Tag: Keontez Lewis

Oklahoma Sooners add highly regarded offensive tackle via the transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners added a highly-sought after offensive tackle via the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been active reloading the offensive side of the ball in the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag]. On Wednesday, they added [autotag]John Mateer[/autotag], the top quarterback in the transfer portal, along with [autotag]Javonnie Gibson[/autotag] and [autotag]Keontez Lewis[/autotag], a pair of high-upside wide receivers.

Now, the Sooners have added their second offensive tackle in the last days, earning a commitment from Western Carolina transfer offensive tackle Derek Simmons.

Simmons has started 26 games in three seasons for the Catamounts and missed the 2022 season. He’s played just over 1,500 snaps in his collegiate career.

Against Arkansas in 2023, Simmons allowed just two pressures on 41 pass block snaps. In 2024, he allowed two pressures on 49 pass block snaps.

Simmons had a number of offers from Power Four programs this transfer portal cycle including South Carolina, Nebraska, Alabama, Michigan, Texas Tech, Florida State, and Kansas State.

With the addition of Simmons and fellow transfer portal addition [autotag]Luke Baklenko[/autotag], the Oklahoma Sooners have added a pair of veteran offensive tackles to join their offensive line competition this spring.

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Former Wisconsin wide receiver transfers to a top SEC program

Big-time commitment for a former Wisconsin wide receiver

Former Wisconsin wide receiver Keontez Lewis committed to Oklahoma on Wednesday.

The former Badger spent the 2024 season at Southern Illinois. He joins the Sooners with one year of eligibility remaining.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 transfer portal departure tracker

Lewis transferred to the Badgers in 2022 after his freshman season at UCLA. He flashed significant playmaking ability as one of the team’s primary outside wide receivers that season, catching 20 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns. His best game was a three-catch, 71-yard, one-touchdown outing against rival Iowa.

Lewis then fell down the depth chart entering the 2023 season after the arrival of Phil Longo and a host of transfer receivers. He played in just one game that season, catching one pass for 12 yards. The 6’2″ wideout reentered the portal after the team’s Week 2 loss to Washington State.

The tide turned for Lewis in his one year at Southern Illinois. He led the Salukis with 49 catches, 790 receiving yards and five touchdowns, plus aded 10 carries, 121 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.

His best outing was a nine-touch (eight receptions, one carry), 205-yard (148 receiving, 57 rushing), two-touchdown breakout in a narrow win over Incarnate Word. He nearly broke single-game records with the performance.

Lewis entered the portal for a third time after the season concluded. He is now en route to Norman, Oklahoma to help a program that went just 6-6 in its first year in the SEC. Despite the down year, the Sooners remain one of the sport’s blue blood programs. This commitment is a significant step forward for Lewis after one year at the Football Championship Subdivision level.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, recently landed Ohio State transfer Jayden Ballard to bolster its wide receiving corps. The team lost Bryson Green (eligibility), C.J. Williams (portal) and Will Pauling (portal) after the 2024 season. The position remains one to watch as the Badgers continue their transfer recruiting.

Lewis is one of several former Badger receivers to watch at new destinations in 2025, especially as the program rebuilds at the position. For more on others, bookmark our transfer departure tracker.

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Oklahoma Sooners add another transfer portal wide receiver

Oklahoma Sooners add Keontez Lewis from Southern Illinois via the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners are looking to reload on the offensive side of the ball after a 2024 season that produced their worst offense in the last 25 seasons. Oklahoma found their quarterback in John Mateer and found some help for their wide receiver room with a commitment from Javonnie Gibson.

But that wasn’t all the Sooners did in the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] on Wednesday, as they also earned a commitment from transfer portal wide receiver Keontez Lewis. Lewis was a former three-star prospect who originally signed with UCLA in the 2021 recruiting class. He then spent a couple of seasons on Wisconsin’s roster before playing 2024 with Southern Illinois.

Lewis led the Salukis with 49 receptions for 813 yards and five touchdowns in 2024. Against BYU, he recorded two catches for 49 yards. At Wisconsin in 2022, Gibson played in 13 games and had 20 receptions for 313 yards and three touchdowns.

After Wisconsin hired Luke Fickell away from Cincinnati, Lewis fell down the depth chart and played in just one game in 2023 before entering the transfer portal in September of that season.

Like Gibson, Lewis brings good size to the Sooners wide receiver room, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 190 pounds.

