Jordan Hamm
Class of 2022 Chaparral defensive lineman Anthony Lucas has been one of the most recruited players in Arizona. After winning a 6A state title with the Firebirds in 2020, Lucas has focused on basketball, getting bigger and going through the recruiting process.
The No. 26 player in the country according to 247 Sports cut his list to 10 on Wednesday: Florida State, USC, Texas, Alabama, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Michigan, Georgia, Oregon and UCLA.
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I talked to Lucas last week, and he said Arizona State and USC were the two schools recruiting him hardest.
The Trojans have two coaches that have built strong relationships with Lucas in defensive line coach Vic So’oto and director of high school realtions Armond Hawkins Jr.
“Coach Hawkins is one of the younger coaches in college football right now and he really connects with younger people a lot,” Lucas said. “They’re always hitting me up (wanting to play NBA 2K). Coach Soto is always calling me during their lift, showing me live footage of what they do on the daily.”
The 6-foot-5, 280 pound Lucas has visited campuses on self-guided tours and hopes to see programs up close when official visits open up. He hopes to commit at the All-American Bowl in January in San Antonio.
In the 2020 game, Saguaro’s Kelee Ringo, the top cornerback in the country, committed to Georgia during the game.
Lucas was in attendance and participated in the All-American Bowl combine, standing out among defensive lineman. Now, he’ll get to participate in the game.
“It was really dope because me going out there last year to watch the game and see Kelee and all those other people playing,” Lucas said.
Lucas and Chandler wide reciever Kyion Grayes are already on the 2022 bowl roster and more could be added from the state of Arizona. It’s the third consecutive year State 48 has had multiple players in the game.
“There’s some ballers over here,” Lucas said. “We’re a little underrated. There’s some dogs at different positions. They might not be the biggest, but they are definitely the hardest working.”
In two seasons at the varsity level, Lucas has notched 75 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and one interception.
It’s been a busy, and sometimes stressful, recruitment for Lucas, but he credits defensive coordinator Derrick Nsubuga and head coach Brent Barnes for helping him navigate this process.
