Thad Lewis article

[USF_Bill]

Dear Diary | HML's Thaddeus LewisEven though Duke's football program comes second to basketball and the academics can be demanding, Thaddeus Lewis went into his final recruiting visit this past weekend with an open mind.

He came home blown away.

''It was a great atmosphere,'' said Lewis, a 6-1, 200-pound quarterback from Hialeah-Miami Lakes. ``I didn't get an impression there were just nerds and 6-8 basketball stars walking around campus.

``Everybody there are regular people who are real smart, real talented and focused. It was incredible.''

So, with less than 24 hours before national signing day, has the player Rivals.com rates the No. 10 dual-threat quarterback and who's ranked Dade's No. 5 recruit made his choice?

''I have,'' said Lewis, who also visited Texas Christian, Pittsburgh and South Florida. ``But you're going to have to wait until Wednesday to hear it. I've got to tell my coach and my family first.''

`DUKE WANTS YOU'

Lewis, however, will be more than glad to share his weekend visit to Duke -- for now.

''I actually flew in on Thursday night so I could be there early in the morning on Friday,'' Lewis said Monday. ``It was cold, about 28 degrees. But it didn't bother me too much.''

Lewis said he checked into the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, Durham's only four-diamond inn, on campus. His room, he said, was the nicest of any of his previous visits.

''It had a queen bed, fridge, big-screen TV,'' Lewis said. ``It was tight.''

But his hotel room didn't compare to what he saw the next day when he took a tour of the campus.

''I saw the student newspaper and it had this big picture of me on the front page,'' Lewis said. 'My mom and I were impressed. Then, while we were walking around campus, I looked up at one of the dorms. This guy had a bedsheet hanging out of his window that read: `Thad Lewis, Duke Wants You!' I was like, 'Man. All this for me?' ''

The salutes didn't end there. Even on his visit to the famed school chapel and the school library, students, professors and alumni came and greeted him with handshakes.

''They really made me feel comfortable,'' Lewis said. ``I didn't want to come in with the idea these people might be too smart or whatever, but they were all normal, easy to get along with it. It made me feel great.''

After his tour, Lewis and the five other recruits on his visit were treated to a special lunch at the home of one of the school's most well-known doctors.

''His house was beautiful and the food was great,'' Lewis said.

``But what blew me away the most was what he told me. He had this painting of him and [former Duke guard] Tommy Amaker [now the coach at Michigan]. He told me how he was one of the first great black basketball players to come to Duke and how helped turn the program into what it is today. He said, `You can come here and do the same thing. And even when the ball deflates and your career is over, you've still got that degree from a great school.'

``It made a lot of sense.''

Lewis said he left the doctor's home ''thinking,'' before heading off to spend the day with current Duke defensive end Vince Oghobaase. Lewis and Oghobaase spent hours playing Oghobaase's college football video game .

''I beat him,'' Lewis said. ``But his roommate, Mike Brown, beat me. I think I finished 5-2 on my recruiting trips.''

Later that night, Lewis was treated to shrimp, pasta, prime rib and rib-eye steak on the top floor of a restaurant overlooking the city. After dinner, he was taken to a special event: Midnight Madness.

''It wasn't the Midnight Madness I thought it was,'' Lewis said. ``It was the football team. They have this ritual where they lift weights and see how big their biceps and triceps are. If their arms are bigger than 17 inches, they get a helmet sticker. If the arms are bigger than 20 inches, they get a helmet. I was impressed. You can tell those guys really want to turn things around.''

A VISIT TO CAMERON

The next morning, Saturday, after meeting with academic advisers, Lewis said he and the other recruits were treated to lunch at the home of football coach Ted Roof.

''His house was huge,'' Lewis said. ``His family was cool. I got a chance to shoot some hoops with his two twin sons.''

After a question-and-answer session with players and a dinner at The Devils Den, Lewis and the recruits were treated to some real basketball at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He said he sat right behind the opposing team's bench as Duke walloped Virginia on Saturday.

''It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,'' Lewis said. ``Those fans are great. During the player introductions for Virginia, they greeted each player with hellos. Then there were the voodoo chants on free throws. Those are the best fans in the world.''

Lewis said he ended the night by attending a party with the football team and the other recruits.

The next morning, he met with Roof at the school before taking a plane home.

''They've only got two quarterbacks on the roster, and both of them are sophomores,'' Lewis said.

``I'm the only quarterback they've gone after, and he told me I'm the only one they want. The last scholarship is for me. He said I'd have a good chance to start if I went there.

``All I can do is advise everyone to take your trips, don't commit early. Your going to need to check every school out in person and think about it real hard.''

Lewis' thought process is over. The announcement comes Wednesday.

[flsportsfan83]

dosent sound good.... we need this kid

[RHBullsFan]

sounds like his decision is already been made.

