Jermaine Lewis, the first Raven to ever touch a football, remembers the ups and downs starting out with a logoless team in 1996.
A native of Lanham, Md., Lewis played at Eleanor Roosevelt High School and eventually just a few minutes away at the University of Maryland. The 5-foot-7, 183-pound receiver was selected by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft. To begin his pro football career close to home meant a great deal to Lewis.
“I remember being in awe about being able to play in the state of Maryland for most of my career,” Lewis said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 3. “God blessed me with that. It’s up and down with that situation. I just love being a Raven. I love the organization. I just love the team.”
Lewis was asked about the feeling of being a bit of a local celebrity and hometown hero. It’s surreal to him, especially since he played in Maryland nearly his entire football career. He tries to go out of his way to do little things around the community to show some love back.
“I’ll go to school, I’ll talk. I’ll do paid gigs. I don’t go out of my way, but if things come my way I’ll always take advantage of it,” Lewis said. “God put me in this position, so I have to take advantage of it.”
Lewis stood out for his work as a kick and punt returner for the Ravens from 1996-2001, returning six punts for touchdown during the regular season and one in Super Bowl XXXV.
The NFL has eliminated the run-up on kick coverage in order to make returns less violent, something Lewis was glad to see. This year, though, touchbacks on kickoffs come out to the 35-yard line. Lewis believes that regardless of the new changes, teams should want their returner to bring it out, especially when they’re losing, to give the team a chance for a boost.
Lewis said a difference-making returner would help the Ravens. Rookie LaJohntay Wester, who in the preseason scored an 87-yard punt return touchdown, might have the potential to be that guy.
“As a punt returner and kick returner, don’t fumble the ball and lose the game,” Lewis said. “But you can also provide that spark, big play. … Those change games around.”
Looking back on the legacy and impact that Lewis and the 1996 Ravens have had on the present, Lewis observed that there wouldn’t remotely be as much hype to watch the Ravens without the foundation that was built from the ground up. That is still bearing fruit today, according to Lewis.
“All that foundation had to be laid for [the modern Ravens] just to prosper,” Lewis said. “I’m not taking anything away. They’re all good and all that, but when you get older that’s just stuff you know.”
For more from Lewis, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame