'09 FL DT Antwan Lowery (Official Offer)

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'09 FL DT Antwan Lowery



Defensive tackle
Miami (FL) Columbus

Ht: 6-foot-3
Wt: 300 lbs
Class: 2009 (High School)

Brother of Rutgers LB Antonio Lowery.

Antwan Lowery

Evaluation: Lowery is a versatile athlete that can line up on either offense or defense in college. Even though he plays defen sive tackle in high school, offensive guard or center may be his more natural position. As a defensive tackle, Lowery has to work on his technique if he is going to stay on that side of the football. He tries to just overpower his opponent which gets Lowery in trouble. He shows his athletic ability on some plays and just chases running backs down from behind. What he needs to work on at defensive tackle is staying low and using his hands better. He makes himsel f an easy target to block. He has good feet and Lowery moves pr etty well for someone his size.

Coach’s Comments: “We had his brother here two years ago and Antonio is now at Rutgers. Antwan has a chance to be very good but he is a bit raw. If he continues to work hard, Lowery should continue to get better,” Head Coach Chris Merritt.

College Level: 3- Right now Lowery is at best a lower-tier D1 prospect. That can all change with an impressive junior season. If he moves to offensive line look for some BCS schools to step it up and offer him. Antwan has the physical ability to play for many of the top conferences in college football.

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3/6

By M. Bakas. Lowery has offeres from Auburn, NC State, LSU, and Syracuse. He names a top five of LSU, Auburn, Florida, Miami, and South Florida.

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4/16

Has 17 offers. USC, Miami, Michigan, Florida, LSU, Rutgers, NC State, Clemson, Purdue, Indiana, Oklahoma, WVU, Wisconsin, and Auburn.

Miami leads Florida, Rutgers, and USC.

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4/18

By A. Ordoqui. Lowery says his top five is Miami, Rutgers, West Virginia, Florida, and NC State, and will decide after his season. He grew up a Miami fan, but has a brother at Rutgers.

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Scout.com: History Lesson

By Allen Wallace
National Recruiting Editor
Posted May 19, 2008

"I grew up liking Miami," Antwan Lowery said. "I love all the history there and the greatness that came from UM. I also like their style and I like how coach Randy Shannon is rebuilding the program. He's getting all the local talent to stay in-state and go to Miami. I think he'll be able to get them back on top." Miami is only 15 minutes from Lowery's home. "It might be a small factor," he said.

Continued...

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ESPN - Slimmed down Lowery rakes in the offers - Insider

2009 defensive tackle prospect Antwan Lowery slimmed down so he could blow up.

The Miami Columbus rising senior has become one of the hottest defensive line prospects in the country over the past few months. The 6-foot-4, 330-pound defender has more than 20 offers from programs nationwide, but arriving at this point was no guarantee. Lowery finished his junior season with no offers, receiving his first during the second semester of his junior year from N.C. State.

The journey to this point started during his sophomore season, during which he was a member of the varsity but played sparingly. At around 340 pounds, he was too big to get the most out of his talent. His coach, Chris Merritt, pulled him aside after the season and told him he needed to cut weight if he wanted to play. Lowery heeded the warning.

"It was time for me to wake up because if I didn't drop the weight I knew I wouldn't be able to perform to the best of my abilities," he said.

Lowery cut more than 25 pounds between his sophomore and junior years and ended up starting as a junior. His play greatly improved; he displayed quickness off the ball, a good motor and the ability to be a disruptive presence. As scouts came through they were impressed with his level of play, his slow start igniting into big-time recruitment.

"Cutting the weight really helped me to get where I am now," he said.

With the attention the newly stealthy Lowery has received, he now has a new obstacle to overcome -- where to play. He lists six early favorites: Miami, Florida, Florida State, Clemson, Auburn and Rutgers. The hometown Hurricanes are likely stiff competition, but the latter school offers a family connection. Rutgers is where Lowery's older brother Antonio is a sophomore linebacker. The Scarlet Knights are firmly in the mix, but the younger brother will tell you he is not getting any pressure from his older sibling, just advice.

"He just told me follow my heart and whatever I believe in," Antwan Lowery said.

While the big defender may have a handful of schools he is closely eyeing, he doesn't plan to announce his decision until after the 2008 season. At this point, he is taking the recruiting process one day at a time.

"I am still working hard, not letting my teammates down because this recruiting thing can get to a person's head and you can get big-headed, but not me," he said.

Trimming things down is what helped put Lowery in this position, so it's easy to believe this highly sought-after recruit can also keep his ego in check.

Lowery's Scouts Inc. Evaluation

Lowery has good size and the tools to be a disruptive presence. He appears to carry his weight well, and he has a consistently exceptional get-off for a big man.

Often gets into gaps before an offensive lineman can get a good shot on him. His explosiveness allows him to get into opposing backfields and alter or blow up plays. Has the size to take on and hold his ground against single- and double-team blocks but needs to pay closer attention to his pad level. Sometimes gets a little lax and will play upright. Excels with his hands and can shed effectively. Runs fairly well and has adequate change-of-direction skills. Plays with a good motor, hustles to the ball and makes some effort plays. Has the lateral mobility to move between the tackles while staying square.

Has the initial quickness to be a threat in passing situations. Can simply beat his man off the ball to get in a quarterback's face or get low and bull rush a blocker. Shows the ability to execute a quick swim move to work past a blocker.

With a nice blend of size and quickness, Lowery has the tools to be a good college defensive tackle who makes some plays.

