Southern QB Lewis quits team

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

Southern fifth-year senior quarterback J.C. Lewis has left the team, head coach Pete Richardson confirmed Tuesday.

Lewis met with Richardson on Monday afternoon, two days after Lewis stayed on the bench for the second straight game. SU did not practice Monday, returning to the practice fields Tuesday without Lewis for the first time since he came to school in 2003.

“He decided it’s in his best interests that he doesn’t want to play anymore,” Richardson said.

Known for his cool demeanor, Lewis was Southern’s top starter the last two seasons and was one of two team captains last season.

However, Lewis missed two games after suffering from concussions and, after regaining his starting role Nov. 4 (after two appearances off the bench), he injured his shoulder making a block in the second quarter and never played in a game again.

After the shoulder injury, Bryant Lee came off the bench to lead a 34-17 win over Texas Southern and since has gone 3-1 as a starter, winning his last three starts, including two this season.

“He was one of the most courageous quarterbacks to ever play here,” SU offensive coordinator Mark Orlando said of the culmination of hits Lewis took. Lewis was also sacked 28 times in nine games in 2005.

Lewis’ departure brings an end to a career that was once so full of promise.

Lewis finishes as the school’s sixth-best all-time passer, with 3,667 yards (335-for-536, 62.5 percent, with 30 touchdowns to 16 interceptions). Early last season, he seemed poised to reach the top three by the end of his career.

He threw for 558 yards and seven touchdowns in the first two games last season, with the Jaguars starting 2-0. But Lewis suffered from big blows in the next two games, starting with Prairie View, and threw seven interceptions and two touchdowns in those two games, both losses.

Lewis graduated with a bachelor’s degree in May and returned to pursue graduate studies in mathematics this fall.

Class conflicts limited Lewis’ availability in the spring, and faced with choosing between Lee, Lewis and a fast-closing Warren Matthews, SU’s staff left the quarterback derby open. However, after Lewis did not attend any of the summer sessions or the voluntary conditioning, Richardson said in late July, on the eve of preseason camp, that Lee and Matthews would be the only contenders.

Lewis was a solid third choice, but his lack of mobility didn’t help, considering the team was moving to an offense based on the quarterback running.

“I thought he did an outstanding job for us, but it boils down to competition,” Richardson said. “He lost a lot of time in the spring and really wasn’t fit when he came back. It was just a matter of him making a decision for himself.”

Matthews, who saw his first collegiate action running in the season opener but has yet to throw a pass, is No. 2 behind Lee. SU also has redshirt freshman Gary Hollimon and junior C.J. Byrd, who returned to practice early this month after being out since a late July car accident.

“It hurts us from the aspect of depth,” Richardson said. “But our quarterbacks are gaining experience. The more they play, the better understanding of the system they get and the better they’ll be.”

Williams to have surgery
Sophomore Tremaine Williams, a special teams player and reserve cornerback, will have surgery on his right knee, Richardson said, and likely is out for the season.

Williams, who did not practice or play as a nonqualifier last season, had one tackle this season. He was injured covering a kickoff with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter of a 23-6 win over Mississippi Valley State in Chicago.

Richardson said the school would look into the possibility of obtaining a medical redshirt for this season for Williams.

Bridges doesn’t qualify
Southern true freshman guard Brian Bridges will be a nonqualifier this season, Richardson said. As such, Bridges will not be able to practice or play. He can become eligible as a sophomore but will have to earn a fourth season if he maintains satisfactory academic progress.

Bridges practiced with the team in the first few weeks of preseason camp as the NCAA Clearinghouse had yet to render a decision on his eligibility.

Including Bridges, four of SU’s five offensive linemen signees are not initially eligible. The only one to qualify is late signee Leslie Davis, a tackle.

Notes
Lee did not practice Tuesday to rest a sore ankle. He’s expected to practice today. Both SU and PV have three-game winning streaks dating to winning their season finales last season. Scouts from the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills attended practice Tuesday. Southern is seeking to become 3-0 for the first time since winning the first seven games of 2003, when the Jaguars went 12-1 and won SWAC and black college national titles.