When the McAdams Bulldogs take the field on offense this season, there will not be much question about where the football is going.
It will most likely be behind right tackle Percy Lewis, the latest addition to the Star-Herald Eleven Players to Watch for the upcoming football season. Previously honored were Antonio Harmon of Kosciusko, Izik Stewart of Ethel, Thomas Costilow of Winona Christian School and Wykece Johnson of Central Holmes Christian School.
Lewis heads into his senior season as one of the biggest players in the state of Mississippi as he stands at 6-foot-8 and weighs 340 pounds.
First-year coach Kenneth Nelson has coached some big players before and said Lewis is at the top of that list and is everything he wants in a right tackle.
“He is a physically devastating blocker,” Nelson said. “Already coming onto the field, you can see some of the kids he’s playing against and they are just trying to hold him off. He just punishes them. He’s just a physical specimen as far as intimidation is concerned. If he can get in better shape and get a motor about himself, he will be unstoppable. The only thing he’s missing is a motor.”
Nelson said not long after he took the job at McAdams, an opposing coach was telling him about Lewis.
“I had a coach from Biggersville contact me and said congrats and said they couldn’t get anything done against McAdams in the first half and it was all because of Percy,” Nelson said. “He said Percy was just so big that he was blowing through the line and batting down balls and they couldn’t get anything going. I just think his presence just intimidated their kids. With him on this level with a half motor, he’s still dominating other kids.”
Nelson said Lewis is currently behind in the recruiting process, mainly because of publicity. Nelson also says there are things that Lewis needs to work on to get to the next level.
“I think the sky is the limit for Percy,” Nelson said. “I think he needs to work on his work ethic and spending more time in the weight room, getting in shape and getting stronger. Those are two things we pride ourselves on in this program. I believe if he takes care of those two things, everything else will be fine. When we came in, he wasn’t in the best of shape and was under developed. If that big kid gets in shape and improves his strength, he will have the best year he has ever had.”
Nelson said Lewis will play at right tackle on offense for the Bulldogs that will feature a block-down and kick power football.
“He is just playing off sheer size and not a lot of technique,” Nelson said. "Once you get him in a better technique, where he can come off the ball, he’s going to be more dominate. He just has to get that motor going. We will be power all the way. We are taking him and slamming folks down. When he blocks down and slams down, I hope to see a wave of little kids going the other way. You have to do what the kids can do, not what I want to do. You have a 6-8 kid and another big kid beside him, just let them block down and slam folks.”
On defense, Lewis will likely be moved to the middle at defensive tackle or nose guard.
“You put him on defense on the inside of any line; he’s going to control it,” assistant coach Luther Wilkes said “You get some quality ends and Percy in the middle and the quarterback and tailback are going to have a long night because nothing is coming up the middle. It’s going to shut down all of that zone stuff that people like to do. It’s going to be hard to beat Percy as an offensive lineman.”
So far, Lewis has just two college offers from Gulf Coast and Holmes. Nelson said several junior colleges are starting to look at Lewis along with some of the SWAC schools like Jackson State. Lewis said he had a 15 on his ACT but was doing some additional work on that and McAdams is expected to add an ACT prep class this year.
“When I first got here, he didn’t have enough exposure,” Nelson said. “When I tagged him on Twitter and sent it out, it had over 1,000 views. Hinds Community College was calling and wanted to know where this kid had been at. Nobody’s seen him. He hasn’t been out that much. We are at the point, the exposure is starting to generate some interest. I think, if he’s not juco, he will be a SWAC or Division II kind of kid. I think he is behind physically to play SEC ball. I want him to play SEC and you never know what Power 5 school will come in and take a chance and redshirt him. I think collegiately, that’s where he is probably going to land.”
Nelson said on his first day on the job at McAdams, one of Florida State’s coaches called him asking about a player at Holmes County Central, his former school. Nelson was quick to tell him about Lewis.
“I told him I wasn’t at Holmes any more but told him I had a kid that he was going to salivate over and that’s Percy Lewis,” Nelson said. “When he got through seeing Percy Lewis, he said ‘That’s a big ole kid.’ He said his hands were big and the only knock on him is his body was kind of underdeveloped for where he needs to be. Our workout program is so intense, he is going to get to where he needs to be with his body.”
Lewis also played basketball last year but suffered an ankle injury and said he is likely not going to play this year and concentrate his efforts in the weight room. Lewis was also on the track team and won Class 1A in the shot put with a distance of 47 feet and 10 inches. Lewis said he benches about 290 pounds and squats over 400 pounds but is just now getting back into shape after his ankle injury.
Lewis said he is trying to be more of a leader on and off the field for the Bulldogs this year and is working hard to get that college offer.
“I just want to make sure that everybody keeps their heads up and do what they are supposed to do,” Lewis said. “As for me, I want to keep myself in good condition and stay healthy and keep coming to the workouts. It’s been going good so far. I’ve got several schools wanting me to come to their camps. I’m going to a camp at Mississippi State and also going to Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Florida State has invited me to a camp there as well, so all of that is looking good. I don’t know where I want to go but will make that decision after the season.”
