Tennessee is in the final two for five-star inside linebacker Terrence Lewis, he announced on Twitter Monday afternoon. Lewis decommitted from the Vols on Nov. 30 after being committed for seven months.
“A Major Life Decision Is Never a Choice But Rather a Realization That The Decision Has ALREADY BEEN MADE,” Lewis tweeted along with a graphic of a Maryland logo and Tennessee logo stating that those two schools were his final two.
Lewis also included ‘January 2nd’ in the tweet. It is believed that Lewis will sign with a school this week during the early signing period and announce on Jan. 2 his school of choice during the Army All-American Bowl programming. The annual high school all-star game that features the best high school prospects around the country is not being played due to COVID-19.
“A Major Life Decision Is Never a Choice
But Rather a Realization That The Decision Has ALREADY BEEN MADE”#GoTerps?#GoVols?January 2nd⏳… pic.twitter.com/c0x4xLRNWR
— TerrEnce Not TerrAnce? (@Notoriou2__) December 14, 2020
“I would like to take the time out to announce that I’ll be decommitting from the University of Tennessee,” Lewis said in a tweet when he announced his decommitment from the Vols. “There’s no love lost they’re still my top school as of now but I need these next couple weeks to explore my options to make sure I make the best decision for my future.”
Lewis was the highest ranked commitment for the Vols and is the second to decommit in the last five days. Four-star defensive back Damarius McGhee decommitted last Thursday on Thanksgiving.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Lewis is the No. 1 inside linebacker in the 2021 class and is ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect and No. 5 recruit in the state of Florida. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound linebacker holds offers from over 40 schools and had a top six of Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Penn State, and Nebraska back on April 4th.
Tennessee offered Lewis back in May of 2019, and Lewis visited campus shortly thereafter. The talented linebacker was once committed to Florida, pledging himself to the Gators on January 22, 2019. But a few months later on April 13th, Lewis decommitted and reopened his recruitment.
The top-rated inside linebacker was supposed to visit the Vols in January, but those plans didn’t work out. He also planned on coming to Knoxville once the dead period lifted after February, but he wasn’t able to get on campus before recruiting visits were temporarily postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Still, he committed to Tennessee on April 30.
As a junior at Miami Northwestern, Lewis amassed 105 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and three interceptions in 13 games according to MaxPreps. He was named a First Team Junior All-American by MaxPreps after his 2019 season, and he helped lead Miami Northwestern to a 13-2 record and the Florida 5A state title.
In Lewis’ last two years at Miami Northwestern in 2018 and 2019, he combined for 207 tackles, 50 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, four interceptions, and three forced fumbles.
Tennessee’s 2021 recruiting class currently has 23 commits. The class ranks No. 15 overall in the country and sixth-best in the SEC. Four-star linebacker Aaron Willis is now the Vols’ lone commit at the inside linebacker position.
