Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Sign Standout Lewis
2/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Matt Lewis, a 6-2, 245-pound linebacker from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Fla. who is ranked among the nation's top 25 high school players at his position, has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his football playing career at Indiana University, IU head coach Terry Hoeppner announced today. According to Hoeppner, Lewis is the 24th and final member of Indiana's 2005 recruiting class.
Although Lewis played fullback, defensive end, defensive tackle and linebacker at Mainland, Hoeppner says that Lewis will provide an immediate impact to an Indiana linebacking core that also returns two of the Hoosiers' top three tacklers from a year ago - second team All-Big Ten selection Kyle Killion and senior Paul Szczesny.
"What a huge addition to our program," Hoeppner said. "I have known Matt's high school coach, John Maronto, for a long time, so I know that Matt is coming from a quality, winning program. (IU assistant coach) Troy Douglas is our recruiting coordinator, and he also oversees our recruiting in the state of Florida. Troy has done a tremendous job of establishing our program's presence in that state.
"Matt's a big, strong athlete who was just dominate in high school. His motor is always going, so when you combine his physical attributes with an energetic approach, he'll be a great fit in our defense."
Lewis closed out his senior season with 100 tackles and 13 sacks en route to second team Florida 5A all-state honors. Lewis led the Buccaneers to the 2003 Class 5A state title by recording 87 tackles (23 for loss), 12 sacks and one fumble recovery. Lewis also earned second team all-state honors as a junior and first team laurels as a sophomore.
ESPN.com's Tom Lemming rated Lewis as the nation's 25th-best player at his position, while College Football News.com ranks Lewis as the 39th-best defensive end in the country, and Rivals.com has Lewis as the 18th-best weakside defensive end and 55th-best overall player in the state of Florida. Lewis can bench press 310 pounds, run the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds and boasts a 32-inch vertical leap.
Although Lewis played fullback, defensive end, defensive tackle and linebacker at Mainland, Hoeppner says that Lewis will provide an immediate impact to an Indiana linebacking core that also returns two of the Hoosiers' top three tacklers from a year ago - second team All-Big Ten selection Kyle Killion and senior Paul Szczesny.
"What a huge addition to our program," Hoeppner said. "I have known Matt's high school coach, John Maronto, for a long time, so I know that Matt is coming from a quality, winning program. (IU assistant coach) Troy Douglas is our recruiting coordinator, and he also oversees our recruiting in the state of Florida. Troy has done a tremendous job of establishing our program's presence in that state.
"Matt's a big, strong athlete who was just dominate in high school. His motor is always going, so when you combine his physical attributes with an energetic approach, he'll be a great fit in our defense."
Lewis closed out his senior season with 100 tackles and 13 sacks en route to second team Florida 5A all-state honors. Lewis led the Buccaneers to the 2003 Class 5A state title by recording 87 tackles (23 for loss), 12 sacks and one fumble recovery. Lewis also earned second team all-state honors as a junior and first team laurels as a sophomore.
ESPN.com's Tom Lemming rated Lewis as the nation's 25th-best player at his position, while College Football News.com ranks Lewis as the 39th-best defensive end in the country, and Rivals.com has Lewis as the 18th-best weakside defensive end and 55th-best overall player in the state of Florida. Lewis can bench press 310 pounds, run the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds and boasts a 32-inch vertical leap.
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