Kornacki: Lewis Relishes 'Alpha Dogs' Competition with Peppers
7/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 28, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
CHICAGO, Ill. -- The "alpha dogs" competition in the University of Michigan football team's secondary isn't to be confused with the Westminster Kennel Club contest. There's nothing tame about it.
Cornerback Jourdan Lewis and safety Jabrill Peppers push one another for that title on a daily basis, and the two All-Americans bring out the best in one another.
Lewis grinned and said, "Man, me and Jabrill, sometimes we can bump heads with personalities like we have. We've got two alpha dogs trying to be the best, and we've got Coach (Jim) Harbaugh adding fuel to the fire.
"But, you know, it only brought us closer. I know he wants to win just as bad as I do, and wants to compete just as bad as I do. It brings me a level of respect and love for him."
Lewis, who set a single-season school record with 20 pass breakups and also added some dazzling kickoff returns, has an insatiable desire to become better. He wants to increase the two interceptions he had in 2015.
"If we could've gotten some turnovers in the Michigan State game instead of pass break-ups," said Lewis, "that could've been a determining factor in what happened in that game. So, honestly, I am emphasizing turnovers and catching the ball instead of being in a position to knock the ball down."
Lewis had a career-high six pass breakups and seven tackles against the Spartans, but it wasn't enough to produce a win.
"You've got to work at that," Lewis said of pickoffs. "We don't see the ball until we get our heads turned around, and so we have to practice catching the ball with distractions. That's how we get better, and that's the main thing I'm working on."
He's at the head of the class where dedication is concerned.
Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh said, "Jourdan Lewis has been at every practice, every drill. He's a competitor who wants to get better every single day. He doesn't take time off. He doesn't diminish his effort at any time.
"He's an ascending player, improving player. And when he started to get the recognition of being a really good player, All-American, All-Big Ten ... and acclaim, when he started getting the acclaim, he didn't change a bit. He went through the entire spring practice wanting to get better, wanting to improve every single day. And he's a high-character individual -- and he's a likable guy. He's respected by everybody on the team, but he also has the personality of being very competitive but being very likable with his teammates, because he doesn't act like the big man on campus. He doesn't act like the All-American."
I asked Lewis if repeating as an All-American or winning the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back motivates him.
"What motivates me is being prepared each and every day," he said, leaning forward in a chair in the lobby of a hotel where the Big Ten Football Media Days took place this week. "Making All-American last year was last year, and it's hard to produce one of those years. What motivates me is not being complacent, and knowing that I have this season to play to the best of my abilities."
Lewis literally goes the extra yard on kickoff returns. His 55-yarder midway through the fourth quarter was critical to the Wolverines putting away Penn State and inspired both his teammates and coach.
Prior to jogging out for the return, Lewis told Harbaugh, "I'm going to break their back, right here."
Lewis chuckled when that was recalled.
"One of my first loves is having the ball in my hand," said Lewis, also a receiver at Detroit Cass Tech. "I love offense even more than I love defense. It's knowing that you can wear a defense down with explosive plays and big plays that break the back of a defense or kick coverage team.
"Those are big plays for momentum shifts, just like turnovers. That's what I love to do, make big plays."
He led the Wolverines with 15 kickoff returns for 378 yards and a 25.2-yard average.
Lewis
Peppers
Defense is where Lewis makes his biggest impact. His ability to cover top receivers one-on-one was central to a defense that had three consecutive shutouts against Brigham Young, Maryland and Northwestern.
"That was unbelievable," said Lewis. "Northwestern went onto win 10 games. That was the game that got me to say, 'Whoa, we're on a great stretch.' It was 38-0 in the fourth quarter, and fans chanted, 'Dee-fense! Dee-fense!' I'd never been a part of something like that, one of the best defenses in the nation."
That was the last shutout of the season, but the Wolverines won games with goal-line stands at both Minnesota and Indiana.
"That showed us we were mentally tough and knew how to finish games," said Lewis. "It might not have been the prettiest, but Coach (D.J.) Durkin (then the defensive coordinator) and Coach Harbaugh put it in us that we have to impose our will and finish games.
"A couple of years ago, we might have given up."
The defense saved its next truly great performance for Florida, beating the Gators, 41-7, in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Orlando, even with Peppers out with an injury.
"That was a business trip for us," said Lewis. "It wasn't a bowl game and we're about to have fun. We needed to win that last game, and it was about being prepared.
"We actually out-played them. We out-coached them. We were so well-prepared for that game. We were going two-and-a-half hours every day in (hot) weather. That's what got us over the top. Then we were in there working, watching film. We watched so much film of them that we knew exactly what they were running. The only play they scored on was one we hadn't seen on a trick play.
"The practices were so hard that we said, 'Let's go play somebody else.' We bought into what Coach Harbaugh told us, his system, and we did it. When you prepare that hard, going late into the night, why not go out and kick somebody's butt? That makes the games so fun."
Lewis could've entered the NFL draft, and Harbaugh said there's no better college cornerback. But he stayed.
"Why not finish what you started?" asked Lewis."It's only one more year. Why not go win a Big Ten championship? Why not go win the national championship? Why not have those things to hang your hat on rather than just having a contract?
"You can say, 'He missed out on a lot of money,' but you've got to invest in yourself. That's what you get with your education."
Lewis said finishing his degree and his girlfriend both influenced his decision to stay. He also likes what the program has become under Harbaugh.
"It's all for the better and more positive vibes," said Lewis. "Winning, too, is part of the culture shift. Everything is very detailed and everything we do is to a 'T,' and that got results and changed the culture. We're on our way back now.
"The change started from the head (coach) and the messages he gave to the team from day one. He said if we wanted to compete for the national championship, there had to be some changes, and we had to compete every single day. He expects greatness. Everything we do comes back to competition, and there's no complacency whatsoever."
Spoken like a true alpha dog.
