By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Former East St. John football coach Larry Dauterive recounted the day Mike Sherman stopped by the Wildcats’ fieldhouse and asked about offensive line standout Patrick Lewis.

Dauterive broke out a highlight film he had cut of Lewis’ plays through his sophomore and junior seasons. The film was 22 minutes long, but Sherman, then Texas A&M’s head coach, stopped him after four.

“He told me, ‘Get him out of class. I want to offer him right now,’” said Dauterive. “He wasn’t even out of his sophomore (highlights), and he said, ‘This is the best high school lineman I’ve ever seen.’”

That was in 2008. In 2013, Lewis is headed to an NFL training camp.

Lewis has agreed to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers, where the lineman will push to make the team as a center.

By definition, an undrafted free agent is an NFL long shot. Many are signed and invited to camp, but only a small percentage make an NFL roster. A smaller percentage make an impact in the league.

But there are numerous success stories as well about UDFAs that buck the odds. And Lewis is comfortable in the position of underdog.

“It does nothing but add fuel to my fire,” said Lewis. “I’ve always dealt with it. Before, it was always, ‘He’s too short to play big time college football.’ Now, it’s about making a roster at the NFL level. It’s really humbling to go undrafted.

“I’ve dreamt my whole life about playing on the NFL level. I’ve got my shot to make it happen.”

The  6-foot-1-inch, 311-pound Packer prospect definitely has his believers.

“He’s going to play for a very long time in the league. You watch,” said Dauterive. “They need lineman like him in the NFL.”

EMBRACING CHANGE

When Lewis began his prep career as a freshman at East St. John, he was a defensive lineman. And that was where he wanted to stay.

Dauterive, though, had other ideas. 

“Everyone wants to be a defensive player. They want to chase down the quarterback, make the big hit … that’s where you get the glory,” said Dauterive. “But I challenged him to make the move (to offensive tackle). I told him, ‘I see something in you. If you commit to this, I think you’ll be able to write your ticket.’ He never once questioned my decision. He was the consummate team player.”

Internally, though, Lewis had his doubts.

“I was devastated,” he said. “I thought, ‘That’s it, I’m not going anywhere past high school.’”

But Dauterive’s vision proved prophetic. Lewis broke out, going on to be named to the Class 5A All-State team as a sophomore, a season that saw East St. John post an undefeated regular season, finishing 12-1 with a trip to the state quarterfinals.

FACE OF THE WILDCATS

But the move may have paid even bigger dividends over Lewis’ junior and senior seasons.

Quarterback Johnnie Thiel made an impact for two years and graduated in the summer of 2007. Before him, Dauterive commanded an offense led by Wildcat legend Ryan Perrilloux, who not only rewrote the school record book but set a number of national marks as well.

Dauterive was known for orchestrating high-octane passing attacks that assaulted the scoreboard. But entering the 2007 season, his passing game was one in transition. His receivers were unproven, and his quarterback, Kalen Henderson, was a sophomore with no starting experience. While Henderson went on to develop into a strong passer and eventual Tulsa signee, it was clear to Dauterive that the offense would have to change to give his passer time to mature.

He had a trump card in his back pocket though – Lewis, who he knew he could rely upon to pave the way for plenty of rushing yardage. The Wildcats became one of the most proficient running teams in the state, with tailback Alex Singleton totaling 42 touchdowns and nearly 2,500 rushing yards over the next two seasons.

“The best case in point … in (2008), we played Hahnville,” said Dauterive. “We went to six overtimes. At the end of the sixth, they jump offsides on an extra point, and we’re down one, so we decide to go for two.”

“Everyone, and I mean everyone, knew we were gonna run Alex behind Patrick, and we got it. With Patrick, we could get our yards many times even when they knew what we were running.

Lewis had not just arrived as a standout lineman, but a legitimate prep star. He was named to the 5A All-State team in both his junior and senior seasons, becoming the first player in the history of East St. John to be named to the All-State squad three times. 

“At East St. John, we learned to trust Coach Doe. He saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. It turned out for the best, because if I don’t make the switch, who knows if I’m in this position today.”

Said Dauterive, “I don’t think he ever jumped offsides in his three years there. He was so driven, so disciplined.

“He’s the best offensive lineman I’ve ever coached. Hands down.”

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT

Sherman indeed offered Lewis a scholarship that fateful day at East St. John, and Lewis went on to accept. He attended Texas A&M and had immediate success, starting nine games at guard as a true freshman and earning a spot on the freshman All-America second team by collegefootballnews.com. As a sophomore, he started all 13 of his team’s games for an A&M team that ranked No. 22 in the nation in offensive yardage. He helped A&M to a 9-3 finish and a share of the Big 12 South title.

Before his junior year, Lewis perhaps felt a bit of déjà vu; his coaches approached him about a position change. This one would keep him on the offensive line, but it moved him from guard to center.

“The adjustment wasn’t as difficult as it could have been because I already knew the offense,” said Lewis. “If I hadn’t learned it over the past two years, it would have been difficult to move there and make the calls … once I got the hang of snapping the ball, I felt natural at center.”

Lewis’ run with Sherman would end at the end of his junior season, as the veteran coach was fired by A&M after a disappointing season. Under new coach Kevin Sumlin, the Aggies had another challenge ahead of them: not just adjusting to a new coach, but doing so with the team moving from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, a league almost unanimously considered to be the toughest in college football.

After a letdown year, Lewis got to play the underdog role again, along with his teammates.

“We were being told every day, ‘You guys won’t survive a week. You won’t win a game. You’ll finish last.’ We were all out to prove everyone wrong,” said Lewis.

They did that and then some. The Aggies went 11-2, marking just the fourth time A&M had ever won as many games. The team finished the season ranked fifth in both the Coaches and AP polls, the first time since 1956 that the school finished that highly in either. Lewis was part of an explosive offense that led the SEC Conference in scoring, led by freshman phenom and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.

“That offense was special,” said Lewis. “The group we had … Johnny, Luke Joeckel (No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft) … so many guys. I look back on it and I just smile. We pushed one another to get better.”

Their year culminated on Nov. 10, as A&M traveled to Tuscaloosa to face top ranked Alabama, the defending national champion. The Aggies shocked the Tide, jumping out to a 20-0 first quarter lead before hanging on for an eventual 29-24 victory over a team that went on to win a second straight crown. It was Alabama’s lone loss of the season. A&M gained 418 yards against a ‘Bama defensive unit that led the nation in total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense.

“It was awesome,” said Lewis. “That was the win that Texas A&M needed for a long time, to jump start this thing … I feel like we were able to get things going in the right direction.”

WELCOME TO

THE NFL

His college career through, Lewis set his sights on the pros. When it came time for the NFL Draft in April, he maintained contact with a number of teams and thought he would get “the call” in the middle to late rounds.

It never came.

“I was certainly disappointed. I thought it would be the Steelers. They had told me they were looking to take me with their first seventh rounder, but it never materialized. Guys were calling me from teams, telling me I had draftable grades. But there aren’t many guys drafted at the center position, I guess, because teams feel like they can sign a pretty good one that went undrafted.”

Lewis said Green Bay, Miami – where Sherman currently works as offensive coordinator – Cleveland and Washington all offered Lewis a free agent deal. The silver lining of going undrafted was that he would get to pick his destination.

In the end, the Packers suited him.

“I thought Green Bay was the best fit. I’m walking into a better situation there … and I also like the tradition they have in Green Bay. They expect to win and usually do, and I want to be a part of that.”

He said he’ll do his part to earn a roster spot by putting the necessary work in. To listen to his old coach, that won’t be a problem – Dauterive said he can’t recall Lewis ever missing a practice.

“I can’t wait to see him in their exhibitions,” said Dauterive. “I’m so proud of him. I could sit here and brag about Patrick all day.”

And while Lewis didn’t hear his name called on draft day, he now sounds primed to make “Coach Doe” look like a seer once more.

“It’s a dream come true to play at the highest level in football. I’ll do everything I can to make it a reality,” said Lewis.