PITTSBURGH (AP) -Shades of LeSean McCoy.
For the second time in three seasons, Pitt is being led by a freshman running back who was overlooked by nearly every school in the country but has quickly become one of the nation’s leading rushers.
Dion Lewis couldn’t get his home-state university interested in him. None of the big-time powers offered him a scholarship. Pitt not only took him, it started him without the benefit of the customary redshirt season and has been rewarded with one of the best seasons in school history by any running back.
Only a year after he was averaging 14.1 yards per carry at Blair Academy in New Jersey, Lewis ranks second among all major college rushers with 918 yards rushing and third with a 131.1 yards per game average – the most among players on a ranked team.
With 10 touchdowns and five games remaining, Lewis could threaten McCoy’s 2007 school record of 14 touchdowns as a freshman.
that transition and maintain it. They can do it for a week, two weeks maybe.”
Pitt landed McCoy, who was known to everyone at the school as Shady, mostly because of Wannstedt’s persistence.
Nearly every school that was recruiting him backed off McCoy after he broke his right ankle four games into his high school senior season. The Panthers didn’t, and McCoy went on to rush for 2,816 yards in two seasons – 1,328 as a freshman and 1,488 as a sophomore – that were rivaled at Pitt only by Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett. McCoy now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Panthers landed Lewis mostly because of the player’s own persistence. He kept sending out tapes of his high school runs even after numerous schools passed him by, partly because of his size. He’s listed at 5-foot-8 and might be shorter, yet he’s run consistently well not only to the outside, but between the tackles.
“I’ll bet some schools are looking at him now and saying, `Why didn’t we offer him?’ “ Pitt quarterback Bill Stull said.
Rutgers won’t soon forget the player they didn’t want.
Lewis delivered a highlights video to the Scarlet Knights after he averaged 12.4 yards per carry during his junior season at Blair. Coach Greg Schiano never watched New Jersey’s prep school player of the year in person until Friday, when Lewis ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns during Pitt’s 24-17 victory – its first over Rutgers since 2004.
Schiano was asked how Rutgers could miss out on a player so good and so close to home.
“You evaluate thousands of players,” Schiano said. “He’s a very good player. We make choices in recruiting and some choices are made by them. I’m happy with our guy (De’Antwan Williams), and there’s enough good players to go around.”
Miami of Ohio and Tulane offered scholarships to Lewis, but it wasn’t until Wannstedt watched his video did a team from one of the major conferences want him. That single 5-minute tape might have landed Pitt one of the recruiting steals of the year.
“I think we watched four plays, and they were all 80-yard runs, and I told (assistant coach) Jeff Hafley to offer him,” Wannstedt said. “We had a need at running back, and you could really see his explosiveness.”
Replacing McCoy was Pitt’s No. 1 worry going into the season. Not any longer. Partly because of Lewis’ breakout season and Stull’s steadiness, the No. 20 Panthers (6-1, 2-0 in Big East) can be 7-1 for the first time since Dan Marino’s senior season in 1982 if they beat South Florida (5-1, 1-1) on Saturday.
Lewis already ranks fourth in school history for rushing yardage by a freshman, trailing only Dorsett (1,686 yards in 1973), McCoy (1,328 yards in 2007) and Curvin Richards (1,228 yards in 1988).
“I’m not surprised at the success I’ve had because I’ve worked so hard,” said Lewis, who grew up in Albany, N.Y., but transferred to Blair for his final two seasons in hopes of playing at a major school. “I’m doing just what I’m supposed to do, because everybody expects our running back to get the yardage.”
Pitt also caught a break when Lewis graduated early from Blair and was able to enroll in January, making him eligible for spring football. Even before the spring drills ended, Wannstedt said Lewis had the look of a back who might get 30 carries a game.
“I’m glad other people are trying to tackle him now,” defensive lineman Mick Williams said. “I spent all camp trying to do it.”
Wannstedt wasn’t surprised when he walked into the trainers’ room at 7:30 a.m. Monday, and one player was getting treatment: Lewis.
“I bring that example up just to let you know that he’s approaching everything with the same mentality that he is on Saturday,” Wannstedt said. “There are some really special qualities about him.”
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