Crestwood's Lowery commits to The Citadel

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Crestwood High School defensive lineman Parris Lowery had a difficult decision to make.

Heading into his senior season of football, Lowery still doesn't even know if there is going to be high school football this fall. He didn't want to wait and see if that season was going to happen or not, so he decided to make his college commitment early, announcing his intention to play at The Citadel on Tuesday.

"I really didn't know what the future is about to be, so I just committed early so I could have my spot," said Lowery. "I didn't want all the spots (at The Citadel) to fill up before I commit, so I just committed early."

Deciding on a school wasn't easy. Lowery hasn't been able to visit The Citadel yet in person, so he made his choice based on some virtual visits with coaches. While Lowery likes what he's seen on video calls, he acknowledged how odd it is to commit to a school he hasn't seen in person.

"I had a virtual tour over Zoom, the coach gave me a tour of the school to see their locker room and stuff," said the Crestwood lineman. "It's very weird, because you don't know if that's all they're offering, the stuff they show you on the video. You don't know if it's that or if there's more to it."

Crestwood head coach Roosevelt Nelson has nothing but positives to say about his star defensive lineman. He knows The Citadel is getting a student-athlete who is great both on and off the field.

"I told the coach at Citadel that they're getting a fine young man that's got two great parents that did a good job of raising him," said Nelson. "He's definitely a kid that's going to help their program out a lot, because he's very self-motivated, has leadership skills, and he's a guy that's definitely going to give his all every single day."

At the end of the day, Lowery had to find the program that fit him best at a school that provided a great education. That's why he landed at The Citadel.

"The good thing about The Citadel is that they offer what I wanted to major in, which is engineering. It's a great engineering school," said Lowery.

Lowery is glad to have this decision off his chest. With all the uncertainty that's surrounded football for the last few months, it's nice to have one thing set in stone.

"It's an amazing relief," said Lowery. "It's a blessing to be in this moment."

On the COVID recruiting trail Part 6

PARRIS LOWERY - CRESTWOOD SENIOR DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

NOTEWORTHY OFFERS: Committed to The Citadel

How do you think the pandemic affected your recruiting process?

Normally, I wouldn't have committed early, I would've waited until December. The recruiting process has been a long journey and a hard journey through this pandemic.

What would missing out on football this fall mean to you?

It would be heartbreaking. I'm just hoping that I'll have a senior season.

If football was postponed from the fall to the spring, would you enroll early at The Citadel and bypass your senior season?

I haven't really made that decision yet, I'm not sure on that one.