Introducing: Jourdan Lewis
2013 athlete Jourdan Lewis excelled at cornerback, receiver, and kick returner for state champ Cass Tech in 2011, and his junior highlight tape (above) is just starting to make the rounds online. I had the chance to see him play a few times this past fall, and despite being teammates with 2012 Michigan commits Terry Richardson and Royce Jenkins-Stone, he was often the best player on the field for the Technicians.
Lewis, who is ranked as a four-star and the #232 overall player in the class of 2013 by 247Sports, currently holds one D-I scholarship offer—Toledo—but he's drawing interest from big-name schools such as Michigan, Alabama, Michigan State, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. I got the chance to talk to him over the break, and here's a full transcript of the interview:
ACE: First of all, congratulations on winning the state title. Can you take me through how the season played out for you, how you thought you did personally, how the team did overall, and how it felt to win a state title?
JOURDAN: Well, I think I did great for my junior year. I got some great momentum going into my senior year. It just feels really good to win the state championship.
ACE: I know you were playing a lot of defensive back and receiver, as well as returning kicks. How do you think that helped your development?
JOURDAN: I think it's a great help to play different positions because of the versatility factor and just to fit in to a program.
ACE: Do you have a preference of where you want to play in college, or is that to be determined?
JOURDAN: I don't know yet. I really don't know.
ACE: You had to step it up a bit towards the end of the year when your teammate, Terry Richardson, went down and was injured as you guys were playing at the end of the season and into the playoffs. Did that have a big effect on you, going from the number two corner to the number one corner?
JOURDAN: You know, I didn't really think of it like that, I just had to contribute to my team a little bit more.
ACE: At Cass, you obviously have a lot of talent winning the state title, and you got to play with Terry and Royce and Ruben Lile and a whole bunch of Division I prospects. What do those guys tell you about the recruiting process, and are Royce and Terry trying to point you in a particular direction at all considering where they're going to school?
JOURDAN: No, not at this point right now. They're all telling me to take it slow and just enjoy the moment. They know I'm just a junior right now, and I've got plenty of time to figure out where I'm going to school.
ACE: With your recruitment, I know you've got the Toledo offer in hand and you're in contact with a lot of schools. Which schools have you been in contact with the most right now?
JOURDAN: Well I haven't really been in contact with coaches, but I've been getting a whole bunch of letters from Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi State.
ACE: Out of those schools, is there a particular school that stands out? Do you have a list of favorites, or is it still too early for that?
JOURDAN: It's early, but Michigan is going to be at the top, definitely.
ACE: How would a Michigan offer affect your recruitment in terms of a potential timeline? How would that change the outlook of your recruitment?
JOURDAN: I really wouldn't know right now. I'm just trying to hear from coaches.
ACE: Do you have any plans for any junior days or summer camps for the offseason?
JOURDAN: No, not yet right now, but I know I'm going to Michigan's junior day.
ACE: For people who are maybe unfamiliar with your game, what would you say are your main strengths, and what are you trying to improve upon for your senior year and the next level?
JOURDAN: My ability to make plays and my elusiveness, and my vision I guess. Also my enthusiasm to play the game, my heart. I think I'm going to need to get stronger and I'm trying to get quicker, too.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:07 PM ^
... good update.
Just curious, what's the story behind the number change from 1 to 17 back to 1, etc...? Are there some sophomore highlights in there as well, or did he change numbers mid-season?
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:09 PM ^
Not sure on that one. Saw him play three times this year and every time he wore #1. Very well could be some soph. highlights in there.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:07 PM ^
Do you think Lewis profiles better at WR or DB?
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:12 PM ^
I really like his size/speed combo at corner, especially if he can add a little bulk. Tough to find that type of coverage ability in a guy who's 6'0" as a junior. He definitely is a playmaker, though—could easily factor into the return game at the next level.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:20 PM ^
Scout has him listed at 5'8". Also, Ace, can you add links to free Scout or Rivals profiles of the prospects?
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:24 PM ^
Scout is definitely in the low range. Rivals has him at 5'11", which sounds about right—he's got a good couple inches on Richardson, who's right around 5'9".
