Missouri nabs an edge rusher who is a lot of fun to watch
In a month where Mizzou made historic recruiting progress, Joshua Lewis has the chance to be the unfortunately forgotten commitment to a historic start to the ‘25 recruiting class. Not only is he not a 4-star (yet!) but he committed on the same day that blue chip prospect Dante McClellan did.
But do not overlook this kid.
While he doesn’t play at the highest division in Louisiana and suffers from a severe case of BAFTEE (Bigger And Faster Than Everyone Else), there’s a lot of potential for a guy who hasn’t even played his final year of high school ball yet.
Where He Fits: Lewis currently plays in a 3-4 scheme and, usually, lines up as the strongside defensive end/defensive tackle. Recruiting services list him as a strongside defensive end which they tend to slap on to bigger, slower edge players who are better at setting the edge and knocking out running backs rather than chasing down quarterbacks for a sack. But, frankly, his play reminds me a lot of a young Isaiah McGuire: versatile enough to play inside or outside in a four-man front but with a skillset that aligns more to the outside (and needs some polish).
Watching his HUDL film is fun because he’s bigger than most of the offensive linemen he goes up against and it shows. We’re not in Warren Sapp/Vince Wilfork territory of “grizzly bear strapped in pads playing against children” but Lewis’ strength and speed are so obviously greater than his competition that his highlight film shows him effortlessly disrupting plays. There’s not a ton of finesse to his sacks or tackles in the backfield but the brute force usually works at the high school level…and, again, is a lot of fun to watch.
When He’ll Play: Not anytime soon if it were up to me. He needs some polish and exposure to offensive linemen who are at least his size and, ya know, hard to move around. But he’s also going to be playing with a ton of talented guys on the defensive line and go up against some massive human beings in practice; the talent and instincts are there, and he has time to hone his craft before seeing the field.
What It All Means: 3-star guys are important, too! And if a guy is a 3-star because of the competition around him, and yet is still impressively rag dolling opposing players, then I’m still a huge fan. This was a guy that new edge coach Brian Early really liked and having him fill out his position group with guys that he likes is a good thing. It also adds yet another Mizzou win from the talent-rich state of Louisiana. It might not look like the kind of flashy, impact commitment that Eli Drinkwitz has conditioned us to but it’s a positive addition regardless.