A native of San Antonio, Texas, Lewis attended Robert E. Lee High School, where he played football as a linebacker and running back for coach Jimmy Ramos.

Following his senior season, he attended the Army combine and Nike camp, where he ran an electronically timed 4.34 in the 40-yard dash, completed the 20-yard shuttle in 4.25 seconds, had 23 reps in the 225-pound bench press and leaped 34'4" (0.87m) in the vertical jump.

[1] In addition to football, Lewis also competed in track & field in high school as a shot putter (personal-best of 53'10" or 16.43m).

Described as a raw linebacker with great speed and tremendous potential, Lewis received offers from every major program in the entire Big 12, and committed to Nebraska as a junior.

[2] After his career at Oklahoma, Lewis was selected with the 223rd overall pick in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

In 2015, Lewis started 4 games at outside linebacker for the Lions before losing his job to Tahir Whitehead, contributing with a career-high 21 tackles and a sack.