Lewis and teammates finally hit the field

Texas A&M offensive line commitment Patrick Lewis had a much longer offseason that he would have liked. The four-star prospect from LaPlace (LA) East St. John had his first two games of the season canceled due to Hurricane Gustav sweeping through the state.

However, the big 6-foot-2, 293-pound lineman and his teammates are back in school and were able to hit the field for their first game of the season this past Friday night. Though they fell in a close 28-21 loss, Lewis was still happy to just be playing again.

"We've been back at school for about two weeks now, but the first week back in school we didn't play a game, " he said. "We just played a game this past Friday. We played No. 1-ranked Acadiana. We did really well. We did better than expected. We went out there and fought hard, but I don't think we quite gave it all we got. We almost pulled an upset still, but we just didn't finish.

"We missed a fourth down at the end by like a yard. They stopped Alex (Singleton) by less than a yard. We thought he had it. Acadiana just ran out the clock after that."

Lewis' future team also fell this weekend as Miami defeated Texas A&M. However, he says he doesn't consider the loss a big concern. He thinks new head coach Mike Sherman will right the ship.

"Yeah, I watched the game," Lewis said. "I know some people are saying that it's a question of coaching, but I look at it a little different. Coach Sherman, you know, he doesn't really have his players. He doesn't have the guys that necessarily fit his scheme. I think, in the long run, when the players really start understanding the scheme both offensively and defensively, we're going to do some damage. People are going to have to watch out for A&M."

Lewis has already had a chance to speak with the Aggie coach since the game. They talked about quite a few things, but the focus seemed to be on the fact that Lewis has a chance to come in and earn early playing time.

"I just talked to coach Sherman tonight," Lewis said on Tuesday evening. "He just started off, 'Man, I sure could have used you out there this week.' I've been working really hard to hopefully come in and make a dent in the depth chart right away. We also talked about how he was excited about me coming up there and we can't wait until my official visit and actually sit down and he'll tell me how he's planning to use me and everything. I'll probably take it in January whenever all the other commits are taking theirs too."

In addition to the 24 current commitments, Lewis says there is another face he would like to see counted among the group that weekend as well.

"I saw that (Beaumont West Brook five-star running back) Christine Michael was at the game," Lewis said. "I'm trying to keep up with his status, because I'd love to block for that dude. He's sick. I'm really hoping we land him."

For now, though, Lewis is concentrating on his senior year. They have another tough opponent this weekend and the lineman will be tested against two of the best defensive tackles in the country.

"We've got Bastrop coming up this week. They're ranked as like the No. 10 team in the entire country. They're on a 48-game winning streak right now. We plan to break that, though. When I talk to you next week, I'll hopefully get to tell you that they're 48-1," he said laughing. "I get to block DeQuinta Jones and Josh Downs. DeQuinta's committed to Michigan and Downs is committed to LSU. They've also got (five-star wide receiver) Rueben Randle."