That was my first thought when I saw the basic physical attributes of Pitt’s newest commit, Dion Lewis.
Pitt football received a second verbal commitment for its 2009 recruiting class from Blair Academy running back Dion Lewis, who will be a senior this fall at the Blairstown, N.J. school.
Lewis, 5 feet 7, 180 pounds, chose Pitt over Stanford, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Connecticut and Boston College and Cincinnati.
“I had a great visit this past weekend,” said Lewis, who rushed for 12.3 per carry as a junior at Blair Academy and plans to graduate from high school in December and enroll at Pitt in January.
Granted, LSH was a little lighter as a freshman, but the basic size seems similar.
Pitt loses tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling and fullback Conredge Collins to graduation, and the academic status of fullback Shane Brooks is a concern. The backfield could be further depleted if star tailback LeSean McCoy declares for the NFL Draft after his sophomore season.
“That was one of the reasons,” said Lewis, who was recruited by new secondary coach Jeff Hafley. “LeSean McCoy is a great back, but he might go to the NFL. (The coaches) said if he has another year like he had this past one, he’s probably going to go.
“I have a chance to compete, and that’s all you want. I know (McCoy is) a great back. Even if he stays, I’ll probably just redshirt and compete for the job the next year.”
Lewis is a 3-star recruit in both sites. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. (Insider subs) is cautiously optimistic about his potential.
He is short but not little. Thickly-built, compact body allows him to absorb hits and continue forward progress. Hits the hole quickly but with good vision and patience. Shows the versatility to bounce it outside or pick and slide his way through the in-line traffic. Accelerates to full speed quickly generating good power through traffic. Consistently keeps his legs churning on contact and can be slippery to wrap up…While he flashes good speed in the open field his shorter stride limits acceleration. Will not separate from Division 1 defensive backs with his current top-end speed. Yards after contact will diminish against bigger and stronger defenders…
And of course, his size automatically raises concerns of durability.
Football preview, not much new insight tho.
As it was mentioned above, Rice did just fine as a college back. So did Slaton. So did Amos Zereoue. And Stephens-Howling has held up very well and proven himself to be very capable of at least contributing at a solid level at this level. He’s not a superstar, but he’s been very good.
Don’t get me wrong…if you can find an elite talent who shows the ability to grow into what would be considered prototypical NFL size, that player would be the preferred choice any day of the week.
But I don’t see any reason to be concerned with some of these smaller kids (like Saddler as well). College football seems to be gearing towards these smaller types anyway.
Plus Hynoski should get a few carries.
And the one against WVU.
Oh, wait, i forgot about the refs. Nevermind.
…. ummm oh wait, that’s not really how it happened… nevermind.
Ok, I’m just kidding. I love Shady.
BTW, I’m still pretty sure that his situation is different than Fitzgerald’s was and that he won’t be draft eligible after this year. And if he is eligible on a technicality, then damn! Why does that always happen to Pitt?!?!
Im pretty sure the rule is now “3 years after your expected HS graduation class” – ie, his prep year is one year, and next year is his second at Pitt. He can leave after this upcoming year.
He was clear of all defenders but I’m guessing that a different defense would have been called but i guess we’ll never know!!!! Regardless, the 99 yard TD would have been called back because of a bull$hit holding call!!!
