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National Signing Day: Magnificent Seven: Lewisville football players ink
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
LEWISVILLE — With Lewisville’s football team in a transitional phase under first-year head coach Gregg Miller, results were tough to come by on the gridiron as the Farmers finished with a 1-9 mark.
But the talent Lewisville is capable of producing was on display Wednesday as the Farmers churned out a seven-player class on National Signing Day.
Additionally, Lewisville had other athletes sign in baseball, softball, girls soccer and track and field.
“I wish these guys were all sophomores or freshman,” Miller said. “But I’m very excited for them and proud of them. They will represent us very, very well and are great kids. They’ll do a great job.
“This means a lot to the younger kids, too. These guys are their heroes and it shows that it can be done and that it doesn’t always matter what your record is. You don’t have to be on the best team on the block to get a scholarship and our numbers show that.”
Ekpe was the first Farmer to sign and has already enrolled at Minnesota, where he joins brother Scott as well as former teammate and running back Rodrick Williams on the Gophers’ squad.
A pair of Lewisville receivers (Davis and Jorgenson) are also bound for the Midwest and their respective schools in Missouri.
“I really enjoyed the energy I saw when I was out there and I think I should have a good chance to play my freshman year,” Davis said.
Missouri Southern is the alma mater of Lewisville defensive line coach Jereko Lovett.
Wright, meanwhile, opted for the out-of-state route where he hopes to see time on the field in his first year in Las Cruces, N.M.
“I knew as I soon as I went on the visit that I wanted to go,” Wright said. “I talked to the coaches for a while before that and had a pretty good idea. I really had a close connection with (the coaches) and the city of Las Cruces. It’s not too big, but at the same time not too small. It just felt very comfortable.”
Wright hopes to see the field soon.
“They want me to come and play as early as I can,” he said. “But that all depends on me going out there and performing. I’m really going to have to earn it.”
Others, like Minor and Brown, won’t have to travel quite as far.
But that didn’t necessarily factor into the equation.
“The emotions are flaring right now,” Minor said. “When I was a kid, my dream was to get a scholarship to college and now it’s here.
“Being close didn’t really matter. North Texas was one of the first schools to call me and offer back in June. They were the first and I committed. I was ready and the early attention was great. I don’t regret it whatsoever.”’
Like Wright, Minor knows the work it will take to see the field early in his rookie year.
“The coaches told me that I need to weigh about 210 pounds and right now I’m only about 200,” he said. “But if I go up there and do well and do my thing, I have a good chance to play as a freshman.”
Brown missed the end of his senior campaign with an injury.
“I might be able to play, but I’m going to have to earn it,” he said. “I actually get released Thursday and I will be at full speed and will be able to do whatever. The injury really didn’t hurt my recruiting too much because it’s a pretty routine injury. I’ll be back 100 percent.”
It also didn’t discourage the Wildcats from jumping in near the end of the process.
“They came kind of late because they are going from Division II to Division I,” Brown said. “But that was definitely something that factored into my decision. Playing in D1 is always something I wanted to do and I also felt like the coaches believe in me and are in it for my best interests.”
While the football players had a senior season to impress scouts, others signed before playing the first game of their respective senior campaigns at Lewisville.
Cory Duran joins Niko Buentello (Oklahoma) as the second baseball player to ink as he will be competing for Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant where he will pitch and play outfield.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a while and it’s actually great to get the pressure off and be able to focus on my senior year,” Duran said.
Chloe Campise, meanwhile, has signed to play softball at the University of Dallas.
“It’s going to be a huge bonus to be able to have my parents at the games and giving me support,” Campise said. “It’s going to be a fresh start. When I stepped on the campus, I knew it was the right fit for me. And the fact that I’ll be able to start as a freshman is a huge bonus for me.”
On the track, Malik Summers signed with TCU, where he will run the 100- and 200-meter dash.
“I found out last week that I was going to go,” Summers said. “I knew I was interested and I was just waiting for the offer.”
Rounding out the signing class is girls soccer player Sam Naughton, who selected Southwestern Oklahoma Christian.
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