Lewis joins a wide receiver group that includes a returning Deion Burks and Jayden Gibson and a group of talented former four-star prospects Zion Kearney, Zion Ragins, and Ivan Carreon, walk-on standout Jacob Jordan, as well as true freshmen Elijah Thomas and Emmanuel Choice.

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Former Wisconsin wide receiver has record-setting performance with new program

Former Wisconsin wide receiver has record-setting game with new program

Former Wisconsin wide receiver Keontez Lewis had a record-setting Week 3 performance for Southern Illinois on Saturday.

Lewis finished the Salukis’ 35-28 win over Incarnate Word with eight receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown, plus one carry for a 57-yard score. That amounts to nine touches, 205 total yards and three touchdowns.

Related: How Wisconsin’s recent transfer departures fared in Week 3 of 2024 football season

His 148 receiving yards were the most in a game for a Southern Illinois receiver since Sept. 2, 2021. Additionally, his and Nah’shawn Hezekiah’s 266 combined receiving yards are the second-most for a duo in one game in school history.

Saturday was a true breakout for the former Badger. His first two games at Southern Illinois included seven receptions for 102 yards. The big Week 3 performance pushes his season totals to 15 catches, 250 receiving yards, two carries, 53 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.

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Lewis transferred to Southern Illinois after entering the portal in early September of 2023. He played one game for the Luke Fickell Badgers, recording one catch for 12 receiving yards.

Wisconsin’s influx of transfers at the position before the 2023 season cut into Lewis’ snaps significantly. He caught 20 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns for the Paul Chryst and Jim Leonhard-led Badgers in 2022.

The former Badger is one of many having success at new programs. Among them are Jordan Turner (Michigan State) and Trey Wedig (Indiana).

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A Wisconsin starting wide receiver from 2022 enters the transfer portal

One of Wisconsin’s top WRs just entered the transfer portal

Wisconsin wide receiver Keontez Lewis announced his intention to enter the transfer portal earlier today.

The starter from 2022 fell down the depth chart with new head coach Luke Fickell bringing several transfer wideouts this offseason including Will Pauling, Bryson Green and C.J. Williams.

Related: Ranking the toughest remaining games on Wisconsin’s 2023 schedule

Lewis enters the portal after recording 20 catches, 313 yards and three touchdowns as a starter for the Badgers last season. After playing sparingly in Wisconsin’s Week 1 win over Buffalo and catching one pass for 12 yards, Lewis didn’t see the field during Wisconsin’s Week 2 loss at Washington State.

Wisconsin’s wide receiver rotation now includes Chimere Dike, Will Pauling, Skyler Bell, C.J. Williams and Bryson Green.

Two Wisconsin Badgers break 21 MPH in latest ‘Need for Speed’ ranking

See where the fastest Badgers fell in head strength and conditioning coach Brady Collins’ latest ‘Need For Speed’ rankings:

On Monday afternoon, Wisconsin football’s head strength and conditioning coach, Brady Collins’,  released his third ‘Need for Speed’ ranking of the fastest Badgers’ players from this past week.

Related: Wisconsin’s new running backs coach has high hopes for the group

Several of last year’s starters made Collins’ list, including wide receiver Skyler Bell and safety Kamo’i Latu. Although Latu did not quite hit 21 MPH with a speed of 20.99 MPH, he ranked in the top three this week behind receivers Will Pauling and Keontez Lewis.

Lewis was the fastest player in this week’s list with a blazing-fast speed of 21.7 MPH. This was the highest speed in Collins’ rankings since WR Will Pauling recorded 21.35 MPH last week. It should be exciting to see what Lewis can do in his second year with the Badgers after transferring from UCLA last season.

It is great to see the progress that Wisconsin players are making in their first winter conditioning program under Collins and head coach Luke Fickell.

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PHOTOS: Wisconsin falls to Iowa 24-10 in disappointing loss

Photos from Wisconsin football’s disappointing 24-10 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon:

The Wisconsin Badgers’ offense struggled immensely in their 24-10 loss on the road against Iowa. The Hawkeyes held the Badgers to 227 total yards and forced three turnovers from Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz.

Wisconsin’s lone bright spot on the day was a 51-yard touchdown reception from wide receiver Keontez Lewis before halftime. Otherwise, the offense couldn’t get moving and contributed to 10 points for the Hawkeyes from a fumble and a Mertz pick-six.

The Badgers’ defense played well given the difficult situations they were put in by the offense and were able to get after Iowa QB Spencer Petras. Outside linebacker Nick Herbig racked up three sacks and three tackles for loss. The Wisconsin defense also limited Iowa to 146 total yards.

