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CB, 6'0, 182, 4.45, 330 BP
Mt. View, CA
Nickname: Poppy
Birthday: 12-3-77
High School: Mt. View
Junior College: City College of San Francisco Rams
HS Mascot: Spartans
HS Coach: Ray Calcagno
HS Position: RB/CB
HS Number: 21
JC Number: 21
AL Number: 21
Official Visits: AL, AZ, Washington State
Second Choice: Arizona
Host During Alabama Visit: Fernando Bryant
Committed: 12-18-98
Roommate To Be: Canary Knight
Academic Status: Enrolled at Alabama
Stats
HS Senior Season
Rushing
Tackles
Interceptions
Pass Breakups
JUCO Sophomore Season
Tackles
Interceptions
Career
Tackles
Interceptions
Pass Breakups
Honors
- JUCO All-State
- Two-time All-Peninsula
- JUCO All American
SBR Scouting Report
Very good quickness, size, and speed. Good run supporter and coverage skills. Will probably play his collegiate career at cornerback but could be an outstanding free safety. Projects as a cornerback.
[Observation: junior college (freshman) game film.]
Stories
Alabama Is The Place To Be
Lewis |
Milo Lewis, a lifelong Californian, has always preferred the West Coast lifestyle. So when it came time to narrow his list of schools, he dropped Alabama from consideration.
"I didn't think that I would fit in down South," Lewis says. "I was going to cancel the visit to Alabama until my coach talked me out of it. He felt like since I told them that I'd visit, I should stick to my word."
So Lewis took his coach's advice and made the trip to Tuscaloosa over Thanksgiving weekend.
"When I got here I was surprised by what I saw," Lewis says. "Southern people were a lot different than I thought. Everybody here is more friendly than in California."
After the visit, Lewis narrowed his list to Alabama and Arizona.
"It was a hard decision because Arizona is more like my lifestyle. But when you think about football, Alabama is the place to be."
Don't Come My Way
In last year's California Northern JUCO Championship Game, The College of Sequoia found out what happens to teams that try to pick on Milo Lewis.
"The receiver had just caught a pass on me," Lewis says. "I told him that he better not come my way again or I'd intercept it."
The receiver should've listened, but he didn't. So he learned the hard way.
"He tried to run a quick slant, but I jammed him hard at the line," Lewis says. "The quarterback tried to lob it over me. But I tipped it up and caught it as it came down."
Lewis picked up a couple of blocks and headed down the sideline 70 yards for a touchdown.
In 11 games last season, Lewis allowed only 10 receptions and one touchdown. He intercepted three passes.
Q&A
TI: Talk about the style of defense that you like to play.
ML: In junior college, we didn't do much zone. They just wanted me to take out the other team's number one receiver. That's my style. I like to be out on an island.
TI: What does it take to be a good press-man corner?
ML: Patience is the key. You can't jump on a receiver's first move.
TI: But you also need to be physical enough to jam the receiver at the line of scrimmage don't you?
ML: It takes strength and smarts. You've got to know the receiver that you're pressing. If he's a small or regular size receiver, you can jam him hard. But if he's a big receiver, you're not going to win many of those physical battles. You want to mirror him or stay in front of a big receiver rather than jamming him real hard.
TI: Do you expect to play a lot of man at Alabama?
ML: I think the reason they brought me in is to press. I hope they'll put me out there on an island to take out the other team's number one receiver.
TI: Have you had an opportunity to talk to Reggie Myles about teaming up at corner next year?
ML: We've been talking a lot about it recently. We share tips with each other quite a bit.
TI: Have the receivers and defensive backs been working a lot on their own with each other?
Milons (15) and Lewis. |
ML: We've been out there working on our own a lot. I've spent a lot of time covering Freddie [Milons] and Eric [Locke]. We go one on one quite a bit.
TI: Have you noticed a big difference facing Milons and Locke as opposed to junior college receivers.
ML: They're definitely great receivers, but it's not been a big adjustment for me so far. I'm mainly trying to improve my coverage of dig routes.
TI: And what is a dig route?
ML: The receiver runs a post route and then takes a sharp cut across the field. It's almost like a combination of a post and a down-and-in. To me, it's the hardest route to cover. I didn't see much of it in junior college.
TI: What's your impression of Andrew Zow and Tyler Watts?
ML: Zow hasn't been throwing that much. He's mainly been working on timing with the backs. Both look like great, young quarterbacks. They both have good size and athletic ability.
TI: Has Tyler been throwing the ball well?
ML: Yeah, Tyler's got a good arm. He just needs a little maturity in game situations and he'll be very good.
TI: Talk about the recruiting process. Which schools were seriously in the running?
ML: It was between Alabama, Arizona, Michigan and Washington State. All of them were losing their top corner and needed somebody that could come in and play right away.
TI: But it came down to Alabama and Arizona?
ML: Really all of them, but at the end those were the final two. Michigan was in there pretty strong but they screwed up and I dropped them.
TI: What happened?
ML: They didn't think that I was going to graduate in December so they backed off for a while. When they realized that I was going to graduate, they tried hard to get back in on me. But I didn't think Michigan had been loyal like Alabama was. Alabama stuck with me from the beginning.
TI: We understand that you waited a day or two to sign with Alabama so that your dad could be there. How did he feel about your decision?
ML: He didn't influence me at all. But he was hoping that I'd go to Alabama or Michigan. He feels Alabama and Michigan are well-known programs; so he was real happy that I chose Alabama.
TI: Has he followed Alabama much in the past?
ML: He loved Bear Bryant. He told me a lot about Bear Bryant before I came here.
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