The Michigan State football program added more local flare to its crop of 2019 recruits, with a verbal commitment from Chippewa Valley High School linebacker Marcel Lewis.
The high school junior made his announcement via Twitter early on Wednesday:
https://twitter.com/marcel1lewis/status/986670083232673797
Lewis (6-1, 205) is a 3-star prospect from Clinton Township; he rated as a top-20 prospect from the state of Michigan and a top-25 inside linebacker nationally from the Class of 2019. He helped guide the Chippewa Valley Big Reds to a 10-2 record overall this past football season, good for a sixth straight appearance in the state playoffs before falling to Detroit Cass Tech in the regional round.
Lewis talked about how it was a relatively easy decision for him to make committing to Michigan State because of the family atmosphere, something Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio has instilled during his time in East Lansing.
“It is home for me and always has been,” Lewis said. “I know the whole coaching staff and I’m also really close with the linebackers coach, Coach Tressel, and I always receive texts and calls just checking on me to see how I’m doing. They treat me like family and care about me outside of football.
“When I talk Coach D, he has never brought up to me anything about me going anywhere, he talks about school and how is my family doing and also myself,” Lewis explained. “Coach D is the greatest coach I’ve ever met and seen. He is a great man and a great mentor to me. I just felt that in my heart that was the school for me.”
The heartbeat of the Big Reds’ defense also saw a fair amount of time, especially in their playoff tilt with Cass Tech as mentioned above when he scored a couple of touchdowns. Chippewa Valley coach Scott Merchant said his performance against the Technicians, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, helped spurn his recruiting value.
“Cass, right or wrong, is always the bar in terms of D1 recruits,” Chippewa Valley head coach Scott Merchant said. “To have that good of a showing against a quality opponent – and he played offense too; that was something we put in for that game. He caught two touchdown passes and runs right past the Cass defense; that showed people his speed and athleticism. They had already seen the physicality from the film on defense.”
Michigan State did not formally offer Lewis a scholarship until mid-January earlier this year, but Lewis had made multiple visits in 2017. He ultimately chooses MSU over a handful of other schools that had offered him, including Big Ten foes such as Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Purdue.
MICHIGAN STATE 2019 CLASS COUNTER: 6
The addition of Marcel Lewis now gives Michigan State a total of six commits thus far from the Class of 2019, a class that currently ranks 4th in the Big Ten and top-20 nationally.
Of the six, Lewis is just the second true defensive recruit in the growing class and first at the linebacker position. He is also the fourth in-state commit for the Spartans, joining 4-star cornerback Julian Barnett (Belleville), 4-star pro-style quarterback Dwan Mathis (Oak Park), and 3-star offensive tackle Spencer Brown (Walled Lake Western).
