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Emerson Lewis and Brexton Bell have been on the radar of Power 4 football programs since the duo started their high school careers as standouts on the Calvary Day defense as freshmen.
Now the rising seniors have set their futures in motion by making their college commitments this week.
Bell, a standout safety, announced his commitment to play at App State on Monday, and his close friend, Cavalier cornerback Emerson Lewis, committed to play at Maryland on Tuesday afternoon.
Football runs in the family for Lewis. His oldest brother, Fuches Lewis, was a standout defensive tackle at Calvary Day who went on to play at Georgia State. His brother Langston Lewis, a former star at Islands, is now a senior receiver at Central Michigan. His father "Drum" Lewis was a prep star at Savannah High who went on to play at Savannah State, and his late uncle Mede "Speedy" Lewis was one of the top running backs in the state during his days at Savannah High and won the Mike Finocchiaro Award as the top player in Savannah in 1993.
Lewis received his first college offer from the University of Incarnate Word when he was an eighth grader. After his sophomore year his recruitment lit up. He had 31 offers and said his decision came down to a choice between Maryland, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.
"I did my homework and Maryland has a plan for me," Lewis said "They had a lot of seniors graduate and emphasized that I would get playing time right away, and they would make me a package — building around my skills as a defensive back, punt returner and kick returner. Their defensive backs coach (Aazaar) Abdul-Rahim has a great track record with about 30 players who have gone on to play in the NFL, so I thought Maryland was the perfect fit for me."
As a junior, Lewis had had 53 tackles with four for losses with five passes defended and two interceptions and was a first-team All-State pick by the AJC as he played a huge role in the Cavs run to the Class A-3A Private School championship game, where they lost to Hebron Christian. In his sophomore year, he picked off five passes with 44 tackles.
He said he wanted to commit early as he plans to enroll early at Maryland and making his decision now will help him focus on his goals for his senior year.
"We want to win that state championship, that's the most important thing," Lewis said. "We've got a great team and the talent to do it. Individually, I want to be the best leader I can be and make about 40 tackles with five interceptions."
Bell had 20 offers on the table, including North Carolina, Wake Forest, Pitt and Louisville.
He said App State never wavered in its interest in him as a player and a person, and that make a tough choice easier to make.
As a sophomore, Bell had 72 tackles with 7 1/2 for losses, and was also a factor at running back as he averaged 8.1 yards per carry — rushing for 284 yards and four touchdowns. Last season, he missed seven games with an injury, but came on strong at the end of the year to help lead the Cavs to the state championship game. He is also an outstanding wrestler. As a freshman, he finished third in the Class 3A State meet at 157 pounds. He was second at 165 pounds as a sophomore and was the state runner-up again as a junior at 175 pounds — earning All-Greater Savannah first-team honors each year.
"App State was one of the first to call me on June 15th last year (when coaches are allowed to make direct contact with players) when Coach Fuller (App State defensive backs coach Curtis Fuller) reached out to me and reoffered a scholarship. That's when I realized the connection I had with the coaching staff was real and that they really wanted me."
Lewis and Bell join teammates who have recently made commitments in Marlon Knight Jr., the receiver who committed to Georgia Southern last week and Kenneth Baker, a standout linebacker headed to Arkansas State.
"Emerson and Brexton are two great players who have worked so hard to get where they are today," Calvary Day coach Jason Cameron said. "They play on opposite sides of the field, so it makes things a lot easier for our defensive coaches to set up a game plan. They both give relentless effort, and they are great kids off the field too."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Calvary's Lewis and Bell commit to Maryland, App State football teams
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Now the rising seniors have set their futures in motion by making their college commitments this week.
Bell, a standout safety, announced his commitment to play at App State on Monday, and his close friend, Cavalier cornerback Emerson Lewis, committed to play at Maryland on Tuesday afternoon.
Football runs in the family for Lewis. His oldest brother, Fuches Lewis, was a standout defensive tackle at Calvary Day who went on to play at Georgia State. His brother Langston Lewis, a former star at Islands, is now a senior receiver at Central Michigan. His father "Drum" Lewis was a prep star at Savannah High who went on to play at Savannah State, and his late uncle Mede "Speedy" Lewis was one of the top running backs in the state during his days at Savannah High and won the Mike Finocchiaro Award as the top player in Savannah in 1993.
Lewis received his first college offer from the University of Incarnate Word when he was an eighth grader. After his sophomore year his recruitment lit up. He had 31 offers and said his decision came down to a choice between Maryland, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.
"I did my homework and Maryland has a plan for me," Lewis said "They had a lot of seniors graduate and emphasized that I would get playing time right away, and they would make me a package — building around my skills as a defensive back, punt returner and kick returner. Their defensive backs coach (Aazaar) Abdul-Rahim has a great track record with about 30 players who have gone on to play in the NFL, so I thought Maryland was the perfect fit for me."
As a junior, Lewis had had 53 tackles with four for losses with five passes defended and two interceptions and was a first-team All-State pick by the AJC as he played a huge role in the Cavs run to the Class A-3A Private School championship game, where they lost to Hebron Christian. In his sophomore year, he picked off five passes with 44 tackles.
He said he wanted to commit early as he plans to enroll early at Maryland and making his decision now will help him focus on his goals for his senior year.
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"We want to win that state championship, that's the most important thing," Lewis said. "We've got a great team and the talent to do it. Individually, I want to be the best leader I can be and make about 40 tackles with five interceptions."
Bell had 20 offers on the table, including North Carolina, Wake Forest, Pitt and Louisville.
He said App State never wavered in its interest in him as a player and a person, and that make a tough choice easier to make.
As a sophomore, Bell had 72 tackles with 7 1/2 for losses, and was also a factor at running back as he averaged 8.1 yards per carry — rushing for 284 yards and four touchdowns. Last season, he missed seven games with an injury, but came on strong at the end of the year to help lead the Cavs to the state championship game. He is also an outstanding wrestler. As a freshman, he finished third in the Class 3A State meet at 157 pounds. He was second at 165 pounds as a sophomore and was the state runner-up again as a junior at 175 pounds — earning All-Greater Savannah first-team honors each year.
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"App State was one of the first to call me on June 15th last year (when coaches are allowed to make direct contact with players) when Coach Fuller (App State defensive backs coach Curtis Fuller) reached out to me and reoffered a scholarship. That's when I realized the connection I had with the coaching staff was real and that they really wanted me."
Lewis and Bell join teammates who have recently made commitments in Marlon Knight Jr., the receiver who committed to Georgia Southern last week and Kenneth Baker, a standout linebacker headed to Arkansas State.
"Emerson and Brexton are two great players who have worked so hard to get where they are today," Calvary Day coach Jason Cameron said. "They play on opposite sides of the field, so it makes things a lot easier for our defensive coaches to set up a game plan. They both give relentless effort, and they are great kids off the field too."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Calvary's Lewis and Bell commit to Maryland, App State football teams
Continue reading...
