One of the things that Lake football coach Tate Hanna realizes is that the Hornets are going to have to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers.
And one of the main playmakers for the Hornets is Zywon Ledbetter, the latest addition to The Newton County Appeal’s Elite 11.
Ledbetter enters his senior year as the Hornets top receiving threat on offense.
He stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs 192 pounds while running a high 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. Last year, Ledbetter had 800 yards receiving while making 60-plus tackles on defense. In the weight room, Ledbetter benches 245 and squats 455 pounds.
Veteran coach Hanna said Ledbetter still hasn’t tapped into his vast potential.
“Zywon has the biggest ceiling out of anyone that we have,” Hanna said. “His potential is crazy. Last year, we played him at outside linebacker in our 3-4 scheme, and of course he played slot and receiver for us. He’s a home-run threat for us. He can catch a slant and take it 90 yards for a touchdown.”
Hanna said the rising senior is a threat to take it the distance any time he touches the football.
“We are going to get the ball into the hands of our skill people, and Zywon is certainly one of those guys we have to get the ball to,” Hanna said. “He has the potential to take a slant or a hit and take it all the way. In the spring game, he had two touchdowns off not many receptions, and two of the catches he made were huge. He probably has the best hands of anybody we have on the team. Every college coach that comes through wants to know about his hands. They like how big his hands are and how physical he is.”
Ledbetter said he wants to improve on his receiving numbers from last year.
“My goal is to reach 1,000 yards receiving,” Ledbetter said. “I was close to it last year, I had 800 something yards last year. It wasn’t that far away but was far enough. I want to get to 1,000 yards this season and do better this year. Brady (McGee) has stepped up and surprised me at quarterback and has come a long way since last year. I like playing on the offensive side of the ball. I like scoring touchdowns.”
While Hanna described Danarrious Hughes as the team’s dog on defense, that’s the role he wants Ledbetter to take on offense.
“He is going to have to be the dog on the offensive side of the football,” Hanna said. “He needs to be the one who takes over on the offensive side of the football. Danarrious is our dog on defense. Well, Zywon needs to be that guy on offense for us. He leans more toward the offensive side of the ball. He’s a little more flashy and likes to be seen. With us, that’s a good thing because he wants the ball in his hands. On third down, you go down into the huddle, and he wants the ball. He’s always telling me that if we want a first down, just give him the ball, and he’ll go get it.”
Hanna realized he has to get Ledbetter the ball more this season.
“For us to be successful, we are going to have to get the ball to him,” Hanna said. “We have to give him a chance to make plays and that’s something that I don’t think we did a good job of toward the end of last year. We did a good job of it at the first of the year, but we have to get the ball in Zywon and Danarrious’s hands as much as possible. They are our playmakers and we have to get them the ball.”
While Ledbetter is most comfortable on offense, Hanna said he will have a bigger role on defense.
“On defense, we are bumping him to safety also,” Hanna said. “So, we are going to have our two best players at safety. I think safety fits him a little better. He’s looked really good there during 7-on-7 this summer. Putting him back there makes us really strong on the back end and should help us against teams who throw the football. With Danarrious (Hughes), that’s a good group of safeties.”
Hanna said Ledbetter is drawing plenty of interest from the Mississippi junior colleges and has offers from East Mississippi, East Central, Gulf Coast, Hinds, Holmes, Pearl River and Copiah-Lincoln. Hanna said South Alabama, Alcorn State and Louisiana-Monroe have also shown interest. Currently, Ledbetter has a 16 on the ACT but recently took the test again this summer in hopes of improving that score to an 18 and becoming a Division I qualifier. Ledbetter said he is going to take the recruiting process out to signing day.
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do as far as college,” Ledbetter said. “I’m probably going to wait until it’s time to sign before I decide where to go. Just going see which one is best for me, see which one has the best major for me. I’m taking the ACT again and hoping to improve on my score and see what happens.”
Ledbetter said education will be a contributing factor on where he signs.
“I could have graduated early but decided to come back for my senior year,” Ledbetter said. “I want be an engineer or maybe major in computer science. The education part is going to be an important part of where I sign. That’s important to me.”
Ledbetter said there is one main reason he came back for his senior year.
“We are trying to get that ring,” Ledbetter said. “We are getting better every day and that’s our goal. We just want to work hard and get better every day. Everybody has to buy into their role and do their job. We are coming together as a team
Ledbetter is also a standout on the Lake basketball team, where he led the team in scoring last year. He has already made an impression on new Lake basketball coach Darrin Gray.
“He has made a big impression on me,” Gray said. “I love his leadership skill, and he works really hard and is very dependable. He is going to be there on time and those are things that I believe in. I want kids who are going to lead, work hard and be on time. And he’s a phenomenal athlete. He has a lot of speed and is a go getter. He’s very, very coachable.”
Gray said Ledbetter would have an expanded role in basketball this season.
“We are going to play him at the point guard,” Gray said. “He’s a solid basketball player. He’s very physical, and we need him to work on his shooting. But he’s one of the two or three kids that I was hoping was going to be there. He will fit in well for us and help us win some basketball games.”
