100-Day Bulldog Countdown: 74 Days, No. 74 OT Jimothy Lewis
Year two of the Jeff Lebby era has arrived and the Mississippi State coach is back to work.
After a disappointing first season, the coach and his staff are doing what they can to get things back on track in Starkville. The players on the field will be the difference for State this season if they are to make a return and we’re going to discuss every single one of them over the course of the next few months.
As we do every year, we’re counting down 100 days until State’s first game at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on August 30. Over this period of time, we’ll breakdown every scholarship player on the roster, look back at great moments in MSU history and even talk about legends that have come before the current Bulldogs.
Today, we look at a talented young lineman looking to breakthrough this season.
74 Days: No. 74, Redshirt Freshman OT Jimothy Lewis Jr.
A lot of hype has been surrounding Lewis over the last two seasons as the Mississippi native has been impressive in practices to this point.
It’s not a huge surprise as Lewis was a big pickup for State when the Bulldogs reeled him in during the summer heading into his junior season. A former Madison Ridgeland Academy standout, Lewis had been recruited by Mike Leach’s staff for multiple seasons as he was a rising prospect nationally.
As a freshman and sophomore recruit in 2020 and 2021, Lewis was named a MaxPreps All-American as he helped the Patriots to back-to-back state championships. He decided to transfer to IMG Academy in Florida for his next two seasons to get even more exposure.
A four-star recruit by Rivals and the No. 38 offensive tackle in the country, Lewis racked up offers from just about all of the big schools. Georgia and Alabama were the heaviest hitters with offers also coming in from Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, Ole Miss and many others.
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With Ole Miss among those that were considered heavy favorites, Lewis would shock many people when he committed to the Bulldogs during the summer heading into the 2023 season. He would stick to that commitment despite a coaching change and entered the spring of Lebby’s first season looking to get on the field.
Lewis was one of a couple of young linemen that were drawing rave reviews early on in their freshman year. Along with classmate Luke Work, the two would hold their own in practices. Work got on the field a bit more but Lewis would dress all season and played in four games while holding on to his redshirt.
The experience in those games and competing in the league while also getting a chance to have the redshirt could be invaluable this season for Lewis. The talented blocker now has a chance to lock down either of the two tackle spots heading into the new year but will have some competition for those spots.
The good news for Lewis is, on top of the fact he’s ultra talented, he has been in the system now for two seasons. The first few weeks of training camp will be huge for Lewis’ chances of starting, but fans can expect to see him often as a redshirt freshman.
