Jermaine Lewis Leaves His Mark With Maryland State Athletic Hall Of Fame Induction – PressBox

Once newly inducted Maryland State Athletic Hall of Famer Jermaine Lewis was recruited by the University of Maryland, his search was over.

“When I was getting recruited in high school, once Maryland was interested, that was all I needed to hear,” Lewis said on the Glenn Clark Radio Show Nov. 8.

Lewis has been in the state nearly his entire football career. He started at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt and went to college just 15 minutes away at Maryland. From there, he was drafted in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Ravens, with whom he spent six of his nine years in the league.

It took a while for Lewis to be inducted into the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame, to the point where he wasn’t sure what more he had to do to earn the recognition.

“I feel like I gave everything in the state of Maryland. That’s just how it goes, but I’m a Maryland guy all the way. When I got the call, I was so far removed because I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know what I have to do in the state of Maryland to get recognized,’” Lewis joked.

Lewis’ induction into the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame now allows him to be remembered for a long time in the state.

“I think in the long run, you’ve got to leave your mark somewhere,” Lewis said.

Lewis earned Pro Bowl nods as a return specialist in 1998 and 2001 and won Super Bowl XXXV as part of the Ravens’ 2000 squad. He had a crucial 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to snatch momentum back for Baltimore immediately following a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by the New York Giants.

In four years at Maryland, Lewis recorded 2,932 yards and 21 touchdowns as a receiver. Both marks are program bests. He isn’t too sure what to do to fix the Terps’ current struggles amid a 1-4 run in the team’s last five games.

“I don’t know, it’s tough,” Lewis said. “The first thing with Maryland, we’re in a tough conference. You have to recruit. We need some bigger linemen. … Even in the Maryland area, we have a lot of skill position players, but we don’t have a lot of big offensive linemen like that walking around the state.”

In the NFL, Lewis returned seven punts for a touchdown and one kickoff for a touchdown. He was teammates with Anthony Mitchell, Ravens rookie running back Keaton Mitchell’s father, for three years. Lewis has enjoyed seeing Keaton develop as of late.

Keaton Mitchell ran the ball nine times for 138 yards and a touchdown in the Ravens’ Week 9 win against the Seahawks. He did not see as much work in the Week 10 loss against the Browns, but still managed to record three rushes for 34 yards and a touchdown while also catching the ball once for 32 yards.

“Me and Anthony talk a lot. He’s a trainer, he helps train in Atlanta,” Lewis said. “It’s a hard deal trying to get your kids to kind of understand how much work they have to do. They actually have to want it themselves as well. He taught him how to prepare, how to train, but the kid himself has to want it. [Keaton] obviously wanted it, embraced it.”

For more from Lewis, listen to the full interview here:

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame