Photo: All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons²

Damien Lewis

Guard, Carolina Panthers · #68.

Player facts

Team: Carolina Panthers
Position: Guard
Number: 68
Born: Mar 21, 1997 (age 29)
Birthplace: Canton, MS, USA
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 327 lbs
College: LSU
Experience: 7 seasons
Status: Active

About

Damien Stephon Lewis (born March 21, 1997) is an American professional football guard for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft.

From Wikipedia’s article on Damien Lewis (American football), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Lewis grew up in Biloxi, Mississippi and Atlanta before moving to Canton, Mississippi, where he attended Canton High School. Projected not to qualify academically to play Division I football, Lewis received no offers from four-year colleges after high school.

College career

Lewis enrolled at Northwest Mississippi Community College after receiving a scholarship. He was named a second-team Junior College All-American in both of his seasons at Northwest Mississippi. He graduated a semester early and committed to transfer to LSU to continue his collegiate career over offers from Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

Lewis was named the Tigers starting right guard going into his first season at LSU and started all 13 of the team's games. As a senior, Lewis started all 15 of the Tigers' games and was named second-team All-Southeastern Conference as the Tigers won the 2020 National Championship.