Lewis is back at home on DL

“He’s the hardest worker on this team. I can say that hands down. Ever since I’ve been here my freshman year he’s been giving it 110-percent,” senior Darrien Howard said.

Is that not good enough? Ask his coordinator Tony Gibson.

"The kid loves West Virginia and goes out and plays every day as hard as he can play," he said.

And it’s for that reason as well as several others that Lewis was a recipient of a scholarship this past summer. The local product from University High School was not expecting to hear the news that he heard at the final team meeting before the team broke for a few weeks prior to fall camp but he did.

Head coach Dana Holgorsen was rewarding his efforts with a surprise scholarship.

“I didn’t know how to react,” Lewis said.

So he did what he has always done best. He went back to work. Earning a scholarship was great, but Lewis has always had the goal of making an impact on the field. So while one goal was compete, another was far from it and he relied on the chip on his shoulder.

“My goal is to get out there and do the best I can,” he said.

Lewis has fit the role of the consummate teammate throughout his time on campus appearing in a total of 15-career games on the defensive line after walking on with the football program. Further supporting that point is during the spring, the coaching staff asked to make the transition to tight end due to low numbers at the position and he did it with no complaints.

But it’s said home is where the heart is and for Lewis that couldn’t be more true about his role on the defensive line.

So naturally he was excited at the opportunity to move back there after injuries to both Xavier Pegues and Jaleel Fields bit into the depth up front.

“It was like being asked to come back home,” he said.

That’s not to say he didn’t pull some takeaways from his foray into the offensive side of the ball. A student of the game, Lewis was able to gather a better understanding of what those attempting to block him are trying to accomplish and is using that as ammunition in his developing arsenal.

Lewis currently sits right in the middle of the Mountaineers defensive line rotation serving as the next man up behind right side defensive end Christian Brown. It’s a role that Lewis doesn’t take lightly as he has become a frequent observer of his counterparts in order to further develop his game.

“I watch Noble (Nwachukwu) get off the ball and use his hands to attack with the pass rush. And Christian is physical with his hands in the run game,” Lewis said.

While others are being worked at multiple positions, Lewis is maintaining his complete focus on the defensive line and he believes that the effort and technique he’s cultivated at the position has him in line to see his most significant action of his career.

But don’t expect him to stop working.

“He’s the first one in here, the last one out and he’s doing the best he can,” Howard said.