I'll start linking to Rivals/Scout recruiting profiles in future posts. Usually I post as much offer/interest/size info as I can find, but I'm sure it would help to just link to the pages as well.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:19 PM ^
With his frame, speed and strength, and with Terry Richardson already committed, don't you think he'd make an amazing FS? With him playing over top with Blake countess as our other lock down corner?
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:29 PM ^
I actually think Lewis would be a better safety than Richardson—he's bigger and I like his tackling ability more. Both project best to corner, though, and Michigan has Raymon Taylor, Jarrod Wilson, Allan Gant, and Dymonte Thomas all either on the roster or projected to come to campus in the next couple years. With Thomas Gordon and Kovacs locking down starting spots next year and M looking at taking another safety in the '13 class, I think they'll be fine without switching Richardson.
EDIT: Oops, totally misread that question. Yes, I could see Lewis being a solid free safety if that's where a team wanted him. He takes good angles to the ball and is really good at playing the ball in the air. I'd just want to see him tackle a little more, though he looked like a solid hitter in the games I watched him play. Still think he fits best at corner, though.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:59 PM ^
If Lewis were to commit and put on some solid muscle, I could see a terrifying secondary composed of Countess, Avery (DB's) and Thomas, Lewis (Safeties) and Gant coming in as the nickleback.
Edit- If Lewis* were to commit and put on some solid muscle
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:20 PM ^
Finally Cass Tech has a corner over 5'9. In all seriousness, hopefully he goes blue.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:35 PM ^
You do a great job with this, so I thank you.
I was wondering how you identify yourself to these recruits. Do you say "I work for MGoBlog, blah blah blah?" I just want to see how much these recruits are more likely (even if the increased likelihood is small) that when you ask if Michigan is an early interest if they are saying what your readers would want to read. This may be true for the minority of recruits but I want to know how much you think that would have an effect - and if our enthusiasm should be tempered because of it.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:41 PM ^
I do say I write for MGoBlog, because I have to identify myself as being from some legitimate media outlet. It's certainly fair to say that some recruits play to their audience, and I do ask questions regarding Michigan specifically, but I try my best not to ask leading questions of recruits—that's a reason why I like posting the full interview transcript, so you can see exactly how a question was asked.
In this case, I don't think there's a major need to take Lewis's statement that Michigan is his favorite with a grain of salt. If Michigan offered, I think they'd be in a great position to land him.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:40 PM ^
The video you embedded seems to have been removed. Do you have a different link handy?
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:44 PM ^
Hm, it indeed seems to be removed, and there's not a replacement yet on YouTube. I'm just gonna stick a picture there and hope someone re-uploads the video soon—I'll post it again whenever it shows up.
January 2nd, 2012 at 10:16 PM ^
Looks like it's back up now. Lewis is a stud.
January 2nd, 2012 at 10:30 PM ^
He wasn't kidding when he listed "elusiveness" as a strength. That video was flat out fun to watch. I hope to see him in Ann Arbor someday. Should easily be a 4* player.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:08 PM ^
It seems as though Lewis came onto the scene in a big way this year. You aren't the first person who has said that he looked like the best player on the field. 4 star corner from Cass Tech, sounds Blue to me.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:32 PM ^
I was attending the Eisenhower-Cass Tech game back during the playoffs and Jourdan Lewis (though I didn't know his name at the time) was as big a contributor as RJS or Terry Richardson... although RJS did steamroll us in the rungame. That guy is a monster.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:53 PM ^
I still get confused when these "Introducing" articles show up on the front page. I always think we have a new commit out of the blue for a few seconds.
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:07 AM ^
This. Its very confusing so could be get some sort of title change. Maybe title it, "An Interview with (name)" because its infuriating and quite aggrivating since its almost identical to the posts from Brian announcing a new commit.
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:06 AM ^
I know this always seems to happen, but I've seen several evaluations that say Jourdan Lewis is better than Richardson. While I often think it can be dubious to say things like that when the previous guy is one of the top recruits in the country, maybe there's some merit to it.
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:27 AM ^
I have a few friends that have coached against Cass Tech and they both said Jourdan Lewis was the best player on the field hands down. It'll be interesting to see where his rankings end up.
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