Former Tarboro standout and current senior defensive lineman for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Tyquan Lewis was guest speaker Thursday night to the Enfield Warriors season end banquet.
Tyquan Lewis is the reigning Big Ten Conference defensive lineman of the year and the leader of what is expected to be one of the top defensive lines in the nation ... he's a fifth-year senior who has played in 41 games, started 26 times, has earned his degree in sociology and was part of the 2014 national championship team, but he wants more ... "I can honestly say that I love my teammates, coaches and support staff...and am so proud of being a part of four Ohio State teams...but I am still hungry for more," Lewis wrote in early January ... Ohio State's leader in quarterback sacks in each of the past two years, Lewis enters his senior campaign with 92 career tackles and 27 tackles-for-loss, a total that includes 16.5 quarterback sacks ... he also has three pass break-ups and has forced three fumbles.
Notable: Lewis ranks 14th at Ohio State in career sacks and he is in position for a Top 5 all-time ranking with seven more sacks ... 11 sacks this year would position Lewis No. 2 all-time at Ohio State, trailing only Mike Vrabel, who had 36 between 1993-96.
Honors & Awards:
2016: Big Ten's Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten (coaches and media), Team captain
2015: Honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches and media)
2016 Season (Junior): Lewis started all 13 games and was a leader for the nation's sixth-ranked total defensive unit, one that was No. 3 in both scoring and passing efficiency defense, by contributing 29 tackles and team-high in tackles-for-loss (10.5 for 61 yards) and quarterback sacks (8.0 for 55 yards) ... he was credited with the walk-off sack that all of his line-mates were also a part of in the overtime win at No. 8 Wisconsin ... recorded 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the one-point win at Michigan State ... season totals also included fivequarterback pressures and three forced fumbles that were tied for 2nd-most in the Big Ten.
2015 Season (Sophomore): Lewis started all 13 games for the 12-1 Buckeyes and ranked sixth on the team from his defensive end position in total tackles with 54 … included was 14.0 tackles-for-loss (second-most on the team behind Joey Bosa) and a team-high 8.0 quarterback sacks with both figures among the Top 10 in the Big Ten Conference … was named honorable mention all-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media … recorded a personal-best 3.5 tackles-for-loss vs. Indiana plus had 2.5 vs. Maryland and 2.0 vs. Virginia Tech … registered career-best 2.0 sacks vs. Maryland … 16 TFL yards vs. Maryland also set a personal best … set a career-best with eight total tackles against Michigan State and with seven stops vs. Northern Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota … ranked second among defensive linemen with 731 snaps … had at least one special teams snap in every game.
2014 Season (Freshman): Lewis played in all 15 games for the College Football Playoff national champions ... his 224 plays included 201 snaps on the defensive line with the rest special team's appearances ... had a personal-best 36 plays vs. Illinois and had 35 vs. Kent State ... was called on for 25 snaps along the defensive line in the national title game vs. Oregon ... he had nine tackles on the season, including 2.5 tackles-for-loss (8 yards) and a quarterback hurry.
More on Tyquan:Lewis was a four-star defensive end prospect (Rivals, Scout, 247Sports) from Tarboro, N.C., and Tarboro High School ... a Top 25 defensive end who comes from a tremendous program at Tarboro ... the Vikings, coached by Jeff Craddock, won three consecutive North Carolina Class 2A state championships and had won 21 consecutive games before falling in the 2012 state championship to East Lincoln ... Lewis was injured in the title game but still played and earned defensive player of the game honors ... he finished his senior season with 13 sacks and was named to the Associated Press all-state team ... he had 12 sacks among his 63 tackles as a junior ... is the son of Tyronda Whitaker, and a proud big brother to three younger brothers: Kenai, Tylie and Christian.
