'm just enjoying the process and taking it real slow… as slow as I can. I'm just real happy and excited to be in the position I'm in."
Growing up in Brookhaven, he did not grow up with a rooting interest in any program. He "liked all teams," and as he begins the recruiting process, he is not rushing to name any leaders either.
"I'm open to all teams at this point," Lewis said. "I'm ready to get some official visits and see what they're like and stuff like that."
When it comes to junior days, he plans to visit Ole Miss and Mississippi State, with Tennessee also being a possibility.
Before playing linebacker, Lewis spent time at defensive end as a sophomore on the Brookhaven varsity squad. In the offseason, Lewis mad the transition, and he had a good feeling from the start.
"It kind of came natural," Lewis said. "I'm a big athlete. It kind of came natural. I'm big, I have size and I can actually run, I can move, I'm real agile. It was not a hard transition, but I got in there and learned the plays and picked it up real quick in the spring. We practiced and I picked it up and got everything down packed and I was ready to go."
His play in 2013 showed he certainly was ready to go. He watched the likes of Luke Kuechly, Chris Jones, and Robert Nkemdiche, and like them he quickly became a force on the defensive side of the ball.
It is easy to see what has the attention of college recruiters. Lewis' size and athleticism jump off the film. It is also clear that he loves to get after it on the defensive side of the ball.
"There's just something about being able to strike and deliver a blow and be physical at all times that I like," Lewis said. "Like C.J. Mosley, a lot of linebacker is physical, diagnosing the play, and being physical at the point of attack at all times."
Jason Howell is the Midlands Region football recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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