“Coach (Urban) Meyer asked me when I was being recruited, ‘Do you want to be great? Do you want to win a national championship? Do you want to go to the NFL? This is the place to do it.’ ” Lewis said. “At my high school, winning was the main thing. That’s just how it was in my high school. When I came here I felt like I was a part of the winning tradition. Not just that winning in football, but I knew a lot of people who told me about Ohio State and the connections and it was just everything that you could dream of.”
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That dream could include two national championships. Lewis, a 6-foot-4, 266-pound junior, played in all 15 games as a freshman. He earned 25 snaps during the national championship game against Oregon two seasons ago.
Now Lewis is a starter and a star for the No. 3 Buckeyes (11-1), who play No. 2 Clemson (12-1) at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Lewis had 54 tackles last season, ranking sixth on the team, and 14 tackles for a loss, trailing only Joey Bosa. This season, with Ohio State playing more defensive linemen in a rotation, he has 27 tackles and 10 tackles for a loss, including a team-best 7½ sacks.
Lewis could decide to leave after this season for the NFL draft, a path blazed by Bosa and numerous Buckeyes last season. Like his teammates in the same position, he hasn’t decided.
“Of course you’re probably going to get outside pressure or you’ll probably hear from you mother or parents or all of those uncle figures, but for me I’m all one-track minded,” Lewis said. “I don’t really think about all that because I know I have an objective at hand, and my objective is to beat Clemson so I don’t really get all caught up in the hype of the NFL draft until that time comes. Until then I’m just focused on one thing.”
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Lewis has extra motivation this season. He’s playing for injured teammate and fellow defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle. Sprinkle tore his right patellar tendon in the season opener. His season ended almost as soon as it began.
Lewis and Sprinkle hug or shake hands every time Lewis leaves the field.
“I mean when it happened I was shattered,” Lewis said. “Me and Tracy have been living together for four years. We’ve known each other for five or six years, I think. It was just hard. After that, I knew my leadership role had to be placed on more of an emphasis than ever before.”
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