Although the Badgers are likely out of the race for the Big Ten West, they can hopefully finish the season strong with wins against Nebraska and Minnesota.

Below are photos from Wisconsin’s disappointing 24-10 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon:

Twitter reacts to Wisconsin WR Keontez Lewis’ 51-yard touchdown grab

Some of Twitter’s best reactions to Wisconsin WR Keontez Lewis’ 51-yard touchdown to close the Iowa Hawkeyes lead to only four points:

Despite Wisconsin falling behind early to Iowa, the Badgers were able to close the Hawkeyes’ lead to four points before halftime with an outstanding 51-yard yard receiving touchdown from wide receiver Keontez Lewis.

The Badgers have really struggled to move the ball in the first half, with their only other points resulting from a fumble recovery that gave them fantastic field position. The big catch from Lewis came on a third-and-18 play where the Wisconsin offense was getting stone-walled at midfield. Fortunately, the UCLA transfer blew past the Iowa cornerback to allow him to run untouched in the endzone.

It has been a defensive battle so far in the cold and flurries, but hopefully, the Badgers can get the ball moving in the second half to keep the Heartland Trophy.

Below are some of Twitter’s best reactions to Wisconsin WR Keontez Lewis’ 51-yard touchdown to close the Iowa Hawkeyes lead to only four points before halftime:

Badgers PFF grades: Top 5 offensive players from loss to Michigan State

Here’s a look at the top 5 highest graded offensive players from Wisconsin’s loss to MSU, according to Pro Football Focus:

Interim head coach Jim Leonhard and the Wisconsin Badgers (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten), who were seven-and-a-half point favorites, failed to win back-to-back games for the first time this season, losing a 34-28 heartbreaker in double-overtime at Spartan Field on Saturday afternoon.

Just one week removed from Wisconsin’s best offensive performance of the season, the Badgers reverted to who we thought they were, mustering 283 total yards (131 passing, 152 rushing) on a mere 4.5 yards per play.

Sophomore running back Braelon Allen, who was without his partner in crime, Chez Mellusi, was asked to carry a significant load on Saturday to the tune of a career-high 29 carries for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

The offensive line, however, was a disaster against MSU, allowing five pressures while also picking up five penalties – three of which belonged to left guard Tanor Bortolini.

Coach Leonhard has his work cut out for him moving forward because the program needs an offensive identity – and fast.

Here’s a look at the five highest-graded offensive players from Wisconsin’s loss to Michigan State, according to Pro Football Focus.

Badgers WR Keontez Lewis flashed as a downfield threat in week 2

The UCLA transfer WR had a career day against Washington State on Saturday:

This past weekend, there wasn’t much to be excited about if you are a fan of the Wisconsin Badgers football program.

UW dropped a game where they entered as 17-point favorites and, through sloppy play across all three phases, managed to lose to the visiting Washington State Cougars 17-14.

With Wisconsin’s sloppy loss in the rearview mirror, I’d like to take a moment to highlight one of the most positive developments that came out of week 2 – sophomore wide receiver Keontez Lewis.

I think it goes without saying, but WR coach Alvis Whitted has done a terrific job rebuilding UW’s receiving core with players of differing skill sets. Both the future and the present of the position group have bright futures, giving the program hope for an improved passing game.

Lewis, a UCLA transfer, came to Wisconsin via the transfer portal during the offseason. Although the program has several young, talented options fighting for snaps, the 6-foot-2, 190 pass-catcher offers something unique – the ability to stretch the field with his length and straight-line speed.

Week two contest vs. Washington State

Last week against Washington State, Lewis logged the third-most snaps among UW WRs, trailing only Chimere Dike and Skyler Bell.

Quarterback Graham Mertz targeted Lewis three times, catching a career-high two passes for a game-high 62 yards and drawing a pass interference downfield on his only other target.

His size and speed combination plays well on the boundary, allowing players like Dike and Bell the freedom to play all over the formation in three WR sets.

The Illinois native’s ability to stretch the field and get behind his defender forces the opposing team to pull a defender out of the box, making him a valuable weapon for UW and its improved passing game moving forward.

Mertz clearly has a desire to push the ball downfield when he sees a winnable matchup, so it’ll be interesting to see if the UCLA transfer will get more opportunities against the New Mexico State Aggies this weekend.

Either way, Lewis flashed on Saturday and made his case for an expanded role in Bobby Engram’s offense.

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