Eugene Brenton Lewis (born April 20, 1993) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[1] He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and Oklahoma Sooners.[2][3]
| No. 87 Edmonton Elks | |
 Lewis with the Edmonton Elks in 2023 | |
| Born: | April 20, 1993 Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Career information | |
| Status | Active |
| CFL status | American |
| Position(s) | Wide receiver |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 208 lb (94 kg) |
| College | Penn State Oklahoma |
| High school | Plymouth (PA) Wyoming Valley West |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 2017–2022 | Montreal Alouettes |
| 2023–present | Edmonton Elks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| CFL All-Star | 2021, 2022, 2024 |
| CFL East All-Star | 2019, 2021, 2022 |
| CFL West All-Star | 2024 |
| Awards | 2022 Terry Evanshen Trophy |
| Career stats | |
| Receptions | 276 |
| Targets | 438 |
| Receiving yards | 4,347 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 28 |
| |
Early life
editLewis played four years of football at Wyoming Valley West. He joined Ron Powlus and Raghib Ismail as one of the most heavily recruited players from the Wyoming Valley Conference.[4]
Lewis was recruited to play at Penn State by coach Joe Paterno, though he also had offers from Oregon and Virginia Tech, among other schools.[5]
College career
editLewis played for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2012 to 2015. He was redshirted in 2012. He transferred to play for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2016. He played in 51 games, starting 19, during his college career, catching 122 passes for 1,569 yards and 10 touchdowns.[6]
Professional career
editPre-draft
editLewis was rated the 71st best wide receiver in the 2017 NFL draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[7]
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
204 lb (93 kg) |
4.62 s | 1.59 s | 2.67 s | 4.35 s | 7.09 s | 38+1⁄2 in (0.98 m) |
10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
9 reps | |||
| All values from Oklahoma Pro Day[7] | ||||||||||||
After going undrafted, Lewis attended rookie minicamp with the Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks in May 2017.[8]
Montreal Alouettes
editLewis signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on June 12, 2017.[9] His first season in the CFL was quiet, playing on only two games and catching seven passes. Lewis briefly restarted his basketball career in November 2017 with the NEPA Stars & Stripes franchise in the American Basketball Association.[10] In the following two seasons in the CFL, Lewis became a starting wide receiver for the Alouettes, playing in all 36 regular season games and catching a combined 116 passes for 1,960 yards with nine touchdowns. Lewis was named a CFL East All-Star following the 2019 season.[11] After the 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic he re-signed with the Alouettes on December 16, 2020.[12] Lewis had an outstanding season in 2021, catching 62 passes for 964 yards with nine touchdowns. His strong play was rewarded as he was named a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career.[13] On December 16, 2021, Lewis and the Alouettes agreed to a contract extension through the 2022 CFL season.[14] Lewis had an outstanding season with the Alouettes in 2022, playing in 17 regular season games and catching 91 passes for 1,303 yards with 10 touchdowns. He finished second in the league in receptions, and third in both receiving yards and touchdown receptions. He was named the East Division's Most Outstanding Player, earning the Terry Evanshen Trophy in the process.[15] In late January 2023, as a pending free agent, Lewis took to social media to announce his intention to enter free agency in February.[16]
Edmonton Elks
editLewis joined the Edmonton Elks as a free agent on February 14, 2023.[17] On June 29, 2023, Lewis was placed on the six-game injured list with a knee injury.[18] At the time of the injury he had played in three games, and caught 11 passes for 200 yards and one touchdown.
References
edit- ^ "Eugene Lewis".
- ^ Johnson, Travis (September 26, 2014). "Penn State football: Mentally tough Lewis uses father's struggles as inspiration". Centre Daily Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ Sokoloski, Paul (October 4, 2014). "A star in the making". Times Leader. Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ BENNETT, STEVE. "Recruiting of Valley West's Eugene Lewis created huge buzz". Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ Bennett, Steve. "Tech-savvy JoePa makes recruiting pitch to Lewis". Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "GENO LEWIS". soonersports.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ a b "Geno Lewis". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ Bennett. Steve (May 10, 2017). "Former Valley West star Lewis headed to Seahawks". seahawks.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "CFL TRANSACTIONS". cfl.ca. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Bufano, Matt. "Lewis joining NEPA Stars & Stripes". Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "2019 CFL Division All-Stars Announced". CFL.ca. November 6, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ^ "Adams Jr. restructures deal with Als; team retains WR Eugene Lewis". CFL.ca. December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "2021 CFL Division All-Stars unveiled". CFL.ca. November 24, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ TSN ca Staff (December 16, 2021). "Alouettes extend QB Adams Jr., WR Lewis - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ "Collaros, Lewis in the running for CFL's outstanding player award". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- ^ 3Down Staff (January 25, 2023). "CFL all-star Eugene Lewis says he's going to free agency, tweets epic Allen Iverson rant". 3DownNation. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Elks ink receiver Eugene Lewis". goelks.com. February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ "Edmonton Elks Eugene Lewis placed on six-game injured list". TSN. June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.