The Final Cockdown: #8, Marquavius Lewis

Marquavius Lewis

Junior/Defensive End

6'3", 264 lbs.

Greenwood (S.C.)/Hutchinson CC (JUCO)

Recruitment:

A four-star athlete coming out of Greenwood High School in 2012. While at junior college, offered by several Power Five schools including Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, and Southern Cal before choosing the Gamecocks. A consensus top 6 JUCO recruit: #1 on Scout, #3 on Rivals and #6 at ESPN.

Junior College Career:

To say Lewis made an impact while at Hutchinson would be an understatement: 126 tackles, 39.5 TFLs and 18.5 sacks in two years (20.5 TFLs and 11 sacks in 2014). Those numbers get you notices, and they also get you a good deal of scholarship offers. Gamecocks fans may have been a little anxious when he took an official to Auburn four months after committing to Carolina, but his pledge was firm and he signed this January.

2015 Outlook:

Lewis may arguably be the most important player on the Gamecocks roster not named Pharoh Cooper or (insert starting quarterback name here), and maybe the most-buzzed-about player since a defensive end from South Pointe High School in Rock Hill made his mark on the program. While many agree that Clowney's standard might be too high to reach, Lewis's incredible ability to get through the opposition's offensive line and wreak havoc on the QB was something that was sorely missing from a pass rush that recorded just 14 sacks a season ago. To put that in perspective, five players in FBS had more sacks than the entire Carolina defense.