CU linebacker Lewis awaiting his reunion with Washington
BOULDER» Drew Lewis grew up in the Pacific Northwest, but he had to grow up on the prairie.
The Seattle-area high school football star turned University of Washington linebacker turned junior college transfer was exiled to rural southern Kansas. Lewis got a taste of Pac-12 football, and then “I lost it,” he said.
That’s what makes Lewis so thankful for Saturday night’s game at Folsom Field.
The University of Colorado will host No. 7 Washington in a rematch of the 2016 Pac-12 championship game. And Lewis? He’s a second-year Buffalo who leads the team in tackles (35) and snaps (205) entering conference play. Lewis also is the first Buff since 1990 to make 10 or more stops in his first three starts.
Lining up against his former team will be a reminder of what it means to receive a second chance.
“I’ll be antsy on those first couple snaps,” Lewis said. “I know a lot will be going on in my head.”
As a senior at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Wash., Lewis rushed for 1,200 yards and on defense intercepted 10 passes. He signed with Washington as a safety transitioning to linebacker with a powerful, 6-foot-2 frame.
By the summer of his redshirt freshman season, though, Lewis was dismissed for what coach Chris Petersen called “a violation of team rules.” Lewis declined to
elaborate this week but admitted to dropping grades and a general lack of focus.
“Sometimes the problem with going to college where you grow up is you still hang out with a lot of the distractions,” said his father, Will Lewis, who spent more than two decades as an NFL scout. “You get sidetracked where your focus should be.”
Drew Lewis’ last hope at returning to an FBS program was located almost 2,000 miles southeast of Seattle in a town of fewer than 10,000 residents, where water towers and windmills break a seemingly endless Kansas horizon line: Coffeyville Community College.
“It put me out there in a place where I was isolated by myself,” Lewis said. “I got in a little trouble, and knew I had to tighten up a little bit. I came to junior college, and that was my first experience to actually go out on my own and see if I could actually practice what I preach, hanging out with better people and making better decisions.”
CU wide receiver Juwann Winfree was a teammate of Lewis’ at Coffeyville in 2015 and, similar to Lewis’ situation, Winfree was there because he lost his scholarship at Maryland after one season for an unspecified violation of team rules.
“Once you get that dismissal, it hurts a lot. I’ve had the same,” said Winfree, who bonded with Lewis during a shared official visit to Boulder. “I could tell what he’d been through. You get looked down upon by peers, coaches and friends. But you always appreciate the ones that are always in your corner. I’m pretty sure he had a lot of people in his corner. They just kept him strong.”
A renewed focus led to more balanced nutrition, increased focus in class and games. When CU coach Mike MacIntyre began his recruitment of Winfree, Coffeyville coach Aaron Flores suggested he check out Lewis too. Former CU defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt developed a strong relationship with Lewis, speaking for 30 or 40 minutes each visit, and the Buffs offered a scholarship. Lewis chose CU over Utah State and Memphis.
CU’s coaching staff did its homework in evaluating Lewis’ character and, so far, its faith has been rewarded. “He’s an excellent student. It all worked out well,” MacIntyre said.
Petersen, the Washington coach, said of Lewis: “(A) good athlete, and I know he’s doing well over there, so I’m happy for him.”
Lewis is looking forward to handshakes with former teammates and coaches he still considers friends. But that can wait until after the game. The Huskies rushed for 265 yards against the Buffs last December. Lewis wants to ensure it won’t happen again.
“I’ve been locked in every single game,” Lewis said. “I’m trying to (make) the biggest contribution that I can to this team.”