Head West, young man. East St. Louis wide receiver taking talents to Pac-12
East St. Louis senior wide receiver Keontez Lewis has decided to head west for his athletic and academic future.
Ranked as the No. 16 overall senior recruit in the Illinois by 247 Sports and one of the top 100 receivers in the nation, the 6-2, 185-pound Lewis has given a verbal commitment to attend and play college football at UCLA beginning in the 2021 season.
A key member of an East St. Louis team which finished 14-0 and won the IHSA Class 6A state championship in 2019, Lewis had 39 receptions for 825 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago. East St. Louis defeated Prairie Ridge at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb in November to win its ninth state title overall and third under coach Darren Sunkett.
UCLA, a member of the Pac-12 Conference, beat out Missouri, Mississippi, Oregon and South Carolina for the gifted Lewis who also had offers from Auburn, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Texas A&M and West Virginia..
Lewis will be the latest East St. Louis graduate to compete at UCLA. The list includes former Olympic track and field gold medalists Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Dawn Harper-Nelson and Al Joyner.
Lewis is the second current Flyers football standout to commit to a NCAA Division I school. All-state senior quarterback Tyler Macon gave a verbal commitment to Missouri this spring.
Verbal commitments are non-binding.
