He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes, and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2002 NFL draft.

Lewis out of Rosenberg, Texas played for Lamar Consolidated High School from 1994 to 1997 before heading to the University of Colorado.

As a senior, he was a unanimous All-Big 12 Conference first-team choice, earned third-team All-America honors, and was a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back.

He closed his career ranked 9th on the school's all-time list with 336 tackles, second in forced fumbles with 10 and tied for 12th with nine interceptions.

On October 1, 2010, it was reported that Lewis would not be traveling with the 49ers to their next game at Atlanta[3] after sitting out that day's practice for "personal reasons".

The tournament featured eight NFL players and Lewis claimed the top spot by defeating Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, Colts DE Dwight Freeney (the two-time defending champion), and Broncos RB Willis McGahee.