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Terrell Lewis became Georgia Tech's fourteenth commitment on August 3rd, 2013 -- the final commitment before the season began and the only commitment in August. He stands at 6'2", 215lbs, and hails from Ocoee High School in Ocoee, FL, a suburb on the west side of Orlando that's only 20 minutes north of Walt Disney World. Lewis is the biggest prospect from his high school since 3-star DL Nordly Capi signed with Colorado State in 2010. He joins Tre Jackson as the only linebackers in the class, although it seems like Lewis played a lot of safety in high school. That said, he wouldn't be the first -- recently graduated LB Brandon Watts also played Safety in high school, as did rising sophomore LB Paul Davis. Lewis signed with Georgia Tech over offers from LSU, Miami, and Nebraska, among others.
Lewis' film is interesting relative to that of a lot of the other guys. It doesn't show a whole lot of amazing, acrobatic, superstar-esque plays, but it does show a lot of consistency. Lewis shows lots of speed and does a really nice job of pursuing plays, even on the opposite side of the field. The thing I think he does best though is shedding blocks. Play after play in his film he's being blocked, but is able to get off of the block and go make a play. Not only that, but he sure seems reliable when making tackles. He's plenty capable of making the open-field tackle without any help from his teammates. As far as weak points, he doesn't do a lot of pass coverage in this film, meaning that could be something he has to work on.
It'll be interesting to see where Lewis fits in on defense. Traditionally, a more rangy linebacker would play on the weak side, where they can roam around and make plays in the flats. However, a lot of what Lewis does here reminds me of Brandon Watts, who was a very effective strong side LB. It may be too early to tell which side he'll be slotted at. As for playing as a freshman, Lewis' best option will be on special teams, given the 7 linebackers that are juniors or seniors and 4 more that are older than he and Jackson. However, he's lucky that four leave this year (more if Jabari decides to go pro -- unlikely at this point), and so going into his redshirt sophomore year, the depth chart would start to look really favorable. Barring catastrophic changes, I can very feasibly see a starting lineup in 2016 that includes Lewis at SLB, Tre Jackson at MLB, and PJ Davis at WLB. Either way, while I don't see Lewis playing immediately, I do see him being an impact guy in the long run at Georgia Tech.
Lewis is rated as a 3-star prospect by Rivals (5.5) and the 247Sports Composite (.8219).
Like what you see from Lewis? How do you see him fitting in at LB? Am I crazy for the Watts comparisons?
