Mesa Red Mountain standout Lenox Lawson signs with the Sun Devils
In their quest to secure the services of the best local high players in the state, the ASU staff under Kenny Dillingham is also pursuing some prospects that didn’t get much recruiting attention despite an impressive senior campaign in 2022. One such prospect is Mesa Red Mountain running back Lenox Lawson, who, just hours after decommiting from Central Michigan, pledged to the Sun Devils, who offered him a scholarship today.
“He’s arguably one of the best athletes in the state of Arizona,” said Red Mountain’s head coach. “I know that Kenny Dillingham is really trying to get the premier players from the state, and with Lennox going to Arizona State, they just landed another one. His film doesn’t lie. It was one of the most impressive senior highlight films I’ve seen in a long time. He’s done it all; he’s top three in our record books for a lot of rushing and receiving stats. He’s just a great, great kid and a great athlete.”
As a senior, Lawson paced the 8-5 Mountain Lions in several categories. He posted 1,292 yards averaging 7.6 per carry, scoring ten touchdowns. He also hauled 42 receptions for 497 yards and three scores. Along with 332 kick return yards and 18 punt return yards, Lawson tallied 2,139 all-purpose yards.
“Lenox played running back all this year,” Enders noted. “He had 235 rushing yards against Brophy in the first round of our playoffs. His career rushing yards for us are just under 2,150, and for his career, he averaged 8.3 yards a carry. Last year in the second half of our season, he played running back. He has played defensive back ever since he started his varsity career, and ASU is recruiting him as a nickel back. With the type of defense that (defensive coordinator) coach Ward wants to run, he’s looking for just a great athlete like Lenox.
“Ward visited here with (special teams coach) Charlie Ragle, who’s planning to use him all over the field on special teams. He’s a punt returner and kick returner; he can tackle because he’s a physical player. If we weren’t giving him the ball 25, or 30 times a game, he would have definitely been able to play on the defensive side of the ball. He was always an extremely good defensive player too. He’s very physical, and you can see that when he runs the ball. He jumps in track, and that shows in his explosiveness.”
Lawson, a spring graduate, is expected to officially visit Tempe this weekend and sign with the Sun Devils next week. He’s now the second local high school player to commit to the Sun Devils since Dillingham’s arrival in late November and joins Mesa Mountain View offensive lineman Sirri Kandiyeli.
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