It was Alex Lewis’ coming-out party, and everyone was invited.
Lewis, a JUCO transfer from SUNY-Morrisville, made a serious statement in the first half of UW’s 31-10 win over Arizona Saturday. In the first two quarters the junior linebacker flew all over the field, recording seven tackles and blocking a punt to set up the Badgers’ second touchdown.
In the first quarter, Lewis snuck through the middle of Arizona’s punt protection and dove past punter Ramey Peru, catching the ball off Peru’s foot with his right hand. His notably athletic play swung the game’s momentum permanently in UW’s favor, spotting the Badgers (5-0) a 14-0 lead they would not relinquish.
For Lewis, the play he made was simple.
“I just split the two guys and blocked the ball,” Lewis said. “That’s it.”
“It was a called block,” head coach Barry Alvarez said of Lewis’ play. “We just put a block in. We had a double hold-up. We use two guys to hold up and then we showed the hold-up and stemmed inside. Alex gets a lot of pressure when we send the block. Alex is one-on-one on the long snapper, and we felt he could beat him.”
The play was the icing on the cake for Lewis, who made his presence felt in run support, pass rushing, coverage, and obviously, special teams. The especially active Lewis has made plays in the Badgers’ first four contests but has occasionally seemed to have difficulty adjusting to the speed of the Division 1-A game. Saturday, he looked the most comfortable he has since arriving in Madison.
“You know what? I did not even see who blocked [the punt],” Alvarez said. “They told me Alex did and it does not surprise me. Alex is a wiggler. That is what we used to call those guys in there. You need a wiggler that can run the head of the center and then avoid the out-back and then get the punter’s foot and not be right on top of the punter. You have to go to the side of him.”
Lewis’ nine tackles against Arizona weren’t a career-high — he picked up 10 last week against Northern Illinois — but their impact was much more evident. The 6-foot-1, 238-pound Lewis laid a couple crushing hits on UA tailback Clarence Farmer and teamed up with fellow linebacker Jeff Mack to completely destroy tight end James Hugo late in the first quarter.
The 6-foot-6, 266-pound Hugo caught a Jason Johnson pass over the middle and turned to meet Lewis and Mack, who collided with the big tight end simultaneously. Hugo, who nearly had the ball secured before running into the two hammers of the Wisconsin defense, dropped the ball before slowly peeling himself off the turf.
“Alex started out early — he made a couple big plays early, had some big hits, and that’s good for him. He needs that confidence,” defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. “He’s been playing okay up until today and I think he took the next step today. We really worked him hard last week and made him understand what we’re trying to do, and I think we saw results today.”
Lewis’ transformation into a prime-time player is all the more impressive when one considers his pedigree. Playing at SUNY-Morrisville, Lewis didn’t often encounter offenses as diverse or opportunistic as those Wisconsin has faced this season. Morrisville also didn’t use as many defensive schemes as the Badgers employ, and Lewis has had to learn a thing or two about filling gaps, pass coverage and his responsibility on certain defensive calls.
“It’s just a lot faster and more mental,” Lewis said of the Division 1-A game. “I’m just trying to get better each week, so hopefully I will continue to get better. I’m just concentrating on fundamentals, just trying to get comfortable. [I’m] trying to learn more every day. We’ve got a long way to go. I know I’ve still got a long way to go.”
Even though Lewis may have plenty of room for improvement in his game, Alvarez has been impressed with Lewis’ learning curve.
“Alex just really studies the game. And this is new stuff for him,” Alvarez said. “In junior college, I think they told him, “Sick him,” and “There’s the ball, go get it.” There is a lot more to it, a lot more responsibility, and a lot of different stuff. So this is all new stuff. But Alex loves to play the game. And Alex is physical. And he just brings an excitement to the field, and I think it is contagious with the other guys.”
Cosgrove also can’t ignore Lewis’ potential and has seen his young linebacker develop quickly despite missing spring practices.
“He didn’t have spring ball. He missed a lot of time, missed a lot of reps. He’ll continue to get better, get more comfortable with what he sees, formation-wise, and understanding tendencies,” Alvarez said. “Once he understands that stuff, we expect him to be a pretty good player.”
