SpartanMag.com - Spartans after Indiana Wideout

March 16, 2009

Matt Dorsey
SpartanMag.com Recruiting Analyst

Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio wants to continue the tradition of the Spartans having great wide receivers. No school in NCAA History has had receivers catch more passes in the NFL the last 25 years than Michigan State University. One of the players the coaching staff is focused on for the class of 2010 is Rivals100 selection DyJuan Lewis of Pike High School in Indianapolis. SpartanMag.com spoke with the 6-foot-3, 190-pound wideout last night and got the latest.

Lewis has had a busy past few months. He has been hitting several college campuses for junior days and picking up scholarship offers along the way. Lewis was in East Lansing earlier this month and we asked him if the Spartans are one of the teams that offered him a scholarship?

"Yes, they are," he said. "I now have 10 offers.

In addition to Michigan State, schools such as Iowa, Purdue, Kentucky, Colorado and Indiana have also offered Lewis. Rivals.com recently came out with their initial rankings and Lewis cracked the top 100 at #93 and is rated a 4-star recruit.

SpartanMag.com asked Lewis what he liked about Michigan State when he visited.

"I liked the coaching staff," he said. "I like the way they let the wide receivers have freedom and the offensive play-calling impressed me."

The Spartan offense is predicated on using the the run to set up big plays in the passing game. Despite the presence of a player like Javon Ringer, the Spartan passing attack accounted for nearly 6000-yards the first two seasons under Coach Dantonio. Wide receiver Devin Thomas shattered nearly every Spartan single-season pass receiving record in the book in Dantonio's first season at Michigan State.

Lewis has excelled at traditional powerhouse Pike High School. He caught over 80 passes the past two seasons for the Red Devils. Lewis is not only a big target, but he can stretch the field as well. With that said, one of the reasons the Spartans apparently like him so much is he also takes pride in doing the little things that make wide receivers great, like blocking.

Despite the high-level of early interest from some tremendous program, Lewis is not in a hurry to make his choice. He informed Rivals.com that he plans on using the next few months to check out spring practices and stop into several of the schools that are showing him the most interest.

Look for Michigan State to try and get Lewis back on campus this spring and summer. You can be sure they would like to have him come up for a day of camp during June. That is when the Spartans hold their Elite Prospect Camp. Even though Lewis already has a Spartan offer, Coach Dantonio likes players to come up and work with their position coach to develop a better sense of rapport.

SpartanMag.com scouted Lewis while attending the U.S, Army All-American Combine in San Antonio back in January. Lewis showed very good speed at the combine, clocking a 4.65 forty on a slow turf. He also showed the ability to go up and get the ball in one-on-one drills. He was selected one of the top wide receivers at the event.

Look for more on Lewis and his recruitment in the coming weeks.

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