2019 Football Roster
Roster
Leo Lewis
- Position:
- LB
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 245
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Brookhaven, MS
- High School/Previous School:
- Brookhaven HS
2016 FWAA Freshman All-American
2016 SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year (Athlon Sports)
2016 All-SEC Freshman Team (Coaches)
2016 SEC Freshman of the Week (at Ole Miss)
CAREER:ย Veteran, instinctive linebacker who was a four-year starter for the Bulldogs โฆ Played the WILL spot and was part of one of the top trios in the SEC at the position, which also featured Erroll Thompson and Willie Gay Jr. โฆ Claimed SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year honors in 2016 by Athlon Sports and was also a Freshman All-America selection that same fall โฆ Played in 51 games with 48 starts and recorded 235 tackles, including 14.0 for loss and three sacks โฆ Forced one fumble and recovered two โฆ Arrived at MSU as the top inside linebacker prospect in the nation โฆ Graduated from MSU in December 2019 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.
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2019 SENIOR SEASON: Started all 13 games at WILL linebacker โฆ Finished fourth on the team in tackles with 65 โฆ Turned in a career-high 5.5 tackles for loss โฆ Added one sack, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries โฆ Led the team and equaled a career high in tackles with 12 vs. Kansas State (9/14) โฆ Added 0.5 TFL and one pass breakup โฆ Tied for the team lead in tackles with eight, his most in an SEC game on the season, at No. 7 Auburn (9/28) โฆ Logged one TFL, forced one fumble and recovered two fumbles against the Tigers โฆ Became the first MSU player to recover multiple fumbles in a single game since at least 2000 โฆ Registered a season-high 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and seven total tackles vs. No. 2 LSU (10/19) โฆ Totaled four tackles, including one for lost yardage, in the Egg Bowl win vs. Ole Miss (11/28).
2018 JUNIOR SEASON:ย Started 10 of 12 games played โฆ Made 45 tackles, including three for loss โฆ Recorded at least one tackle in 11 games โฆ 31 of his 45 tackles were recorded in SEC games โฆ Did not start vs. Arkansas and did not play at No. 1 Alabama โฆ Opened the season with a pair of tackles, including one for loss,ย vs. Stephen F. Austin (9/1)ย โฆ Turned in season highs in tackles (8) and tackles for loss (1.5)ย vs. Louisiana (9/15)ย โฆ Tallied five tackles with four being of the solo varietyย at Kentucky (9/22)ย โฆ Followed up with six stopsย vs. Florida (9/29)ย โฆ Collected five tackles in the big winย vs. No. 8 Auburn (10/6)ย to give him 24 during that four-game stretch โฆ Logged four tackles, including 0.5 for loss, in the victoryย vs. No. 16 Texas A&M (10/27)ย โฆ Registered four tacklesย vs. Arkansas (11/17)ย andย at Ole Miss (11/22).
2017 SOPHOMORE SEASON:ย Started 12 games at one of the inside linebacker positions in the 3-4 โฆ Did not start Week 2 โฆ Collected 46 tackles with one tackle for loss โฆ Notched a season-best eight tackles and forced his first career fumble in winย vs. No. 11 LSU (9/16)ย โฆ Tallied 0.5 tackle for lossย at Louisiana Tech (9/9)ย โฆ Had three tackles in four straight games โ at Georgia, at Auburn, BYU and Kentucky โฆ Matched his season-best and led the team with eight tackles in road winย at No. 24 Texas A&M (10/28)ย โฆ Notched 0.5 tackle for lossย vs. Ole Miss (11/23).
2016 REDSHIRT FRESHMAN SEASON:ย The first Football Writers Association Freshman All-American in MSU history โฆ Accumulated 79 tackles in his debut season, which led all SEC freshmen and was 30 better than the next closest one โฆ Ranked 13th among all players in the league in tackles and added 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack โฆ Ranked seventh nationally in tackles among freshmen โฆ Selected as the SEC Freshman Defensive Player of the Year by Athlon Sports โฆ Started all 13 games at Will linebacker โฆ ย Produced the highest tackle total by an MSU freshman since Benardrick McKinney (now with Houston Texans) in 2012 โฆ Voted Freshman All-SEC by the leagueโs coaches โฆ Led the Bulldogs in tackles in three contests โ South Alabama, LSU and BYU โฆ In his first collegiate game, earned the start and led MSU in tackles with nine, including two for loss,ย vs. South Alabama (9/3)ย โฆ Posted a game-high 10 tackles in his first career road gameย at LSU (9/17)ย โฆ Outstanding gameย at BYU (10/14), registering a season-high 12 tackles, including seven of the solo variety โฆ Named SEC Freshman of the Week in helping lead MSU in the winย vs. Ole Miss (11/26)ย โฆ Gathered six tackles, his first career sack and had 1.5 tackles for loss in the 55-20 win over the Rebels โฆ Became the first SEC Freshman of the Week since Chris Jones (now with Kansas City Chiefs) on Dec. 2, 2013 โฆ Collected seven tackles in the St. Petersburg Bowlย vs. Miami (Ohio) (12/26).ย
2015 TRUE FRESHMAN SEASON:ย Redshirted during first year on campus.
HIGH SCHOOL:ย The nation's top inside linebacker recruit โฆ A consensus four-star prospect ranked the No. 2 overall player in the state of Mississippi โฆ Tabbed the nation's No. 43 overall prospect by Rivals.com, No. 60 overall by ESPN.com and No. 63 by 247Sports โฆ Member of the Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen and was a first-team All-American by USA Today โฆ One of five finalists for the 2014 Dick Butkus Award, which goes to the nation's top linebacker โฆ As a senior, recorded 76 tackles (58 solo) and two tackles for loss โฆ Also had a fumble recovery and one sack for an eight yard loss โฆ Played in the Under Armour All-American game โฆ Finished with 100 tackles, five sacks, seven quarterback hurries, four forced fumbles and an interception as a junior in 2013 โฆ Coached by Tommy Clopton.
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PERSONAL:ย Born Leo Lewis on Nov. 25, 1996 โฆ Son of Leo Lewis Jr. and Tina Henderson ... Twitter handle is @LeoLewisIII.
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LEWISโ CAREER HIGHS:
Tackles: 12, (twice), last vs. Kansas State (9-14-19)
Tackles For Loss: 2.0, vs. South Alabama (9-3-16)
Sacks: 1.0, (3x), last vs LSU (10-19-19)
Pass Breakups: 1, (5x), last vs. Abilene Christian (11-23-19)
Fumbles Forced: 1, (2x), at Auburn (9-28-19)
Fumbles Recovered: 2, at Auburn (9-28-19)
