Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JUNE/JULY 2021 47 None of it was too much for him to handle. Now? He's expected to be a defen- sive linchpin and continue to stabilize a position where Notre Dame hasn't developed many early round NFL draft picks or recruited particularly well in recent years. Recruiting misses sting a bit less with his emergence. It seems Lewis' shoulders can han- dle the load. "He's always comfortable," junior cornerback Cam Hart said. "He's al- ways relaxed. He's never worried about anything. That was something I noticed quickly. That was an attri- bute of his that allowed him to have the season he had. "Expecting a big season out of him." 'JUST GET THE JOB DONE' Kelly tried to tread carefully first, but knew he couldn't drown the boldness of his upcoming statement with a disclaimer. A few minutes earlier, right before a Labor Day Zoom media session, Notre Dame's first depth chart des- ignated Lewis as a co-starting corner with then-junior TaRiq Bracy for last year 's opener against Duke. Lewis was the only defensive freshman on it. Kelly was asked why. After dis- cussing innate skills and preparation, he took the plunge. "Comparisons are easy to make and sometimes we run with them and they're taken too far," Kelly cautioned, "but we started another young man as a true freshman, and his name was KeiVarae Russell." In a normal press conference, heads would have jerked upward at attention. Russell, after all, started every game as a freshman in 2012 and stands as Notre Dame's highest- drafted corner of the 21st century. He plays for the Green Bay Packers. "Clarence has clearly demon- strated that as a true freshman that we could put him on the field at the same level or possibly even higher level than the level KeiVarae had to play as a true freshman," Kelly said. Turns out, it wasn't too crazy. Like Russell, Lewis ended the year as a freshman starter for a team that went to the postseason with a path to a title in front of it. Russell had four passes defended 13 games in 2012. Lewis nearly doubled that. After not playing on defense in the opener, he filled in for Bracy the next week and broke up three passes. He added a little more trust to the bank he had been gradually filling since June 2020. By November, he had ac- cumulated enough for Notre Dame to throw him in the game against then-No. 1 Clemson after a struggling Bracy gave up a 53-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Lewis played the remaining 70 defensive snaps. "Just get the job done," Lewis said. "I got confidence because they trusted me." The next week, he started at Bos- ton College. When Bracy again was pulled after allowing an early touch- down Nov. 27 at North Carolina, Lewis replaced him and helped the Irish shut down a potent Tar Heels offense the rest of the way. He started Notre Dame's final three games. In hindsight, it felt like a blur. The academic demands were an adjust- ment, too, he told Mangiero. "It was definitely fast last year," Lewis said. "I feel like this season, I'm trying to work on my patience and slow the game down." Few outside observers would've known. He certainly looked prepared and calm in the moment. With Lewis, those are two guarantees. "He's eager to learn," said Ryan Daly, Lewis' trainer and a former Mater Dei assistant. "When Clarence gets into a meeting room, he's going to want to learn, want to ask ques- tions. He's not going to sit there and just say, 'This is the information' and space out during meetings. He will sit there and do a good job process- ing and retaining the information. "As soon as he learns something, he comes onto the field and shows he's capable of doing it." PLENTY LEFT TO DO Mindsets and mental fortitude aside, Lewis' 2020 opportunity doesn't happen without some innate athletic traits. That starts with his speed, an as- set at the field corner spot. He ran a reported 4.45 40-yard dash as a high school sophomore at a summer camp that prompted Virginia Tech to offer him on the spot after watching him. Notre Dame wasn't turned off by a 4.59 at The Opening's New Jersey regional in spring 2019. He was also a reliable enough tackler to, by and large, limit runs after the catch. Syracuse challenged him by throwing at him 12 times in a Dec. 5 meeting, per Pro Football Focus. Ten of those were catches, but for just 74 yards (28 after the catch). Elsewhere, Mangiero touted Lewis' advanced technique for a freshman — a credit to Mater Dei defensive coordinator Jake Pew, whom he calls a "college secondary coach." It's easy to forget he's only a soph- omore now. As with most anyone that age, there are areas that need de- veloping. Strength, key among them for Lewis. Under first-year coordinator Mar- cus Freeman, Notre Dame's defense will make its corners play man cov- erage most of the time. That'll put Lewis on an island, or even in press coverage. There's a requisite strength level needed for that. "It's catch-up in the weight room with the physical traits," Kelly said. "He's doing a nice job. He has some work to do. That's where this sum- mer will be huge for him. "We got shut down off and on a bit this year, so it wasn't the great- est year in terms of strength training improvement for him." Added Lewis: "Just working on my breaks, trying to get stronger. That's pretty much it." Lewis will spend some time at home in New Jersey working with Daly on both, just like he did last spring before arriving. Sometimes, those training sessions are with NFL linebackers and fellow Daly clients Shilique Calhoun and Brandon Copeland. Lewis also frequently trains with Boston College defensive end and former high school teammate Shitta Sillah. Mater Dei and Daly's gym are a county over from Lewis' hometown of Edison. Whether he had to hitch a ride with a teammate, take a bus to a train or stay at his grandmother's house overnight to be closer to the gym for an early morning workout, he got himself there without fail. "His want to get better is some- thing that will take him very far," Daly said. There ought to be no surprises if he goes that distance. ✦ "I'd say I was a little surprised. I just didn't know what to expect when I first got here. I just put my head down and went to work." LEWIS