Ronald Lewis is looking to keep TCU football’s Louisiana pipeline strong
TCU football has an emphasis on Texas-based talent when it comes to recruiting under Sonny Dykes. The majority of the Horned Frogs’ 2022 incoming class reside in the Lone Star State.
But the program knows it’ll have to go out of state, too, and neighboring states such as Louisiana boast plenty of talent. That has been a hotbed for TCU over the years and it produced another future Frog this recruiting cycle.
Ronald Lewis out of Warren Easton High School in New Orleans was among four players who signed with the Frogs in recent days. Lewis, who originally committed to the University of Texas before reopening his recruitment last week, is rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports.
“After going on my visit and being able to talk it up with Coach Dykes and seeing the facilities, TCU was a better spot for me to go and be around great people and a great scheme,” Lewis said. “It’s going to get me to where I need to be as far as getting to the next level. It’s somewhere I can go and win and have opportunities to make plays. I feel like TCU is a great fit.”
Lewis, who is pushing 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, is a long and athletic cornerback prospect. Under Dykes and defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie, the Frogs have recruited taller cornerbacks. Every defensive back the program added this offseason stands at least six feet tall.
Length is something Dykes repeatedly mentioned in discussing defensive backs during his signing day news conference on Wednesday.
“He’s just a very long, athletic kid that makes a lot of plays on film,” Dykes said. “He’s a really nice young man. We got to know he and his family. He’s got a lot of upside. He’s a guy who is long, makes a lot of plays. Excited about his potential.”
Lewis echoed those thoughts when talking about himself on the field. He comes from a track background, running 14.31-second 110-meter hurdles and 39.98-second 300-meter hurdles at the Louisiana 4A state meet last year.
Lewis went as far as saying he’s a “generational-type athlete” with the potential of becoming the program’s next Jim Thorpe Award winner. That may sound overconfident to some, but it’s part of who he is.
“Coming from New Orleans, growing up in the city, you automatically have the mindset to prove yourself and the mindset to be great,” he said. “I was born with a chip on my shoulder. I’m always going to have it, so I’m going to bring that Louisiana mindset, have that attitude that nobody is better than me. I’m going to use that to my advantage and try to go in there and make sure I’m seen.”
TCU has had success with Louisiana players in the past. Garret Wallow turned into a starting linebacker and eventual NFL draft pick a couple years ago. Among the Louisiana-based players on the current roster include linebacker Khari Coleman, who was a freshman All-American in 2020, and wide receiver Quincy Brown, a four-star prospect coming out of Destrehan in 2020.
New Frogs cornerbacks coach Carlton Buckels is also a Louisiana native, playing high school football at Amite and then playing in college at LSU.
“It was cool being with those guys (Coleman and Brown) on my visit and how they fit in up there,” Lewis said. “It felt like TCU could be a second home to me.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
