Renewed Determination: Malcolm Lewis

By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes have a long tradition of homegrown talent showcasing itself on the football field.

Canes legends like Michael Irvin, Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma, Santana Moss and Bennie Blades are just a handful of South Florida natives who shined while donning Miami’s orange and green.

Each week in the 2014 season, HurricaneSports.com will honor a Hurricane football player with South Florida ties as the Milam’s Market Homegrown Athlete of the Week. This week’s player spotlight is on Miramar, Fla., native Malcolm Lewis.

Everyone loves a comeback story and Miami receiver Malcolm Lewis’ triumphant return from injury a year ago was one of the most inspiring stories in sports.

Lewis, who hails from Miramar High School, made an impact from the moment he set foot on the University of Miami campus in 2012.

The receiver with a knack for making big plays did just that in his first collegiate game at Boston College, catching four passes for a season-high 42 yards and the first touchdown of his Hurricanes career.

Lewis’ impressive play early on earned him a start against Bethune-Cookman, the first of his collegiate career.

But everything changed for Lewis in Week 4 of the 2012 season. The standout freshman’s season came to an end against at Georgia Tech when he suffered a dislocated left ankle injury.

“I remember Coach Golden leaning over me and holding me down tight,” Lewis said. “I really couldn’t see my ankle.”

Lewis, who seemed destined for stardom early in his freshman year, had his 2012 season cut short by a gruesome injury. But Lewis is not the type of person to let adversity prevent him from achieving his goals.

The Miramar native, who worked so hard to make an impact as a freshman, diverted all of his focus and energy towards his rehab to make sure he would be ready to play as a sophomore.

Lewis made a triumphant return to action in Miami’s 2013 spring game, catching a touchdown pass from Stephen Morris. The entire Hurricanes team surrounded him to celebrate the score and congratulate Lewis on his speedy recovery.

While the play in the spring game showed progress, his first true test came August 3, 2013 when Miami opened football camp. Lewis was making cuts and running full speed, looking like the player who shined in four games as a freshman.

Lewis’ hard work and dedication helped him return to game action less than a year after he suffered his serious injury. The talented wideout collected his first official post-injury catch in Miami’s victory over Savannah State in 2013.

That nine-yard reception was the first of seven on the season. Lewis, who played in 11 games a year ago, spent the majority of the season getting accustomed to being back in action after a long road to recovery from his gruesome injury. Lewis was named the Training Room Comeback Player of the Year at the 2013 end-of-season team awards show, further boosting his confidence.

The 2014 season has been a solid one for Lewis. He earned a start in the season opener and has caught 16 passes for 134 yards over the first six games of the season. Lewis’ best performance in 2014 came at Nebraska, hauling in a career-high five passes for 40 yards and his second career touchdown. He will look to continue his progress in this Saturday’s game against Cincinnati.