Edwardsville’s Lomax poised for breakout year before heading to Mizzou
As some of his exhausted teammates bent over, tugging at their shorts and trying to catch their breath, Devyon Hill-Lomax sauntered easily toward the Edwardsville football locker room.
The sprints that coach Kelsey Pickering tasked his players with at the close of their first practice Monday were no problem at all for the 6-foot-5, 185-pound senior and future Missouri Tiger — nor was anything else assigned on Day 1.
“It’s crazy, because I didn’t even like football when I was a little kid,” Lomax said. “I just felt like I was going to get hurt really bad. But then I saw my brother play, and he was good, and my mom said, ‘Well, you gotta do something.’ So the first time I went out and ran the ball and got tackled, it wasn’t that bad.”
Lomax, a three-star recruit currently ranked as the 24th-best player in the state by ESPN, knows things won’t get easier as his football journey progresses. Then again, who’s to say? The truth is, the game seems to come easily to the Tigers’ wide receiver.
While Pickering would not share his playbook, one play that might rank high on his chart could be called: “Get it up high in the air and let Devyon go get it. Ready, on three.”
“That’s something we work on,” Lomax confirmed.
Pickering’s team will lean heavily on Lomax in the tough Southwestern Conference, which includes defending Class 6A state champion East St. Louis. The Flyers have multiple players already committed to Division I colleges, with others likely to commit by season’s end.
Lomax is Edwardsville’s most sought-after player, with Mizzou winning out over roughly a dozen other schools. Missouri is no slouch of a program, so Lomax can feel good about his decision. In talking with him, it’s clear that staying close to home and near his mother, Angela, was a decisive factor in his choice.
“She’s been telling me from a young age to carry myself a certain way. Ten years later, I see what she said was right. Everything goes to her,” Lomax said.
Lomax turned down offers from Division I schools such as Illinois, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Memphis and Purdue. He wants to get up to 200 pounds soon, but despite eating a lot and putting in work at the gym, his metabolism has proven even faster than his time in the 40.
“It’s kinda hard to gain it,” he said.
These are always questions I have for high school seniors who already know where they’ll play in college: How do you stay hungry, knowing the real competition is down the road? Isn’t it tempting not to dive for that extra yard, knowing the physical price could jeopardize your college future? Is it tough to take the high school coach’s barkings seriously, knowing bigger football awaits?
This Tiger’s stripes may be changing soon, but not the work habits that got him here.
“There’s a reason why I’m committed. I just want to keep showing them why they chose me,” Lomax said. “I want to finish strong, not only for myself, but for my teammates and coaches right here. I feel like we’re capable of being a state contender. We’re going to be better than last year. Doesn’t matter if I’m here or not; we’re going to get better regardless.”
Pickering calls Lomax the team’s pied piper.
“The younger guys really look up to him, and he really takes that responsibility seriously,” Pickering said. “He’s been blessed with some physical attributes, especially his height, but none of that means anything without a solid work ethic. We’ll keep pushing him, though. He can get better, like everyone. I fully expect this to be the best year of his high school career.”
Lomax agrees.
“I can do more,” he said. “I just want to keep showing people they got it right by believing in me.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2025 at 5:41 AM.