[SkypointBull]

Pretty sure having 8 QB's on the roster next year had something to do with it.

[flsportsfan83]

Did we really lose a QB to Duke?

[RunningoftheBulls]

After that write up,  I would be ready to sign up.  You really can't blame him if he chooses an outstanding academic institution like Duke.  

[BigEastBeasts]

I don't know the ins and outs of the rules, but from reading this article it seems there could be some possible recruiting violations in there.

Right before the NC game, they were trying to bring accusations against USC because the kids were taken to eat at a restaurant owned by an alum and according to NCAA rules recruits have to be treated to a normal campus experience and cannot be brought into contact with alumni who attempt to sway their decision making (or something to that effect).

Dinner at a restaurant consisting of shrimp, pasta, prime rib and ribeyes and lunch at the home of a doctor and alum who told him what he did sounds like it moves right along those same lines of what USC was being accused of.

[Apis Bull]

This isn't much different than what he said after his visit to USF:

Dear Diary | Thaddeus Lewis, HML quarterback

He called it a perfect 10, a home away from home and a great opportunity.

Hialeah-Miami Lakes quarterback Thaddeus Lewis returned from his weekend visit to the University of South Florida sounding like he was ready to become the Bulls' latest commitment from Miami-Dade.

So, is he ready to make Tampa his future home?

''The USF trip has been the best so far,'' Lewis said Tuesday. ``Then, I'd say Pitt and TCU. But I won't have an answer until I get back from Duke next weekend. Next Monday morning, I'm going to sit down with coach [Jerry Hughes] and my mom and talk it over. Then I'll decide.''

Until then, the suspense and the race to sign Dade's No. 5 recruit -- one of the elite few still uncommitted -- continues. The following is the second in a series of recruiting diaries and details his latest trip to USF.

ARRIVAL DAY

''This was definitely the nicest trip I've been on,'' Lewis said. ``After my plane landed and we checked into the hotel and took a tour of the stadium, they took all 20 recruits and family on a dinner cruise. I wasn't expecting that.''

The cruise, which Lewis said took place on a chartered yacht, lasted nearly three hours. Recruits and family were treated to chicken, fish, pork, rice, pasta and vegetables and spent the night getting to know coach Jim Leavitt and his staff.

''It was tight,'' Lewis said. ``After that, when we got back to land, we got paired off with our hosts. I got to hang out with [former Booker T. Washington teammate] Patrick St. Louis. We've been friends ever since he left. We played [video games] the rest of the night. It was cool to get a chance to chill with him again.''

Lewis retired to his hotel room.

''The room was just as nice as the one in Pittsburgh, only it had food and Gatorade and stuff,'' Lewis said.

AMAZING FACILITIES

The next day after a big breakfast, Lewis said he and the fellow recruits -- which included Immokalee running back Jevarris James (UM commitment) and former Booker T. teammates Joe Jackson and Alwan Lee -- took a tour of the Bulls' new state-of-the-art locker-room facility.

''It was like an NFL locker room,'' Lewis said. ``They had an underwater treadmill. I'd never seen one of those. The lockers were huge. All of the jerseys, shoes, were Nikes. It was all real nice.''

After a brief meeting with academic advisors, Lewis said the recruits were treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet of burgers, chicken and mozzarella sicks at a restaurant.

Later that night, the recruits were taken to the team banquet at Busch Gardens, where they ate and watched players receive awards. He followed that by spending the night with current Bulls players before having a meeting with Leavitt on Sunday morning.

''The best thing about the whole trip was that it was the most comfortable place I've been yet,'' Lewis said. ``With only two guys coming back at quarterback -- Patrick Julmiste and Carlton Hill -- and two recruits in Alwan [Lee] and Nate Allen, all he can promise about playing time is a chance.''

DECISION SOON

Lewis doesn't seem to mind the competition, something he has said all along throughout his recruiting process. The toughest part of the recruiting process, according to HML assistant Pete Basnueva, will be having to turn three schools down.

''You can tell he's having a tougher time knowing he's going to disappoint someone,'' Basnueva said. ``Thaddeus is a good kid. He hates hurting people.''

Who ends up being disappointed a week from today (national signing day) remains to be seen. Texas Christian coach Gary Patterson visited with Lewis on Tuesday night on an in-home visit. Pittsburgh quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh visits with Lewis today. And Thursday, Lewis leaves for Duke.

''It's not going to be easy,'' Lewis said. ``I'm trying to keep my heart out of it. It's time to think business, make sure all my questions are answered.''

Miami Herald

[smazza]

we dont have many quality qbs

[sdgukhsdgl]

Did we really lose a QB to Duke?

why do you seem surprised? the only thing we have in our favor is a slightly better football team, every other category is really a blowout for Duke