Welcome to another offseason recruiting fix of those who got away, focusing this offseason on the 2012 recruiting cycle. Last time we talked about Dwayne Stanford. This time we'll turn our attention to Roger Lewis, a Columbus native who "got away" a bit differently than the rest.
THE RECRUITMENT
If you check out Ramzy's piece titled "Those Who Stayed", you'll see a list of 2012 commits who stuck with the program through NCAA sanctions. Roger Lewis was one name that would have been on that list.
Lewis was a 3-star WR out of Pickerington Central, rated as Ohio's 5th best WR. An Ohio State offer was something he highly coveted, and it finally came on August 1, 2011. With NCAA sanctions looming and an interim head coach in Luke Fickell, Roger Lewis committed to Ohio State on August 9, 2011.
“Growing up in Columbus and just watching Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn and all those great receivers go through Ohio State, I’ve wanted to be a part of that,” Lewis said. “So I decided to make it official: I want to be a Buckeye.”
Roger proceeded to put on a show his senior year of football as a kick returner and wide receiver, sticking with his commitment through the coaching change and sanctions. As signing day grew near, though, it became clear that Lewis would not be able to sign with Ohio State. While academic issues were cited as the reason, the timing seemed more than a coincidence.
Some saying Roger Lewis may attend prep school before #OhioState that is reason for tweets I'm guessing
— Alex Gleitman (@alexgleitman) January 24, 2012
Just one week after dropping OSU, reports surfaced that Lewis had been charged with two counts of rape.
He is charged with two counts of rape, both first-degree felonies, of an 18-year-old woman. The incidents are alleged to have occurred in December and again Jan. 6, according to the Pickerington Police Department.
According to Pickerington police and the Fairfield County Prosecutor’s Office, Lewis had been under investigation for nearly a month.
THE TRIAL
Over one year later, Lewis was acquitted on one charge of rape, while the jury deadlocked on the second charge.
Lewis said yesterday, both in the courtroom and afterward in an interview, that he and the classmate had had a four-year consensual “secret sexual relationship” that began when they were 14, and that he had never raped her.
The classmate turned against him and alleged rape in their senior year because she was jealous that he had started going out with another girl, Lewis said.
With a retrial looming for the second charge, it was reported on August 27, 2013 that Lewis pled guilty to falsification in exchange for dismissal of rape charge, resulting in three years of probation.
The falsification charge to which Lewis pleaded guilty stems from false statements he made to Pickerington police who pulled over the car for speeding later, after they left the [parking lot where the alleged rape occurred].
THE COLLEGE POST-HIGH-SCHOOL LIFE
In the fall of 2013, Roger was able to attend and play football for Jireh Prep Athletics, a post-high-school college-prep school in Matthews, N.C. He posted 900 yards and 13 TDs, and caught the eye of numerous D1 programs.
On January 6, 2014, Lewis committed to play for Bowling Green State University, where he would terrorize defenses. While Lewis burst onto the scene with 217 yards and 1 TD in his first two games as a Falcon, it was the third game against Indiana that provided him his defining moment.
His intense preparation culminated for him as stepped to the line of scrimmage with Bowling Green down 42-39 to Indiana with 12 seconds remaining.
“I got to the line and I saw (head coach Dino Babers) signal the play,” Lewis said. “I said to myself, ‘I know this is where I’ve got to make my mark.’”
James Knapke’s lob pass hung in the air for nearly three seconds before Lewis juggled it between his hands, just as he was planting his feet.
The official shot his arms up to signal a touchdown and tears ran over Lewis’ ear-to-ear smile that his teammates and coaches talk about.
“It’s emotional to me to know that the game of football could have been taken away from me,” Lewis said. “But that’s how much I love the game.”
“Roger started crying after he made that catch and we were saying, ‘Why is Roger crying?’” sophomore wide receiver Ronnie Moore said. “Roger told us he’s waited so long for this moment in his journey and now it’s finally here.
Lewis went on to put up 1,094 yards receiving and 7 TD in his debut season with BGSU, earning first team All-MAC honors.
In 2015, Lewis posted an astounding 1,544 yards receiving (2nd in country) and 16 TDs (3rd in country). He was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and winner of the Paul Warfield award, earning first team All-MAC honors for the second year in a row.
He would go on to declare for the 2016 NFL draft.
LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
While clearly one of the most exciting players in college football, Lewis's off-the-field issues were still a big concern.
Multiple teams have told me that Bowling Green WR Roger Lewis and Arizona WR Cayleb Jones are off their boards due to off-field issues
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April 6, 2016
Lewis would go undrafted in the 2016 NFL draft, but he was immediately picked up by the New York Giants after the draft. He would go on to post 97 yards and 2 TDs in his rookie season with the Giants.
After garnering rave reviews in OTAs this year, Roger was cited for an OVI on June 5, 2017 in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. He is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on July 20. The Giants have a plethora of wide receivers, so he will need to prove himself on and off the field if he hopes to remain with the team.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
Lewis could have been a solid contributor at a position of need for Ohio State, especially in 2015. It's hard to imagine him putting up those numbers against Ohio State's schedule, but it's safe to say they missed a great one right in their own backyard, and all for what appeared to be a false accusation (and grades). I'm betting Urban wishes things went a little different for Roger Lewis.
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RELEVANT
