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BYU Football Countdown: Player 55 – Hurdles

By Adam Gibby

1 Jan 1997: Tight end Chad Lewis of the Brigham Young Cougars goes up for the ball as Kansas State Wildcats defensive back Demetric Denmark tackles him during the Cotton Bowl at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. BYU won the game, 19-15. Mandatory Credit
1 Jan 1997: Tight end Chad Lewis of the Brigham Young Cougars goes up for the ball as Kansas State Wildcats defensive back Demetric Denmark tackles him during the Cotton Bowl at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. BYU won the game, 19-15. Mandatory Credit /
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1 Jan 1997: Tight end Chad Lewis of the Brigham Young Cougars goes up for the ball as Kansas State Wildcats defensive back Demetric Denmark tackles him during the Cotton Bowl at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. BYU won the game, 19-15. Mandatory Credit
1 Jan 1997: Tight end Chad Lewis of the Brigham Young Cougars goes up for the ball as Kansas State Wildcats defensive back Demetric Denmark tackles him during the Cotton Bowl at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. BYU won the game, 19-15. Mandatory Credit /

No. 55 Chad Lewis, Tight End – 1993-1996

Chad Lewis similarly to Tom Holmoe yesterday  went on from BYU to do great things for the team that if accounted for in this ranking would push his rankings higher than they are now. But since this rankings isn’t about that, he lands at 55, which is still in the top 1.5% of BYU players ever.

Lewis is known for his story of joining the BYU Football team as a walk on and then catching a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl for the Philadelphia Eagles. What often gets forgotten though is what happened in between those two events.

Chad Lewis doesn’t have the flashiest statistics or tons of memorable moments while at BYU, but his impact is what drives his ranking to be as high as it is.

Rankings

Impact A

It has been 23 years since the last time that Chad Lewis put on a BYU uniform and yet he is probably talked about more than any other player before the year 2000 unless you are talking about quarterbacks or Jamal Willis. For a tight end to have that kind effect on people so many years later shows the true impact that he made both on and off the field. He never had a standout season with 500 receiving yards or ten touchdowns, but his story and his determination and leadership impacted not only the team from 1993-1996 but all the way until today.

Statistics D+

Lewis had decent statistics, but nothing that deserves to be in the Top 100 all time at BYU. He did play all four seasons which helps, but his 1,453 receiving yards and ten touchdowns throughout his career is nothing to celebrate per say in the sense of being an all time great. The 12.21 average is decent but not spectacular. Overall, his statistics are the worst for any receiver on this list. He did block quite a bit which gives him a bit of slack, but there is no way to justify any grade higher than a D+.

Reminder that the rankings are based off of the Top 100. A tight end who has those stats over a career is obviously a really good tight end but against the other players in the Top 100 it is not very good.

Memorable Moments B+

With limited touchdowns and receptions you may think it would be tough to find highlights of Chad Lewis that are memorable, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Lewis was known for hurdling, diving and pulling down the most incredible catches during his career. He also blocked at least two field goals. It seemed like every time that the ball was being to Lewis something exciting was going to happen whether that was a fingertip catch, a spin move to avoid multiple defenders or hurdling a player on his way for an extra ten yards.

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