Jourdan Lewis Gives Back To Detroit, Has Message For OSU & MSU Fan Bases

Former Michigan and current Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis hosted his second annual WR vs. DB youth football camp this afternoon in Detroit, attracting outstanding talent from several of the surrounding high schools.

Two current Wolverines and fellow Detroiters — senior cornerback Lavert Hill and junior cornerback Jaylen Kelly-Powell — swung by to help assist Lewis, while another Detroit native and former player — cornerback Raymon Taylor (2011-14) — was also in attendance.

The camp not only drew high schoolers, but also up-and-coming prospects in middle school who have yet to put their talent on display at a high level.

“It’s amazing, especially when you see the talent coming out and how much the kids love to compete,” Lewis exclaimed afterward. “It’s great seeing how many kids without an offer showed up and just wanted to have fun — it shows pure joy for both the game and for their community.

“I’m just happy the turnout was as good as it was. When you see the kids compete at the highest level, it feels incredible. They all make each other better, and it’s an amazing feeling knowing you played a part in uniting so many different schools in the city of Detroit.”

Lewis has spent each of his first two seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, playing sparingly on special teams and as a cornerback both years.

“Things are good there,” he revealed. “I’m actually working at nickel right now and am just trying to get some more reps.”

Although he graduated from Michigan following the 2016 season, the Detroit native made it clear he still follows the program as closely as possible.

“Always,” he exclaimed. “I have one of my babies still up there in Lavert Hill, so I’m immersed in them and watch them every Saturday. My expectations are sky high for Lavert next season — I’d love to see him win the Jim Thorpe award, earn All-American honors and take home a National Championship.

“Our expectations are always high like that at Michigan, and I’m excited to see what they do in 2019. We also have [Belleville (Mich.) High four-star cornerback and U-M commit] Andre Seldon heading up there soon — he actually competed out here today, so it was great to see both him and Lavert out here this afternoon.”

Lewis’ senior season at Michigan (2016) was actually defensive coordinator Don Brown’s first year on the job, and the club wound up tying with Alabama for the best defense in the entire country.

Brown is still going strong with the Wolverines, but will be faced with arguably his toughest rebuilding job yet (though a similar sentiment was echoed heading into 2017) in Ann Arbor on that side of the ball.

Lewis insisted that fans shouldn’t be worried as long as the 63-year old is running the show though.

“Playing under Coach Brown was amazing,” the cornerback recalled. “He believes in his players so much and puts them out there in man coverage every single down, which truly shows how much trust he has in them.

“I love everything he’s doing up there, especially when considering he's has had one of the top defenses for several years in a row now.”

Lewis' expectations — just like seemingly everyone else's — are incredibly high for Michigan heading into next season, and he gave a brief rundown of not only how he thinks the campaign will go, but also of why the club is in such good shape to accomplish all of its goals.

“I expect them to win it all,” he insisted. “They’re up there once again and have all the tools they need, and the guys have been through it all. Coach [Jim] Harbaugh has everything in place again — a great offense, an outstanding defense and a good quarterback [in senior Shea Patterson] who understands how to win games.

“We came so close last year but just need to clean a few things up.”

Ohio State was the only obstacle standing between Michigan and a berth in the Big Ten championship game in 2018, but the Wolverines failed their biggest hurdle of the season when they fell, 62-39, in Columbus.

The tide of the Michigan State rivalry, meanwhile, has seemingly began to swing back in U-M’s favor (the Maize and Blue have won two of the last three), and Lewis had a message for both opposing fan bases this afternoon.

“We’re definitely going to take down Ohio State,” he confirmed. “It’s that or bust. Little Brother can speak all they want — we’ll get the job done no matter what.”

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