MOCKSVILLE — Davie County’s All-State linebacker Patrick Lowery watched Sunday’s Duke-N.C. State basketball game in person, and he’s still a Wolfpack fan and a Wolfpack man.
Now, that’s loyalty.
This morning in gym class, Lowery even handed out a scouting report that might have helped State coach Herb Sendek. “Mike Dunleavy can shoot,” offered Lowery, accurately, if belatedly.
Lowery may not be much help to Sendek — except as a rooter — the next four years, but he could considerably boost the fortunes of Chuck Amato’s football team. Lowery committed to the Wolfpack after his official visit over the weekend — a visit that was capped by a choice seat in the magnificent ESA.
That Lowery is headed to Raleigh is no surprise. He’s listed the Wolfpack as the leader for his services since last summer, mostly because State offers the academic courses he’s interested in. And make no mistake, this guy is a genuine student-athlete.
“He wants to go into turf management or architectural landscaping,” said Davie coach Doug Illing. “I think that gave State an edge over most of the others.”
“It did give State a head-start,” confirmed Lowery. “I looked at academics first, and then took a look at football.”
Meanwhile, a lot of people have been looking at Lowery since he was a junior.
Twice All-State and certainly one of the best ever at Davie, Lowery, son of the school’s athletic director and wrestling coach (Buddy), put up staggering numbers. In three years, he had 435 tackles, 45 of them for losses.
As a senior, he had 173 tackles, 22 for losses. He also blocked two kicks, forced three fumbles, recovered three fumbles. made two interceptions and scored two touchdowns. Whew!
Illing knows those numbers by heart and can recite them as routinely as his own social security number. Not because he’s a stat freak, but because he’s asked for them so often by the media and college coaches.
“The numbers are great, but tell only a part of the story,” said Illing. “Patrick was definitely our focus, our playmaker, but one guy still isn’t going to make a defense. But he’s got leadership. He’s one of those people that makes the other 10 guys around him better, too. That’s why we had one of the state’s top defenses.”
Lowery’s exploits caught the attention of a number of Division I programs, even though Lowery (6-foot-2, 220 pounds, 4.65 speed in the 40-yard dash) is neither huge, nor incredibly fast. At least by ACC standards.
But he’s got a double helping of all the intangibles —heart, discipline, smarts and instincts.
“The State coaches that watched me told me it looks like I always know where the ball’s going before the snap,” said Lowery. “They said that helped me out a lot.”
East Carolina (Buddy’s alma mater) offered a scholarship early, as did Duke. Carolina finally made an offer, just about the time was Lowery was packing for his visit to State. Clemson, Virginia Tech and Virginia were still calling frequently until Lowery made his official announcement.
The thing that cemented Lowery’s decision easy was Amato’s assurance that he won’t red-shirt next season.
“They play three linebackers and lose two (including All-American Levar Fisher),” he said. “Coach Amato told me he believes I can play any of the three. They’ve told me they expect me to play on special teams as a freshman and I’ll get a chance to work in at linebacker.”
Lowery, a Shrine Bowl selection, will head to summer school in July and will start learning the Wolfpack system.
“They’ve told me the quicker I learn the quicker I’ll play,” said Lowery. “And what State does is not that much different than what we did at Davie.”
“He’s got the chance to play immediately,” said Illing. “They’re not just offering a scholarship, they’re wanting him to play right now. That’s exciting, because Amato has an up-and-coming program that’s going to compete for ACC championships.”
One thing’s for sure, Lowery, who, by the way, is 25-0 this wrestling season, is walking around with a smile on his face. That grin says relief that his decision’s made and it also expresses satisfaction that all those extra hours in weight rooms and on practice fields paid off. “My family’s relieved and I’m happy,” he said. “I had options, but I’m going where I want to go.”
“I expect Patrick to lead the ACC in tackles one day,” said Illing. “There were big-time schools that said he was too small or not fast enough, but he’s gonna do a job for State. Everyone’s gonna wish they’d offered him a scholarship.”
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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