HAMMOND -- A pair of Football Bowl Subdivision transfers are enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana and will continue their careers with the Lions, SLU interim coach Greg Stevens announced Thursday.
Quarterback Chason Virgil (Mesquite, Texas | Fresno State) and defensive back Xavier Lewis (East St. John | LSU) are the transfers. Both will participate in spring practice and have two years of eligibility remaining.
“We’re excited about adding two student-athletes of Chason and Xavier’s caliber to our program,” Stevens said. “We expect both of them to come in and make an immediate positive impact.”
Virgil spent the past three seasons at Fresno State. After receiving a medical redshirt in 2015, he started 14 games and passed for 2,843 yards and 19 touchdowns. In 2016, he became just the third freshman in program history to throw for more than 2,000 yards in a season and was seventh nationally in passing yards among FBS freshmen.
A four-year starter at West Mesquite, Virgil threw for over 6,800 yards to go with over 1,000 yards rushing during his career with the Wranglers. The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Virgil was named the District 12-5A Co-MVP as a senior.
Lewis played in 15 games at LSU. The 6-0, 200-pound cornerback recorded 14 tackles. Coming out of East St. John, Lewis was rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals, ESPN, Scout and 247Sports. ESPN ranked the versatile Lewis, who played quarterback, wide receiver, punter, kicker, punt returner and kickoff returner in addition to cornerback as the No. 13 cornerback in the nation coming out of high school.
Lewis and Virgil run the total of 2018 additions to the SLU roster to 11, as the Lions added nine during the December signing window. National Signing Day is Feb. 7.
The Lions open spring practice March 13 and the 2018 season begins at ULM on Sept. 1.
