Alabama outside linebacker Terrell Lewis, even after all the resilience he has shown in coming back from elbow and knee injuries, admitted this week that he took a play off in last Saturday night’s 35-13 win over Tennessee.
Well, maybe it was more like half a play.
When Crimson Tide cornerback Trevon Diggs returned a Jarrett Guarantano fumble 100 yards for a backbreaking score midway through the fourth quarter, Lewis decided he would trail Diggs down the sideline. Then he changed his mind.
“I knew he was going to take it all the way,” a smiling Lewis said this week in a news conference. “That’s why I stopped at the 40. I was running behind him, and then I was like, ‘There is no point in doing all this.’ I figured I would just meet up later and congratulate him.”
That Lewis was able to make light of that play assuredly means he avoided any wrath from coach Nick Saban or defensive coordinator Pete Golding in video study, and it’s not like he wasn’t providing his share of contributions. After collecting two sacks during Alabama’s 47-28 triumph at Texas A&M on Oct. 12, Lewis produced two more against the Volunteers.
The 6-foot-5, 252-pound redshirt junior from Washington, D.C., enters Saturday night’s game against visiting Arkansas leading the Southeastern Conference with nine tackles for loss and six sacks. He shares the sack lead with Auburn senior defensive end Marlon Davidson and was surprised to learn of his standing.
“I’ve been thinking that there are so many I have missed,” Lewis said. “The fact I’m leading is kind of scary. It’s almost like I’m a little disappointed, but it’s something I can build off of knowing that I’ve missed a game, too.”
Davidson feasted on the Razorbacks last weekend, racking up three tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery in Auburn’s 51-10 cruise. Arkansas quarterback Ben Hicks has dealt with shoulder soreness this week, and Razorbacks coach Chad Morris knows Lewis will present problems for whoever starts inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Alabama is 7-0 overall and 4-0 in SEC play, while Arkansas is 2-5 and 0-4, having lost 15 league games in a row dating to the 2017 season.
“What they’ve done is put Lewis in different positions, obviously, to where they can bring him off the edge in a rush situation,” Morris said. “He’s 6-5, 260, and very long, and he is athletic as he comes around that edge. You will see him drop into pass coverage as well.
“He’s very versatile. I know he’s battled injuries, but when he’s out there and he’s going, he’s definitely a guy you have to account for.”
That Lewis has made it to late October is a thrill he has not experienced since 2016, when he was a true freshman simply savoring any playing time at all. He missed 10 games in 2017 due to an elbow injury he suffered in the opener against Florida State, and his 2018 season was shelved by a torn ACL in July conditioning workouts.
Lewis has tallied at least one lost-yardage stop in seven consecutive games, a streak that started with a 13-yard overtime sack of Georgia’s Jake Fromm in the national championship contest of the 2017 season.
“It’s cool knowing things are starting to get rolling for me,” Lewis said, “but nobody talks about who’s leading in sacks after week seven. I come in every week and remember the good plays, but I really remember the bad ones. There were a lot of plays last week that I felt I left on the table.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.