After a stellar career at McAdams, Percy Lewis is moving on to the junior college ranks where he will be playing for the defending football national champion. He signed with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College during the February signing period in a ceremony at the school library.
“I'm excited to be moving to a new level,” Lewis said.
He is scheduled to report for preseason practice July 6, but that is uncertain due to the virus. “They don’t know yet. But they said if not July 6, they don’t know when,” he said.
Lewis was a two-way lineman for the Bulldogs, but was recruited by Gulf Coast to play defense. That is what he prefers. “I like to rush the quarterback,” he said.
McAdams coach Kenneth Nelson said it is a good fit for Lewis and for Gulf Coast. “He is a generational, once in a lifetime talent coming through a school such as McAdams. Many college coaches have said he is an NFL prototype. He was a dominant force for us and a big reason why we led our district in rushing defense. He is a plugger.
“I think Gulf Coast has a prestigious national program that will get him to the next level.”
Lewis was on the McAdams team since the seventh grade, beginning as a tight end and fullback. When Nelson became coach in 2018, he moved Lewis to the line because of his size. “He was getting huge.”
The McAdams roster lists him at 6-8 and 330 pounds. “I had size and I had speed,” he said.
Lewis might some day play for another defending national champion. He mentioned LSU, along with Mississippi State, as possible destinations after Gulf Coast.
As a senior at McAdams he was credited with 54 solo tackles, 36 assists, three sacks, six quarterback hurries, five caused fumbles and one rumble recovery.
He was named first team on defense and second team on offense on the 3-1A all region team.
Since schools closed, Lewis has been walking and jogging “to keep my wind up. I can’t do weights because everything is closed.”
Gulf Coast won its fifth national championship in the fall. The Bulldogs (yes, Gulf Coast and McAdams share the same nickname) finished 12-0 with a 22-19 win over Northwest Mississippi in the state championship game and a 24-13 victory over Lackawanna College of Scranton Pennsylvania in the national championship game played at Pittsburg, Kansas.