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Hurricanes, Gators at top of list for DL Lowery - 06/09/2008 - MiamiHerald.com

``He was supposed to be dieting, but his brother used to tell us stories how they would find wrappers and empty soda cans near his bed in the morning. Now, he's tons of muscle. This is a kid that benches 325 pounds and military presses 305 pounds above his head. That's impressive. I try to mess with our kids, grab them by the arm, pull them. I don't mess with Antwan. If he was 30 pounds lighter, turned that stuff around his belly into muscle -- he'd be illegal in high school.''

His goal for this fall is to improve upon the three sacks he had. Merritt said he will have more of an opportunity now when he lines up at nose guard, directly in front of opposing centers when the Explorers go to a three-man front. Lowery, meanwhile, who was clocked at 5.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 4.9 seconds in the shuttle run at the Scout.com combine this spring, said he will continue dieting and exercising to trim down to around 300 pounds.

''I don't eat breakfast anymore,'' Lowery said. ``Instead, I eat two big salads a day. I get four heads of lettuce, a few pounds of baked chicken or grilled chicken and I chop it up and mix it up. It fills me up.''

AVOIDING PROBLEMS

Antwan Lowery said he wants to stay away from trouble so he can keep all of his options open. Lowery, who has a 2.7 GPA and took the SAT for the first time this past Saturday, said it's been hard enough initially convincing some schools he wasn't just going to pick the Hurricanes or follow his brother to Rutgers.

''The first thing a lot of recruiters ask me is if it's all about The U or do we really have a shot?'' Lowery said. ``But I'm straight up with them. I've followed my brother my whole life and it's my time to become my own man. I tell them if they evaluated me, offered me and really want me, the least I can do is really listen and consider them.''

Lowery said his recruitment could ''basically become a waiting game.'' But it seems to be more of a wooing game. Lowery said he fell in love with Gainesville's college atmosphere when he made an unofficial to watch the Gators' spring game two months ago. He said Florida coaches have spent more time than any school sending him hand-written letters. He said the Canes have recently started to pick up the pace and that he recently received a letter from UM coach Randy Shannon.

''A lot of websites, reporters call me and ask me if I have a top five, if I've narrowed things down, but I'm far off from making a decision,'' Lowery said.

``I want to build a relationship with the coaches, get to know them, trust them. I'm building that now with coach [Vance] Beford from Florida, coach [Clint] Hurtt from Miami, the Rutgers coaches, the South Florida coaches. When they send letters, keep in contact, it tells me they're interested. Other schools have come by and offered and I haven't heard from them. Miami, Florida, Rutgers, South Florida and Clemson -- those schools have been really interested in me.''

SOME PRESSURE

Miami and Florida each currently have defensive line commitment for 2009. The Hurricanes, Lowery said, have told them they only want to take one more defensive lineman in their next signing class and have pressured him a bit to be that recruit and fill that spot.

Lowery said a few weeks ago he worked out with Hurricanes freshman defensive tackle Marcus Forston -- a friend -- at Columbus. And he said he UM sophomore cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, a childhood friend, has called him a few times to put in a good word for Miami. But he says the Canes are just going to have to wait.

''They tell me if you know you want to come to Miami, why don't you just pull the trigger,'' Lowery said. ``But I don't know if I want to go to Miami. I love the Canes. I'm a city boy. But so many other schools have come in, talked to me, that I've got to think about with an open mind. And that's what I'm going to do.''

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Coveted recruit Antwan Lowery has Rutgers as one of his two finalists

Columbus High (Miami) DT Antwan Lowery, one of the top-ranked defensive linemen in the country, tells CaneSport.com (subscription site) that he is down to two schools: Miami and Rutgers.

Lowery, whose older brother Antonio was a freshman linebacker at Rutgers last season, told CaneSport.com. he will make his decision on Aug. 1.

"From now to Aug. 1 I'm going to sit down and evaluate both schools. What I've been doing so far is checking out both schools, the coaches and players. Right now my mind hasn't been made up on which school I'll go to."

Of Rutgers he said, "It's a great up-and-coming program. They have everything together up there, know how to win games, and the coaching staff is great and they know how to work with each other. My brother's up there, and having him there to guide me through everything would be tremendous."

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7/23

From the Rutgers site. Lowery was set to decide between Miami and Rutgers next week, but says he is now pushing the date back. He will take however long he needs to be 100% sure about his choice. He likes things about both schools, and is having a very hard time making a choice.

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7/29

By M Bakas. Lowery says that he has decided to put Florida back on his list, and he make a visit to see the Gators after his first game. He likes the depth charts at Rutgers and Florida, but is concerned about depth at Miami.

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PalmettoSports.com | South Carolina Recruiting | Phil Kornblut | GoUpstate.com

August 06, 2008
South Florida DL Likes Clemson
By Eric Guimaraes

DL Antwan Lowery (6-4 315) of Miami, FL has an offer from Clemson and has the Tigers in his top 5. "Clemson, Rutgers, Miami, Florida State, and South Florida are my favorites right now." Lowery visited Rutgers and FSU this summer and liked both schools. He was very impressed with Rutgers. "I liked the atmosphere up there. They really love their football. My brother (Antonio) plays linebacker there too." Atwan says he is very quick and has tremendous speed for a man his size. "I'm especially quick from sideline to sideline," he says, "And I love getting to the quarterback." He runs a 5.21 40. Last year, he had 75 tackles including 15 for loss. His offers include Clemson, Miami, Florida, Southern Cal, Michigan, Ohio State, South Florida, and Rutgers. He plans to visit Clemson this fall for at least one home game.

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8/14

By A Wallace. Lowery says that Florida is now recruiting him the hardest and that he has expanded his list to include Clemson. He says distance could be a small factor, but he thinks if he is comfortable at a school it will make up for that. He will wait until after the season to decide.